Centre for Democratic Institutions

About CDI

The Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) is Australia’s leading democracy promotion organisation, established by the Australian Government in 1998. Our mandate is to support democratic processes and institutions in Southeast Asia and the Pacific through knowledge sharing and interchange between Australia and our close neighbours. CDI’s focus is on parliamentary governance and political parties, with special attention to the quality of electoral processes and the promotion of women’s representation. Our main partner countries are East Timor, Indonesia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

CDI aims to harness Australian and international expertise in governance, institutional development and political practice in order to contribute to the development of good political leadership and robust, accountable democratic institutions in our region. Our objective is the transfer of skills and knowledge, not only from Australia to our partners but also amongst our partner countries themselves.

To do this we conduct intensive training courses for political practitioners and officials, act as a networking and information hub and promote interchanges amongst regional parliaments and parties. We sponsor applied research on issues related to parliaments, political parties, electoral systems and representation.

CDI’s core budget is provided by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), as part of Australia’s overseas aid program. We also work cooperatively with a range of international development organisations, UN bodies and international NGOs. CDI is based at the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University (ANU) in Australia’s capital city, Canberra. Our location at ANU provides an institutional base for our operations and we are able to both draw upon and contribute to the intellectual resources and reputation of a premier centre of learning in Australia.

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CDI Staff & Contact Details
CDI Consultative Council | 1999-2008


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	Crawford School of Public Policy	ANU College of Asia and the Pacific	The Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) is a government-funded body that supports the efforts of new democracies in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen their political systems. It provides training, technical assistance and peer support for parliamentarians and emerging leaders in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, with a particular focus on Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. The Australian Government established CDI in 1998. It is funded primarily by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). One of the primary ways in which CDI works to promote democracy is through strengthening parliamentary governance and political parties. The Centre focusses on parliamentary and political party development, and conducts flagship training courses and policy-relevant research on these subjects.
© Centre for Democratic Institutions, The Australian National University. Please direct all comments to cdi@anu.edu.au. Last modified 28 March, 2012 CRICOSProvider Number: 00120C