The Centre for Development (CfD) is a non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit making, socio-economic development organization. Its mission is to use participatory processes to help communities achieve improved living conditions through increased and ameliorated access to public, private and local services. CfD specializes in facilitating the formation of social interest groups, strengthening communications between stakeholders, promoting local decision-making processes, and organizational development especially in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector. It does this by supporting existing groups and also establishing new groups such as Provincial Association of Commune/Sangkat, commune councils, community-based organizations and town-based water sanitation and hygiene committees, through information dissemination and awareness-raising, capacity-building, networking and advocacy, and provision of basic services to poor and vulnerable people with a strong focus on women and children as end beneficiaries. CfD’s philosophy is to work for good governance, sustainable development and poverty reduction by complementing official policy, regulation, strategy and the development plan of the Royal Government of Cambodia. CfD is recognized by the Royal Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior. Authorisation to operate was granted on February 7, 2003.
CfD has received financial supports from World Bank/JSDF, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), WB/SGP, WB IDA, EC-UNDP/NLCS (National League of Commune Sangkat), United Nations Human Settlements Program-UN HABITAT, USAID/PACT-LAAR (Local Administration and Reform Program), USAID/ECO-ASIA (Ecological Cooperation in Asia), BORDA-School-Based Sanitation; it has operated over 16 provinces/municipality. The annual expense is averagely US$350,000.00—
CfD currently has 34 programmatic staffs in the field and 4 administrative staffs and 4 office support staffs in Phnom Penh. Its activities are overseen by a 3-member of the Board of Trustees, all of whom are Cambodian nationals who have long-standing experiences in civil society activities in Cambodia and abroad.

CfD synergizes the efforts from government, NGOs, the private sector and the community in order to make more of an impact in the target area.
CfD provides direct training and capacity building to an intermediary group, usually a WSC (Water and Sanitation Committee), who then onward this information to the beneficiaries. Thus the WSC acts as a bridge between CfD and the beneficiaries. This is because this approach is more sustainable since the WSC can exist even after the project has finished its support. Also the community trusts them rather than CfD staff who are deemed as ‘outsiders’ and also it is cost effective as the WSCs operate on a voluntary basis. CfD deploy its social staff who have sanitation experiences to be based in the target areas to support the WSC in its day-by-day works.