Draft report on the second dialogue on CDC organised at Swaraj on February 25, 2009. 
SECOND CDC DIALOGUE 
SWARAJ, JAIPUR 
25TH FEBRUARY 2009 
1. Background and context 
The first CDC dialogue was organized by CECOEDECON and Context international cooperation in 
July 2008. The dialogue mainly dwelt upon the concept of the CDC and its comparative 
advantage over other development approaches. The participants belonged to NGOs, CBOs, 
educational institutions and individuals working on various issues in different parts of Rajasthan. 
The participants appreciated the concept and expressed their keenness to take the dialogue 
further. 
The second dialogue mainly aimed at contextualization of the CDC in Rajasthan and explore the 
possibility of moving ahead, informed of the developments taking place in the concept and 
experience of the CDC. The specific objectives included 
. Review the applicability of CDC approach in the development context in Rajasthan and 
India 
. Update the participants on latest development in knowledge and experience of CDC 
. Explore the possibility of a joint action and plan 
2. Understanding of the CDC 
The Participants have adequate understanding of the concept, despite few participants joining 
the dialogue for the first time. It was attributed to the fact that Rajasthan already has a history 
of community initiated sustainable changes that do not look up to external resources for support. 
Therefore, it can be said that the state is a very fertile ground for further exploration of the CDC. 
3. Dilemma in CDC 
Despite adequate understanding few dilemmas need to be addressed were listed as 
. Issue of how CDC relates to Rights-based Approach (RBA) and the concepts of rights 
holders and duty bearers 
. Issue of endogenous versus. Exogenous drivers , (in terms of who identifies the problem, 
seeks solutions etc., and what does that imply for external agencies) 
4. Areas for further exploration 
In the discussions further, it was clear that the concept of CDC has been very inspiring but the 
conceptual and practical understanding of the CDC needs to be enhanced. It needs to be taken 
forward. In particular, the participants found its application extremely relevant in certain 
initiatives such as 
. Education 
Civic Driven Change (CDC) sees citizens and community as the central point of change, and 
drivers of change as opposed to conventional linear approaches to development which give 
primacy to state, NGOs, market and development aid in bringing about change. The 
fundamental difference on which CDC pivots is the centrality of the role of communities and 
individuals in bringing about lasting change, as active citizens and drivers of change. 

Draft report on the second dialogue on CDC organised at Swaraj on February 25, 2009. 
. Health 
. Women empowerment 
. Youth 
. Leadership development 
. Local self governance 
. Livelihood 
. Marginalized communities 
5. Joint Action Plan 
A joint Action Plan was felt highly desirable. Certain activities were also identified for emphasis 
such as 
. Taking the discussion forward, building clarity in CDC concept, translating it into cultural 
and linguistic context 
. Formation of working groups at different levels 
. Resource generation 
. Increased and continuous engagement through CDC 
6. What the group can offer 
. Local support 
. Education, awareness & capacity building, 
. Creating community based organizations 
. Knowledge creation through collaborative research and case studies, 
. Pilots on CDC 
7. Closing considerations 
The dialogue ended with the facilitator throwing some final points of consideration, which can 
serve as the “road map” for further discussion and action on CDC 
. We have to make sure that we take proper stock of what is already happening around. 
. We have to differentiate looking at the diversity of variety, levels, groups and activities 
we are engaging with. 
. We have to think of how to build learning systems, and how to involve more people. The 
dialogue on CDC between academicians, practitioners, policymakers, and the media, 
which is not intimidating but empowering should be carried further. 
8. Main learning from the discussion and points of further Action 
. It needs to be acknowledged that a lot is already happening in CDC, we may be labelling 
it differently, but there are already a number of cases and examples of which we can 
learn a lot. 
. With regard to the further development of the CDC approach and methodology here is a 
need to redefine it in the local context: ‘scan globally and not implement but redefine 
and reinvent locally’ and link it up with development discourse in India and abroad