The role of civil society in communities is not just valuable, it is essential
As trust declines and public debate fragments, civil society organisations play a critical role in connecting communities with decision-makers and strengthening democratic participation.
By Neil Pharaoh
The role of civil society in communities is not just valuable, it is essential
Forty per cent of not-forn-profits are not coping with demand, while 15 per cent expect imminent cuts to services or programs, according to research conducted as part of the development of the Tanck-Perpetual whitepaper From Fragmentation to Influence.
Added to this sustained operational strain is an erosion of trust between organisations and government.
In Australia, the Not-for-Profit Sector Development Blueprint sets out a ten-year roadmap built around an enabling regulatory environment, a people-led sector and a future-focused ecosystem. Yet the gap between this aspiration and lived reality is wider than at any point in recent memory.
International commentary reinforces this dissonance, with the United Nations Development Programme warning that “trust in public institutions has declined significantly, especially among youth. Engagement must go beyond tokenism”. [UNDP Civic Engagement]
This gap is not abstract.
At a recent Melbourne workshop with senior social purpose leaders, many of whom are deeply engaged in progressive politics, participants observed that despite very different policy positions, the Victorian Government’s communication approach felt uncomfortably familiar.
They compared it to tactics they associate with Donald Trump, including repeated reannouncements, saturation media strategies and a sense of narrative overload that left them feeling gaslit rather than genuinely engaged.
This erosion of voice is unfolding against overlapping crises — domestic and international — from COVID and fiscal downturns to climate shocks and geopolitical instability. Most liberal democracies are exhibiting similar symptoms, even as leaders continue to assert their commitment to shared values.
But while Angela Merkel, former Chancellor of Germany once observed that “we have stood up for our values; of freedom of the press, of freedom of democracy, freedom of religion and freedom of expression”, the political operating environment has fundamentally shifted.
The idea of the Overton Window helps explain how change has traditionally occurred, with ideas moving gradually from the margins into accepted policy through sustained public debate and advocacy. Reforms such as women’s suffrage, marriage equality and universal healthcare followed this path, advancing as shared understanding and social consensus slowly expanded.
Today, that process no longer operates cleanly. Social media distorts our shared reality, fragmenting public discourse and creating the illusion that highly localised or extreme views represent the mainstream. Individuals are increasingly reinforced by algorithmic feedback loops rather than exposed to difference, while the erosion of shared civic spaces has reduced opportunities for collective sense making. As a result, political narratives accelerate, collide and collapse, often without passing through genuine public deliberation.
This distortion also reshapes how social capital functions. Bonding social capital strengthens ties within familiar groups, while bridging social capital connects people across difference. Both are necessary for healthy democratic systems. When social media and polarised narratives amplify bonding at the expense of bridging, institutions weaken, trust erodes and grievances harden. In this environment, civil society’s role in restoring shared understanding and connecting communities with decision makers is not just valuable, it is essential.
This article was written as part of the development of Tanck's 2026 whitepaper together with Perpetual Wealth.
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