Civic Driven Change and Aided Development

By Alan Fowler and Kees Biekart

Tags: Civil Society Building

The Civic-Driven Change (CDC) Initiative provides a story and frame of reference which can add value to the work of (private)
aid agencies. However, aid agencies vary, and the stage of development of this understanding - which competes with
other methods - is such that a first engagement with CDC would be for agencies to critically reflect on their ‘being’ and
‘doing’ as civic agents of change. In focusing on what this might mean in practice, this briefing paper draws on essay 10 in
the CDC volume and complements others policy briefs. It is not prescriptive. Illustrations of what CDC could entail for development strategy, principles and practices can help initiate public discussion, foster organizational debate and invite ‘rediscovery’ of civic agency in aided development.