DFID-SA has had a long engagement with various civil society organisations (including national, regional and international NGOs, Trade Unions and faith groups) on aspects of regional working including HIV and AIDS, gender, peace and security, and governance. In their capacity as advocacy organisations, CSOs have an important role in driving regional integration, by calling both national governments and regional institutions to account for their commitments in regional forums. Their mandate allows them to monitor some of the equity dimensions of the regional agenda, such as commitments on gender and the extent to which poverty reduction objectives are being achieved.

In some sectors CSOs may be better placed than the RECs to harness the benefits of working regionally, for example through taking advantage of economies of scale to raise awareness of cross boundary issues such as HIV. Given the limited capacity of the RECs, it may also fall to civil society to monitor and help respond to the social implications of regional economic integration.

CSOs are also able to play an essential role in delivering services in conflict situations or to hard to reach groups. While Southern Africa is less affected by conflict than some regions, this function has been demonstrated in Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa.