LogoLink

LogoLink's Coordination Unit works closely with partners in different regions of the world, including the Instituto Pólis in Brazil; Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) in Peru; Centro de Servicios Municipales Heriberto Jara (CESEM) in Mexico; the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) in the Philippines; the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) in India; the Participatory Urban Governance Network (CCPG), in China; Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) in Uganda; the Isandla Institute and Good Governance Learning Network (GGLN) in South Africa; the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) in the USA; and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the UK.

The Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) is a network of over 20 organizations working to renew democracy through citizen participation and deliberation. It aims to bring together practitioners and researchers to support and foster an nascent global movement, to promote and institutionalize deliberative democracy at all levels of governance in the United States and around the world. The Consortium's key roles are to serve both as a clearing house for information on deliberative democracy and to build knowledge and visibility about the field.

The nascent movement in the US served as the impetus for starting the Consortium, but an integral part of the Consortium's mission is to build upon the rich history of international work in the field. For this reason the Consortium seeks to create a global community of practitioners and researchers to provide ongoing information sharing. Led by an 18 member Steering Committee the Consortium remains international in its leadership, membership and activities. This global focus aims to promote and institutionalize deliberative democracy at regional, national and international levels.

Founded in 1990 as an autonomous institution and non-profit organization, CESEM aims to promote citizen participation in local governance as a means of ensuring greater responsiveness and accountability from local government officials, as well as address and improve the quality of life of local communities.

CESEM works with grassroots organizations and movements in community processes aimed at promoting greater interaction between these groups and local officials. As such, over the last 20 years, CESEM has actively contributed to transforming the relationships between local authorities and citizens. Through the participation in and coordination of a number of stakeholder networks and action-research projects, CESEM has dedicated itself to influencing governmental agendas and decision-making processes, building capacity and supporting transversal actions towards deepening democracy.

Founded in 1964 by a group of national and foreign intellectuals hoping to create an institutionally independent and plural research organization, the IEP is dedicated to research, teaching and dissemination of social studies on Peru and other Latin American countries.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, the IEP´s research and consultancy work aims to promote greater recognition of the cultural richness and diversity in Peru, as well as diagnose and identify new perspectives and promote socially equitable economic development, and strengthen democratic institutions and citizen rights in the country.

The IEP dialogues with other social organizations, politicians, academics, professionals and international development and cooperation agency representatives to promote debate and learning through roundtables, seminars, forums and active participation in key media channels. As such, in the last four decades, the IEP has achieved a number of successes in the social sciences field and has contributed significantly to the discussion of fundamental issues concerning Peruvian national development and the improvement of livelihoods.

The Pólis Institute was selected to serve as the new coordinating partner of the LogoLink network and fully assumed this role in April 2007.

Founded in 1987, Pólis is a non-profit research organization specialized in citizen participation and urban governance. Pólis works closely with civil society organizations, local governments, and academic institutions in the areas of public policy and local development anchored on the principles of participation and the fight against social exclusion and poverty.

Its current areas of work include the urban environment, urban planning, the right to the city, food security and citizen participation. Polis aims to strengthen and deepen democratic practices and institutions, as well as assist in the construction of democratic, sustainable and just cities.

LogoLink was coordinated by a team based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK, from 2001-2006. Since its beginning, IDS has played an active role within the network and remains a partner with the move south of the LogoLink international coordination unit.

The Institute of Development Studies is a leading global charity for research, teaching and communications on international development. Founded in 1966, IDS enjoys an international reputation based on the quality of its work and its commitment to applying academic skills to real world challenges. Its purpose is to understand and explain the world, and to try to change it – to influence as well as to inform. As a charity, IDS receives no core funding from the British government.

The IDS vision is a world in which poverty does not exist, social justice prevails and the voices of all people are heard in national and international institutions. In all of its work, IDS aims to challenge convention and to generate fresh ideas that foster new approaches to development policy and practice. Such problem-focused thinking requires a commitment to multidisciplinarity, not just within social sciences, but across research, teaching and communications.

IDS hosts five dynamic research teams, nine popular postgraduate courses, and a family of world-class knowledge services. These three spheres are integrated in a unique combination – as a development knowledge hub, IDS is connected into and is a convener of networks throughout the world.

DENIVA is a Ugandan Network of Non-Governmental and Community Based Organisations (NGOs/CBOs) providing a platform for collective action and a voice to voluntary local associations to strongly advocate for creation of more opportunities for people and CSO participation in the development of Uganda.

DENIVA´s vision is to empower civil society in order to promote openness, tolerance and responsiveness as a basis of sustainable development. Since its inception, DENIVA’s Mission has been to be a Network of Indigenous voluntary Associations influencing poverty reduction and good governance processes and strategies through mobilizing diverse experiences, knowledge and skills of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Uganda onto a common platform of action. The overall objective of DENIVA is to influence poverty reduction policies and related decision-making processes in favour of the poor and marginalised groups like the women, children, IDPs, persons infected/affected by HIV/AIDs and persons with disabilities.

DENIVA’s primary target groups are the member organisations that form DENIVA’s constituency and therefore provide the Network with initial legitimacy. Other target groups include the District NGO Networks, other Civil Society Organisations (networks, NGO’s, CBOs at the local, regional and international levels), Government, donors and research institutions, intergovernmental and multilateral agencies.

The GGLN was founded in 2003 as an initiative to bring civil society organisations working in the field of local governance in South Africa together to network and share information and lessons towards the goal of strengthening participatory democratic local governance. Now in its second phase (2007 – 2009), the network has taken on a more active focus on positively impacting on the local governance context in South Africa through collective learning, research, information dissemination and advocacy.

The GGLN’s vision is to create a strong civil society network that harnesses and builds the collective expertise and energy of its members to contribute meaningfully to building a system of participatory and developmental local government in South Africa.

The GGLN has an associate membership category. The core members of the GGLN are South African non-profit organisations that are dedicated to promoting participatory, pro-poor local governance and development in South Africa. The Secretariat of the GGLN is hosted by Isandla Institute in Cape Town, South Africa. The Secretariat consists of a small team who co-ordinate the implementation of the GGLN programme and manage the funding for the GGLN. A Reference Group, consisting of seven individuals from member organisations of the GGLN, functions as the policy and decision-making body of the network.

ISANDLA Institute

Isandla Institute's mission is to act as a public interest think-tank with a primary focus on fostering just, equitable and democratic urban settlements. This is advanced through innovative research and advocacy interventions. The Institute's development practice dictates that it functions as an experimental 'hot house' where policy ideas about the reduction of urban inequality, poverty, racism and social exclusion are nurtured. By design, it works with multiple partners to guarantee that new ideas are disseminated, tested and remoulded so as to succeed in solving problems in the real world, while simultaneously working closely with academic institutions to ensure that its applied policy focus is rooted in robust knowledge systems.

The Isandla Institute generates knowledge-based ideas on the basis of research and an understanding of the context. Conceptually, its work revolves around 'the right to the city' and, more particularly, how poor people in South Africa can claim and enjoy that right. It also recognises the importance of the practical application of knowledge and ideas, experimentation and the development of appropriate methodologies, processes, tools and instruments, particularly for development professionals, especially those working in the public sector. On the basis of the generation of ideas and the application of knowledge/ideas, the organisation engages in two inter-connected and mutually reinforcing activities/processes. On the one hand, it engages in the facilitation of engagement between stakeholders, where it has a role as 'holding the space', where meaningful reflection, debate and engagement can happen. On the other hand, the organisation engages in advocacy and agenda setting.

Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) is an international centre for learning and promotion of participation and democratic governance. Since its inception in 1982, PRIA has embarked on a set of key initiatives focusing on participatory research, citizen-centric development, capacity building, knowledge building and policy advocacy. With a combination of training, research and consultancy, it has grounded its work with conceptual rigor and understanding of social reality to command the strategic direction of interventions. PRIA works with a diverse range of partners at the local, national and global levels.

The Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) is both a support agency and a networking organization. PRIA provides support and assistance to civil society groups, and in this context also pursues networking as a strategy for its work. In 1995, PRIA organized its Centre for Local Self-Governance, in response to the opportunities presented by the reforms introduced with the country's 73rd Constitutional Amendment. The Centre campaigned for greater popular participation in the Panchayat elections with public awareness campaigns, and now this work continues through the PRIA network of partners throughout the country. PRIA has likewise piloted initiatives in urban governance in small and medium-sized towns intended to improve the responsiveness of government services to demands from civil society groups.

CCPG is a network committed to promoting local community participatory governance in China. It is a young organization that gradually became an important platform of participatory governance in China’s urban communities. It is a platform that aims collecting information, exchanging experiences, demonstrating achievements, promoting cooperation, and capacity-building.

CCPG’s goal is to build up a team of talents to develop the participatory governance in China’s urban communities. The organization has 35 network members from 13 provinces/regions of China - members consist of local neighborhood, NGOs and Universities. All CCPG’s projects and initiatives intent to strengthen China’s community of participatory governance, raise public awareness of participation, improve participation atmosphere and explore models of participation.

IPD is non-profit research and advocacy institute. It houses a multi-disciplinary team of activist scholars who have multi-level engagements with civil society groups, reform-minded government officials and government agencies.

At its inception, in 1986, the year the Marcos dictatorship fell, IPD sought to maximize and broaden the emergent democratic space by actively promoting pluralism within the progressive movement and building coalitions for unified intervention in crucial national issues. IPD has always been an agent for democratization in the Philippines, seeking to enhance the capabilities of non-government organizations, people's organizations and progressive political formations.

In the context of shifting political and economic conditions, research assumes a paramount role in the pursuit of new intellectual and political instruments. Over the years, IPD has developed institutional specialization in political research and advocacy, pioneering innovative analyses of elite politics and initiating education work among non-governmental organizations and political organizations, focusing on the then-incipient question of local democracy. Research is the bedrock of all IPD advocacy and engagements, organized along local, national and global dimensions.