Areas of Expertise
The Center for Democracy and Development is an innovative and creative provider of research, technical advice and support services for a diverse group of clients operating across the globe. Our mission is to leverage our unique role within the University of Massachusetts and the McCormack Graduate School in order to bring to our assignments the best thinkers with the most experience, whether dealing with policy formulation or project implementation. Our team can provide a complete set of skills ranging from project feasibility to final project evaluations. We can conduct projects on our own or partner with host-country government agencies, NGOs or other specialized international institutions or agencies.
- Rule of Law/Judicial Reform
- Media Development
- Economic Development
- Program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation
Rule of Law/Judicial Reform
CDD believes the rule of law is vital to democratic political development, economic growth and stability. CDD conducts innovative programs, which strive to assist judges and other legal professionals in transitional regions throughout the world to become more independent, more confident, and more committed to the rule of law.
Media Development
CDD believes that a competent, independent media is one of the cornerstones for social and economic development. Whether in covering politics or the courts, whether uncovering corruption or criminal behavior, or simply recording the every-day lives of the people, quality media is a basic human right. This is a particularly important issue in conflict and post-conflict situations and CDD has developed an approach well suited for these types of challenging social realities. We believe that economic sustainability is the key critical factor in media development and our approach is geared towards addressing this issue.
Our service offerings include
- Media quality enhancement programs
- Specialized rural media programs
- Public opinion surveys on media usage
- Media economics seminars
- Media education program development
- Media funding sources
- Journalist exchange programs
- Specialized training (investigative, legal, environmental)
- Media legislation and rights
Economic Development
CDD believes in the intrinsic relationships between the development of democratic institutions and the development of sound economies. We are also committed to the notion of rural development and programs designed to keeping people on the land instead of migrating to already over stressed urban areas. We also believe that the development of a healthy and competitive entrepreneurial spirit is essential for developing the lives of young people and expanding the range of options that people in developing countries have for their futures. We also believe that education is perhaps the key element for success in a global economy and the universities and other training institutions have a major role to play in a nation’s economic development.
Our service offerings include:
- Sector opportunity analysis (e.g. agriculture, mining, ITC)
- Business plan development
- International business exchange programs
- Corporate social responsibility programs
- Public/private partnership programs
- Marketing and business development consulting
- University based entrepreneurship programs
Program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation
CDD experts can facilitate the design, monitoring, and evaluation of programs in our three core areas: rule of law/judicial reform, media development and economic development. Whether designing new programs in these areas or evaluating existing programs, our experienced staff can develop methodologies and strategies that are tailor made for our demanding clients. Our ultimate goal is always to make sure that project overheads are kept at a minimum and that the recipients always derive maximum benefit from our efforts.
Our service offerings include:
- Conducting assessments and evaluations of current programs
- Design of new programs in our core areas
- Developing funding vehicles for new projects or project extensions
- Establishing performance monitoring methods
- Field evaluations of completed programs
“Indeed, at every venue, from the Moot Court demonstration at Southwest Normal University Law School in Chongqing (September 18) to the Moot Court demonstration at Sichuan University Law School in Chengdu (September 25), the Massachusetts judges were greeted by overflow audiences and lively questions and answers. There was not a single program, be it a Moot Court demonstration, a lecture/discussion program for law faculty and students or a discussion meeting with Chinese judicial colleagues, that did not continue so long passed the scheduled time that it simply had to be stopped. For example, in Chongqing, the Moot Court demonstration at Southwest Normal University Law School drew so large an overflow audience--800 students and faculty squeezed into a 300-seat auditorium…In closing, one final point must be emphasized, not only for future programming on ROL, but for any programming. The MJC delegates, without exception, came to China with a sincerely held conviction that they had as much to learn from the Chinese colleagues and audiences as they could possibly teach them. This attitude, which their Chinese interlocutors clearly understood, not only created an atmosphere that fostered frank and open discussions among equals, but also gave the MJC delegates a degree credibility with their interlocutors seldom seen anywhere.”
—John Louton former Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu China.
October 2003