The development community benefits from the sharing of knowledge and expertise about governance. Governance Village provides a place for this exchange and unites those working for the common purpose of social development and poverty reduction. Governance Village is a central, easily accessible, web-based location that is rich in content and supported by a comprehensive set of tools to encourage knowledge sharing to design and implement more effective programs. This network is open to government agencies, non-governmental, academic and private sector organizations, and individuals - north and south.

Why Governance Village?

The goal of this network is to become the leading source for:

1. Canadian knowledge of governance practices
2. Evidence-based improvements to Canadian policymaking
3. Cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing at all levels of the governance and development experience

Through this network, members have an opportunity to influence Canadian decision-makers; collaborate with peers on new ideas; network with individuals and organizations; raise professional profiles, knowledge and experiences; access a central knowledge base; and raise the awareness of Canadian and global knowledge of governance practices.

Global Problems Need Global Solutions

In the fall of 2006, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) invited the Office for Democratic Governance (ODG), a branch of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to collaborate in the development of an interactive network. This network would address the knowledge sharing and collaboration needs of the ODG and Canadians working in governance and international development.

Governance Village is the fruit of this proposal—a centralized, global network which connects Canada’s brightest minds studying, working and advising on development issues.

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