Regional Support Mechanisam EECA

The Digital Spark Call is part of the Regional Support Mechanism led by the Metamorphosis Foundation, TechSoup, and CIVICUS under the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) for the Global South. It provides grants to support innovative digital tools and advocacy for civic engagement, strengthen the sustainability of civil society organizations (CSOs), amplify marginalized voices, and promote regional collaboration and peer learning.

Two grant types are offered: LOT 1 – Institutional Stability Grants for established, registered CSOs to strengthen core operations, run local events and advocacy campaigns, and possibility to join a fellowship exchange; and LOT 2 – Strategic Growth Small Grants for smaller or emerging groups and activists to pilot digital democracy or community advocacy initiatives. All grantees receive additional non-financial support such as capacity building, expert guidance, and peer exchange.

Local Capacity Building Hubs (CapHubs) are civil society organizations that act as regional support and networking centers. Through the Institutional Stability Grants, up to 10 grantee-led CapHubs will be created to ensure local ownership, decentralization, and long-term sustainability. They will also serve as mentorship and community spaces for civic society stakeholders, encouraging peer learning and local adaptation of digital solutions.

Up to five one-month Exchange Fellowships will be offered for civil society representatives, one hosted by Metamorphosis (Skopje) and the others by local CapHubs. Fellows receive travel, living, and logistical support, with priority given to participants from marginalized communities.

Each fellowship aims to deliver a practical, tangible outcome, such as a digital tool, security protocol, community engagement strategy, or policy brief, based on identified organizational needs. The focus is on long-term capacity building and resilience through hands-on collaboration and locally relevant solutions.

LINK EECA has three components:

• Digital Learning (Hive Mind): A multilingual e-learning platform with self-paced courses, live clinics, and workshops on digital resilience, disinformation response, civic tech, strategic communications, and fundraising. Content is tailored to Rapid Capacity Scan results and delivered in local languages through cohort-based trainings.
• Peer Exchange: A secure online community for sharing best practices, case studies, and South-South collaboration.
• Expert Support: Certified trainers provide workshops, consultations, and mentorship, with quality tracked through feedback and monitoring.

The project will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to the civic societies in all 13 countries in focus. This includes mapping the political, digital, and advocacy environment using the Digital Activism Mapping methodology, reviewing existing reports and indexes, and gathering insights through interviews and perception surveys with key informants. The findings will identify CSOs’ digital and advocacy skill gaps and directly shape all next steps, such as grant criteria and capacity-building content, ensuring activities are tailored to the real, current needs of civil society from the start.

To maximize regional impact, our two annual events, MEGAPHONE and e-society.mk, will merge into a single hybrid conference: “Digital Democracy Forum: The MEGAPHONE & E-Society Conference” in Skopje, North Macedonia. The event will showcase project achievements, share lessons learned, and foster collaboration among a diverse regional audience, with up to 15 grantees attending in person and others joining online.

MEGAPHONE’s workshop-style format and e-society.mk’s focus on digital democracy will combine to strengthen networking, peer learning, and long-term collaborations.

We will showcase grantee journeys through the “Transformation Stories” and Impact Spotlights campaign, case studies in innovative formats like videos, vlogs, podcasts, posters, and doodle graphics. These stories will highlight and evaluate the mechanisms’ impact, shared via Hive Mind and project’s site and amplified internationally through the Global Voices network.