National Democratic Institute

National Democratic Institute

Abbreviation	NDI
Formation	1983
Type	non-profit NGO
Location	455 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Chairman	Madeleine K. Albright
President	Kenneth D. Wollack
Website	ndi.org

The National Democratic Institute (NDI), or National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works with partners in developing countries to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions.^[1] NDI's core program areas include citizen participation, elections, debates, democratic governance, democracy and technology, political inclusion of marginalized groups, and gender, women and democracy.^[2] The organization's stated mission is to "support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government."^[3]

NDI was founded in 1983, shortly after the United States Congress created the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).^[4] The NED's creation was followed by the establishment of three related institutes, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and the National Republican Institute for International Affairs (later renamed the International Republican Institute, IRI). The Endowment serves as the umbrella organization through which these three institutes and an expanding number of private sector groups would receive funding to carry out programs abroad.^[5]

NDI, loosely affiliated to the Democratic Party,^[6] is a "cooperating organization" with the Liberal International.

Overview

NDI works with political parties, civic groups, parliaments and other organizations and individuals in more than 70 countries. NDI works with local partners to encourage community dialogues, observe elections, increase citizen participation, and improve the responsiveness of government.^[7]

Sources of funding

NDI receives financial support from The National Endowment for Democracy,^[8] the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),^[9] the U.S. Department of State,^[10] and the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).^[11] Furthermore, NDI receives contributions from governments, foundations, multilateral institutions, corporations, organizations, and individuals. Some of these governments and multilateral institutions include the Government of Australia,^[12] Government of Denmark,^[13] and Government of Belgium.^[14]

NDI Board of Directors & Senior Advisory Committee

Awards, events, and honors

• Madeleine K. Albright Grant: Every year NDI hosts a luncheon to honor the recipient of the Madeleine K. Albright grant. The Madeleine K. Albright grant is awarded to organizations that address systemic and structural barriers to women’s advancement and presence in the public and political spheres. The grant has been awarded since 2005, and is made possible through the generosity of the Melvin and Bren Simon Foundation the Win with Women Global Initiative. The 2015 grant went to the Worker Women Social Organization of Kandahar, Afghanistan.^[17]
• Andi Parhamovich Fellowship: In 2007 NDI announced the establishment of the Andi Parhamovich Fellowship, named in honor of NDI staff member Andi Parhamovich, who was killed on January 17, 2007, when her convoy was attacked while returning from a political party training session in Baghdad. Each year, the fellowship brings to Washington, D.C., a young woman selected from NDI local staff or partner organizations who is deeply involved in building and consolidating democracy in her own country by advancing the participation of women.^[18]
• W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award: Each year NDI hosts a dinner to recognize innovators and activists in the field of democracy. At the dinner, NDI presents the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, which honors individuals and organizations that have exhibited a sustained commitment to democracy and human rights, and have demonstrated leadership, integrity and courage in their dedication to democratic values and practices.^[19]
  • Past recipients of the award have included: Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-MD Archbishop Desmond Tutu^[20] of South Africa President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ^[21] of Liberia former United States President Jimmy Carter^[22] former Czech President Václav Havel^[23] former United States President Bill Clinton^[24] Varela Project leader Oswaldo Payá of Cuba^[25] Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi^[26] U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine K. Albright^[27] Yassine Brahim Rafik Halouani Wafa Makhlouf Sayida Ounissi

Criticism

Critics charge that the term "democracy assistance" and "democracy building" are rhetorically employed to overpower nationalist and socialist resistance to US economic and cultural domination, particularly in Russia.^[28]

Success

In 30 years, the National Democratic Institute has worked in 132 countries and territories around the world and supported the efforts of 15,000 civic organizations, 850 political parties and organizations, 10,000 legislators, and 1,300 women's organizations. Furthermore, NDI has organized over 150 international election observer delegations in over 62 countries. NDI has monitored over 340 referenda and elections and trained over 3 million election observers in over 85 countries. Furthermore, they have helped partner groups organize 300 candidate debates in over 35 countries.^[29]

See also

• National Endowment for Democracy
• Center for International Private Enterprise
• International Republican Institute
• United States Institute for Peace
• Madeleine K. Albright
• Andrea Parhamovich

Notes

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). 
• National Research Council, Committee on Evaluation of USAID Democracy Assistance Programs (2008). Goldstone, Jack A, ed. Improving democracy assistance: Building knowledge through evaluations and research (dimensions 6 x 9 inches). pp. xvi+336. ISBN 978-0-309-11736-4; Individuals can download the complete report (pdf format) for private use. 

External links

• National Democratic Institute