The NGO Coalition is a mechanism to communicate Civil society's contributions to realizing internationally agreed social development goals and shared social, economic, and environmental aspirations. It showcases the grassroots' role in gauging trends, building capacities, and shaping solutions. The coalition covers activities worldwide and reflects civil society's response to the set priorities and expressed needs for community engagement. It showcases how NGOs put their expertise into supporting government efforts to implement the social development Agenda amidst multiple intertwined, compounding crises, building their capacities to respond effectively and shape a transformative recovery that builds their resilience for the future.
Our Areas of Action
Eleven interconnected pillars that define how the Coalition drives change — from the community level to the halls of the United Nations.
Disability Inclusion
The Coalition actively champions the rights and full participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of social and economic life. We work to embed a disability-inclusive lens into global policy frameworks, ensuring the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is reflected in every social development agenda. By amplifying the voices of disabled-led organizations and promoting universal design principles, we strive to dismantle the structural barriers that prevent equitable access to education, healthcare, employment, and civic life.
Grassroot Mobilization
Change is most durable when it is rooted in the communities it seeks to serve. Our grassroots mobilization work connects local realities to global policy rooms by gathering testimonies, conducting community surveys, and enabling frontline organizations to speak directly to decision-makers. We partner with regional civil society networks across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and beyond to surface lived experiences that challenge top-down narratives, ensuring that the voices of the most marginalized inform the social development agenda at every level — from village councils to the United Nations General Assembly.
Policy Advocacy
At the heart of our mission lies rigorous, evidence-based advocacy at the highest levels of international governance. We draft and submit written and oral statements to the Commission for Social Development (CSocD), the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), and ECOSOC, lobbying Member States to adopt people-centered, rights-based policies. Our advocacy subcommittee monitors intergovernmental negotiations in real time, builds relationships with diplomatic missions, and coordinates coalition-wide positions that translate grassroots priorities into actionable language within UN resolutions and outcome documents.
Youth Engagement
Young people are not simply the future — they are active agents of change today. The Coalition creates meaningful pathways for youth to engage in UN processes, from attending the Commission for Social Development sessions to leading thematic working groups on education, climate justice, and digital rights. We partner with youth-led organizations globally to co-develop policy positions, offer mentorship in international advocacy, and ensure that intergenerational perspectives shape every declaration, resolution, and programme of action we promote at the United Nations.
Side Events & Workshops
Alongside formal UN sessions, the Coalition organizes a rich programme of side events and capacity-building workshops that deepen dialogue between civil society, governments, and UN agencies. These spaces allow member organizations to present innovative field-based solutions, engage in peer learning, and forge the partnerships needed to scale impact. From half-day expert panels on poverty reduction to multi-day workshops on social protection design, our events create fertile ground for the ideas that transform policy on paper into change on the ground.
Fund Development
Sustaining a vibrant, globally connected civil society coalition requires strategic resource mobilization. Our fund development work identifies grant opportunities, cultivates relationships with institutional donors, and supports member organizations in accessing financing for community projects aligned with the 2030 Agenda. We advocate for increased, flexible, and accessible funding for civil society within UN member state budgets and international financial institutions, recognizing that under-resourced NGOs cannot meaningfully participate in shaping the policies that govern the communities they serve.
Awareness Campaign
Translating complex UN social development goals into compelling public narratives is essential for building the broad coalitions needed to achieve lasting change. The Coalition designs and executes awareness campaigns that inform, inspire, and mobilize diverse audiences — from policymakers and civil society actors to the general public. Leveraging digital platforms, storytelling, multimedia content, and strategic media partnerships, our campaigns shine a spotlight on issues like poverty, inequality, disability rights, and social exclusion, turning international commitments into shared calls to action.
NGO Common Space
The NGO Common Space is the Coalition's open, collaborative platform where member organizations and partner NGOs converge to share knowledge, coordinate joint positions, and foster solidarity across geographies, issue areas, and organizational mandates. It functions as both a physical gathering during UN sessions and a year-round virtual community, enabling civil society actors to co-design advocacy strategies, avoid duplication of effort, and collectively amplify their influence within intergovernmental spaces. The Common Space embodies the principle that the strength of civil society lies in its unity.
Monitoring & Reporting
Accountability is the backbone of credible advocacy. The Coalition systematically monitors the implementation of commitments made by governments through the Copenhagen Declaration, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and other landmark frameworks. We collect and analyze data, document progress and gaps, and publish accessible civil society shadow reports that provide independent, ground-level assessments of how social development pledges translate into lived realities. Our monitoring work equips member NGOs with evidence to hold governments accountable and to strengthen recommendations at review processes worldwide.
Capacity Development
The Coalition invests in the long-term strength of civil society by building the knowledge, skills, and institutional capacities of its member organizations. From training sessions on navigating UN processes and drafting effective advocacy statements, to webinars on project management, grant writing, and digital communications — our capacity development programmes equip NGOs to engage more effectively, sustainably, and strategically. We prioritize organizations from the Global South and those representing marginalized communities, recognizing that equitable capacity strengthens the entire ecosystem of civil society engagement in global governance.
Publications
Knowledge is power — and the Coalition's publications make that power accessible to all. We produce a wide range of materials including civil society declarations, policy briefs, annual reports, meeting minutes, thematic research papers, and advocacy toolkits. Each publication is designed to serve dual audiences: informing UN negotiations with credible civil society perspectives while simultaneously equipping grassroots organizations with the resources they need to engage in local and national policy dialogues. Our library of publications represents decades of collective wisdom in social development advocacy.
Our Monthly Meetings
The full Committee gathers on the second Wednesday of every month. These meetings serve as a forum for members to coordinate advocacy efforts, receive briefings on UN negotiation processes, listen to invited experts, and prepare for major United Nations events.
Currently, all meetings are held virtually to allow global participation across timezones.
Join a MeetingUpcoming Session
- 📅 Date: Second Wednesday of Next Month
- ⏰ Time: 1:00 PM — 2:30 PM EST
- 📍 Location: Online (Zoom invitation sent to members)
- 📋 Agenda: Briefing on the HLF declaration draft and updates from the Advocacy Subcommittee.