Closing civil society space is a growing trend, impacting civic actors in countries throughout the world. This paper examines how the trend effects development funders and actors, and how they are responding. Questions explored include: what are funders doing to engage around re-opening space for civil society? How are they adapting? What are the impacts of the development community's approach to civil society as a whole? The European Foundation Centre and the Funders' Initiative for Civil Society have come together to develop better insight into these questions and to increase awareness of the threats to civil society.