Civil society organisations (CSOs) face a critical turning point, with uncertainties in the funding landscape, shifting geopolitical trends, and growing digital repression threatening their very existence. There is greater urgency, need, and interest in exploring alternative approaches to sustaining the work of human rights defenders, including shared or collective infrastructure models.

Shared infrastructure refers to the pooling together of resources, services, or capacities that would otherwise be costly, risky, or inefficient for organisations to maintain individually. These may include shared digital tools and platforms (such as secure communications infrastructure, hosting, or open-source technologies), shared services (such as communications, monitoring and evaluation, legal, or administrative support), and shared coordination mechanisms. 

This exploratory study by researcher Arul Prakkash, in coordination with Sinar Project, examines how shared infrastructure is currently put in practice within civil society to identify key needs, challenges, and risks, and assess the feasibility of such arrangements for CSOs to enable long-term sustainability, resilience, and strengthening of their collective work. The study, conducted among select Malaysian CSOs, found that CSOs are already sharing in many ways, based on trust and a culture of solidarity. However, to become reliable, such arrangements must be supported by clear governance, sustained funding, technical maintenance, and fair participation rules.

The report outlines recommendations ranging from low-risk approaches to more complex shared infrastructure arrangements, as well as areas for further study and action by various actors in the ecosystem – including funders – to support civil society sustainability.