CDC has evolved the last five years as alternative framework for traditional development practice, stating that fundamental change can be achieved by people themselves, as individuals or groups without underlining the division between states, corporations and civil society. It is an innovative theme because it reaches beyond the classical poverty reduction agenda and beyond the scope of the development sector. Citizenship and civic agency in achieving societal change occupy an important place in CDC.

Initiatives to investigate the theme on a practical level have been conducted, e.g. Action Learning Case Studies on CDC by Context. During the workshop " The Practice of CDC" the concept was tested against the practices of Dutch development NGOs, attracting 150 people representing 45 different organisations.

These and other activities have shown that interest in the concept is abundant, but that further implications for policy, research, practice and social business need to be addressed and thought through. The most recent CDC-event particularly highlighted the need to do so with actors from outside the development sector, eg. private enterprise and politics. One of the main insights generated is that new ways of working need to be found to create a conducive environment for the types of initiatives and forms of cooperation that encourage CDC. CDC entails a number of values and points of departure, as well as a (renewed) attention for dilemma‟s and risks of change initiatives.

CDC emphasizes the capacity of citizens, within and between sectors, to bring about change and is premised on the conviction that adequate social change benefits from continuous dialogue and an open exchange between academia, policy makers, the corporate sector and practitioners active in NGOs. For relevant resources on CDC, please visit our CDC database.

The CDC process, supported by DPRN, aimed to support the above by facilitating reflection and exchange with actors from outside the development sector. For this process, two thematic events were organised, focussing on different aspects of bringing CDC into practice and policies with groups of practitioners, policy makers, academics and business representatives :

- Event 1: CDC and local politics
- Event 2: CDC and development policies

Finally, the outcomes of the thematic events were synthesised in a synthesis report, and the findings disseminated to a wider public.

Six partners were involved in the process: ISS, Hivos, Cordaid, Social Evaluator, Broederlijk Delen, DGIS and Context. Every organization played an active role in one or more of sessions. Context has coordinated the overall of activities. The process is funded by the Development Policy Review Network (DPRN). For more information about the partners, please click here.