CDD-Ghana’s niche areas are linked to its overall goal of promoting and deepening democratic consolidation, good governance, and inclusive economic growth and development. Thus, CDD-Ghana works in five (5) program areas – Political and Constitutional Governance; Economic and Corporate Governance; Justice, Peace and Security; Social Inclusion and Equity; and Civil Society. The Center also has two (2) special projects – Afrobarometer and Regional Initiatives.

CDD-Ghana relies mainly on project-linked funding. The Center has, and continues to develop a funding base to ensure sustainable and consistent commitment to its priority areas.

Yes, the Center collaborates with various international organizations such as U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Department for International Development, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, German Development Agency (GIZ), European Union, the Ford Foundation, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) etc. on a variety of research projects, outreach programs, and policy proposals.

CDD-Ghana’s stakeholders include Government — Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Parliament, the Judiciary, the Executive, District Assemblies; state and governance institutions such as the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), National Media Commission (NMC), Auditor General’s Office, the security services, and others such as political parties, donor partners, the media, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs) among others.

CDD-Ghana was founded in 1998 when there was an acute need for democracy and governance advocacy in Ghana, to be based on sound research and empirical evidence. This was the time that the Ghanaian democratic process was entering an important new phase—transitioning from an elected president and administration with military authoritarian antecedents to one without, and the democratic space had just opened up to a point where it was possible to set up an explicitly democratic and political governance research and advocacy NGO in Ghana.

The Center has three (3) founders. They are; Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, a democracy and governance expert; Dr. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, an elections and conflict management expert; and William Yeboah, a chartered accountant and financial management specialist.

CDD-Ghana is located at No. 95 Nortei Ababio Loop, Airport Residential Area, Accra. In October 2010, CDD-Ghana opened a second office in Tamale to expand its stakeholder base and improve upon its services in the country’s regions of the north.