[{"bbox": [85, 151, 424, 180], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 3.4 Risks and Lessons Learnt"}, {"bbox": [82, 193, 1179, 1451], "category": "Table", "text": "<table><thead><tr><td>Category</td><td>Risks</td><td>Likelihood (High/ Medium/ Low)</td><td>Impact (High/ Medium/ Low)</td><td>Mitigating measures</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>External environment</td><td>Significant changes in the Sri Lankan political landscape (related to the 2024 elections) and new legislation (e.g online safety bill) leads to a more restrictive environment for civil society to operate.</td><td>Medium /high</td><td>High</td><td>- Closely monitor country political, legal and institutional developments and its implications on human rights/fundamental freedoms/civic space<br/>- Maintain regular political dialogue with the Government on civic space/enabling environment-related issues (advocacy)<br/>- Explore how to involve public authorities/institutions at the central and local level in the implementation of some capacity-building project activities as well as how to enhance dialogue between civil society and public authorities<br/>- Consider project adjustments if necessary, using built-in project flexibility</td></tr><tr><td>External environment</td><td>Conservative beliefs and attitudes within the population make project implementation challenging in some areas.</td><td>High</td><td>Medium</td><td>- Carry-out political economy and “do-no-harm” analyses to strategize the interventions, identify socio-cultural sensitivities and monitor impact<br/>- Put emphasis on inclusive awareness-raising/sensitisation and carefully designed communication strategies, with attention on the specific needs of vulnerable categories of the population<br/>- Conduct regular field missions in Sri Lanka for proper project monitoring and understanding of the local context including from the gender perspective<br/>- Consider project adjustments if necessary, using built-in project flexibility<br/>- Identify local “allies” and work with them on gender and HRBA approaches (including among local authorities)</td></tr></tbody></table>"}, {"bbox": [92, 1453, 252, 1476], "category": "Section-header", "text": "**Lessons Learnt:**"}, {"bbox": [92, 1497, 1169, 1582], "category": "Text", "text": "This action builds on the insights and lessons learnt from EU regular dialogue with local organisations and from the portfolio of projects implemented directly or indirectly by local civil society organisations, as well as through calls for proposals under the thematic instruments. However, coordination and lack of capacity of CSOs remain an issue."}, {"bbox": [1026, 1654, 1142, 1681], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 8 of 13"}]