- Our Practices for Change
- Governance
How does SDI work?
Governance
The supreme governing body of SDI is the Council of Federations, which includes all “mature” federations in the network. As of October 2016, there are 12 “mature” federations within the SDI network. They are: Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Council meets once a year and sets the agenda for the SDI Board.
The Secretariat and Management Committee of SDI are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the network, including finance and administration, global advocacy, learning, monitoring and evaluation, youth and media, and capital projects.
Academic / Research Institutions
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African Centre for Cities (ACC)
ACC is a research centre on urban development in the African continent, housed in the University of Cape Town, South Africa. ACC works with SDI to produce documents and research on the work of SDI and its affiliates.
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Association of African Planning Schools (AAPS)
AAPS is a network planning schools in universities throughout the African continent. In 2010, SDI signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AAPS to develop internships and relationships between affiliates planning schools and SDI affiliates in countries in Africa where both are active.
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Institute for Policy Alternatives (IPA)
IPA is a centre for policy study and learning based in Accra, Ghana. SDI works with IPA as one of its partners to develop a learning, monitoring and evaluation (LM&E) framework for understanding its work at both the global level and for many of SDI’s affiliate federations in East and West Africa.
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International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
IIED is a UK-based research organization with a strong emphasis on building links with Southern practitioners and academics. SDI has a long-standing partnership with the Human Settlements unit of IIED, which has often produced research on SDI-affiliated federations.
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SHARE – Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity
SHARE aims to generate the knowledge that is needed to improve sector performance and drive progress on sanitation. SHARE is a global partnership with partners in Africa, Asia and Europe.
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Society for Participatory Research In Asia (PRIA)
PRIA is a centre for learning and promotion of participatory democracy based in New Delhi, India. SDI works with PRIA as one of its partners to develop a learning, monitoring and evaluation (LM&E) framework for understanding its work at both the global level and for many of SDI’s affiliate federations in Asia.
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Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through its programs, the Institute seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work.
Funding Partners
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
We are focused on the areas of greatest need, on the ways in which we can do the most good. From poverty to health, to education, our areas of focus offer the opportunity to dramatically improve the quality of life for billions of people. So we build partnerships that bring together resources, expertise, and vision—working with the best organizations around the globe to identify issues, find answers, and drive change.
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Ford Foundation
We believe all people should have the opportunity to reach their full potential, contribute to society, and have voice in the decisions that affect them. We believe the best way to achieve these goals is to encourage initiatives by those living and working closest to where problems are located; to promote collaboration among the nonprofit, government and business sectors; and to ensure participation by men and women from diverse communities.
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Misereor
MISEREOR is the German Catholic Bishops’ Organisation for Development Cooperation. For over 50 years MISEREOR has been committed to fighting poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. MISEREOR’s support is available to any human being in need – regardless of their religion, ethnicity or gender. Changes cannot be prescribed from outside. MISEREOR therefore believes in supporting initiatives driven and owned by the poor and the disadvantaged.
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Norad
Norad – The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation – is a specialised directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)
Sida is a government agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, with the mission to reduce poverty in the world. Through our work and in cooperation with others, we contribute to implementing Sweden’s Policy for Global Development (PGU). We work in order to implement the Swedish development policy that will enable poor people to improve their lives.
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Sigrid Rausing Trust
SRT is a UK grant making foundation, founded in 1995 by Sigrid Rausing to support human rights globally. Since then, the Trust has given away approximately £208.3 million to human rights organisations all over the world.
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Skoll Foundation
Social entrepreneurs are society’s change agents, creators of innovations that disrupt the status quo and transform our world for the better. By identifying the people and programs already bringing positive change around the world, we empower them to extend their reach, deepen their impact and fundamentally improve society.
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Tides Foundation
Tides is a nonprofit organization that works at the heart of today’s most critical issues, supporting grantees and programs that are core to our country’s nonprofit infrastructure and social service delivery. We work in partnership with people whose work confronts issues like global warming, AIDS treatment and prevention, and economic disparity. Bringing together people, resources, and innovation, Tides is a convener and connector for those in our community and beyond.
International Networks
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Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR)
ACHR is SDI’s sister network of organizations of the urban poor. ACHR was formed out of a People’s Dialogue in 1987 of activists and community organizations to address the challenge of forced evictions in informal areas in Asian cities.
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United Cities and Local Government — Africa (UCLGA)
UCLGA is the African chapter of United Cities and Local Government (UCLG), the global network of city governments. In 2011, SDI signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UCLGA to pilot city-wide strategies for community-based informal settlement upgrading.
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United Cities and Local Governments
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve.
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Women in the Informal Economy: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)
WIEGO is a network of organizations of informal traders in countries throughout the Global South. As another network of informal dwellers, WIEGO and SDI work to build broader understandings of the contributions of informality to the development of cities, and create space for organizations of the poor to influence policies and practices in cities.
Multi-lateral Organizations
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Cities Alliance (CA)
Cities Alliance is a partnership of major multilateral donor agencies, Northern country donor agencies, Southern country governments, and networks of cities. CA is housed in the World Bank. As the global network of the urban poor, SDI is a member of CA and serves on its Consultative Group, equivalent to a board of directors.
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Global Land Tools Network (GLTN)
The Global Land Tools Network brings together a range of international networks and organizations to address the challenges of land tenure with regards to the inclusion of informal settlements and residents in cities. In particular, SDI works with GLTN on developing tools for community-information collection practices, such as enumeration, to form the basis of dynamic GIS technologies for understanding and managing urban development.
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UN Habitat
UN-Habitat has developed a unique position supporting urban development and the planning and building of a better urban future for next generations. This key process supports economic growth and social development, and reduces poverty and inequalities.
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UNDP
UNDP works in more than 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.
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World Urban Campaign
In April 2013, SDI officially joined the World Urban Campaign, a lobby and advocacy platform on sustainable urbanization for “Better City, Better Life,” coordinated by UN-HABITAT. The World Urban Campaign brings together partners from across sectors. It is designed to facilitate international cooperation, and acts as platform to converge organizations in order to collaborate on solutions and build consensus towards a new urban agenda for the Habitat III conference that is expected to take place in 2016.
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YCARE International
Y Care International is the international relief and development agency of the YMCA movement in the UK and Ireland. We work with YMCAs and other youth organisations around the world, to help disadvantaged and vulnerable young people enrich their lives and to build a more just world, free from poverty.
