National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

Logo of the NDIFIA

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDIIA or NDI) is an organization created by the United States government by way of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to channel grants for furthering democracy in developing nations. It was founded in 1983, shortly after the U.S. Congress created the National Endowment for Democracy.^[1] Taxpayer funding is provided by the Federal Government, both directly from the United States Agency for International Development and the Department of State and indirectly through the National Endowment for Democracy. Additional funds are raised through voluntary donations from foreign governments, multilateral institutions, and private foundations. ^[2] It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Under its mission, "NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government." NDI has worked in 125 different countries and territories since it was created and its six main areas of work are citizen participation, election processes, political parties, women in politics, democracy and technology, and democratic governance.^[3]

NDI is loosely associated with the Democratic Party of the United States^[4] and maintains ties with the Liberal International, Socialist International, and the Centrist Democrat International (formerly Christian Democrats). However, NDI's programs are nonpartisan, and it works with various democratic and non-violent political parties and civic groups. As stated on its website, "NDI does not presume to impose solutions nor does it believe that one democratic system can be replicated elsewhere. Rather, NDI shares experiences and offers a range of options so that leaders can adapt those practices and institutions that may work best in their own political environment."

NDI Board of Directors & Senior Advisory Committee

The Institute regularly researches and releases reports on global democratic political developments in conjunction with think tanks, NGOs, and civic organizations. It also maintains offices in more than 70 countries in Asia, the Former Soviet Union, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Board of Directors Madeleine K. Albright, Chair person Rachelle Horowitz, Vice Chair Kenneth F. Melley, Secretary Eugene Eidenberg, Treasurer Kenneth D. Wollack, President Marc B. Nathanson, Vice Chair Douglas Ahlers Bernard W. Aronson J. Brian Atwood Harriet C. Babbitt Elizabeth Frawley Bagley Erskine Bowles Joan Baggett Calambokidis Thomas A. Daschle Barbara J. Easterling Geraldine A. Ferraro Sam Gejdenson Patrick J. Griffin Shirley Robinson Hall Harold Hongju Koh Peter Kovler Nat LaCour Robert G. Liberatore Judith McHale Constance J. Milstein Molly Raiser Nicholas Andrew Rey Susan E. Rice Nancy H. Rubin Elaine K. Shocas Bren Simon Michael R. Steed Maurice Tempelsman Arturo Valenzuela Mark R. Warner Paul G. Kirk, Jr., Chairman Emeritus Walter F. Mondale, Chairman Emeritus Charles T. Manatt, Chairman Emeritus[5]

Senior Advisory Committee William V. Alexander Michael D. Barnes John Brademas Bill Bradley Emanuel Cleaver, II Mario M. Cuomo Patricia M. Derian Christopher J. Dodd Michael S. Dukakis Martin Frost Richard N. Gardner Richard A. Gephardt John T. Joyce Peter G. Kelly Paul G. Kirk Elliott F. Kulick John Lewis Donald F. McHenry Abner J. Mikva Charles S. Robb Stephen J. Solarz Theodore C. Sorensen Esteban E. Torres Anne Wexler Andrew J. Young[5]

Notes

1. ^ Idea to Reality: NED at 25, http://www.ned.org/about/history 
2. ^ Who Supports Our Work, http://www.ndi.org/who_supports_our_work 
3. ^ About NDI, http://www.ndi.org/about_ndi?page=0,0 
4. ^ "NDI Brochure". Archived from the original on 2006-10-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20061026072531/http://www.ndi.org/about/ndibrochure03.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-30.  "NDI’s Role as a Political Party Institute NDI is proud to draw on the traditions of the U.S. Democratic Party. While the Institute's identification with the Democratic Party enhances its standing throughout the world, NDI programs are nonpartisan—-fostering universal values and supporting democratic processes rather than a particular party or ideology."
5. ^ ^{a b} "NDI Board of Directors". National Democratic Institute. October 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20080430225315/http://www.ndi.org/about/bdadv/bdadv.asp. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 

Further reading

• Bollen, Kenneth; Paxton, Pamela; Morishima, Rumi (June 2005). "Assessing international evaluations: An example from USAID’s Democracy and Governance Programs" (pdf). American Journal of Evaluation 26 (2): 189–203. doi:10.1177/1098214005275640. Evaluation performed on behalf of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), at the request of and with funding from the Strategic and Operational Research Agenda (SORA) of USAID (Office of Democracy and Governance in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance), according to the National Research Council (2008, p. 28). http://www.irss.unc.edu/odum/content/pdf/Bollen_Paxton_Morishima2005AJE.pdf. 
• National Research Council, Committee on Evaluation of USAID Democracy Assistance Programs (2008). Goldstone, Jack A. ed (html). Improving democracy assistance: Building knowledge through evaluations and research. pp. xvi+336. ISBN 0-309-11736-4, ISBN-13 978-0-309-11736-4. Individuals can download the complete report (pdf format) for private use.. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12164.html. 

See also

• International Republican Institute
• Andrea Parhamovich

External links

• National Democratic Institute
• National Democratic Institute for International Affairs