The Centre has active collaborative links with the following Institutions:

APADEP

The African Workers’ Participation Development Programme (APADEP) is a programme of collaboration between trade unions and universities in some African Countries, designed to enhance worker participation in decision-making at the workplace and beyond.

APADEP was initiated in 1981 in a partnership of cooperation involving the Organization of Africans Trade Union (OATU). The Confederation of Netherlands Trade Unions (FNV) and the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. It presently operates as an interlocking set of activities in the area of education and training, research, publications, campaigning and institutional development.

The Dutch Confederation of Trades Unions (FNV) remains the main external source of funding for the activities of APADEP, with national programmes also providing some amount of counterpart funding. APADEP Ghana is a collaboration between the University of Cape Coast and the Trade Union Congress (Ghana) which began in 1994. The Centre for Development Studies (CDS) is the University partner department at the UCC executing the APADEP-Ghana National Programme. The CDS has since 2002 functioned as the International Support and Co-ordination Centre of APADEP. The International Support Center (ISC) at CDS is managed by a team of co-ordinators; a general co-ordinator, a research co-ordinator and an education co-ordinator. They are supported by a bi-lingual administrator.

APADEP-Ghana at CDS is utilizing the rich experience built over the year within APADEP and others in Africa to inform the higher level international educational activity known as the Executive Labour Policy Studies (LPS) Programme which confers a Post-Graduate Certificate Labour Policy Studies).

APADEP today is a joint effort of national projects with an international support and coordination facility. It seeks to broaden its international trade union contacts to various African and International trade union organizations.

NPT

Netherlands Universities Foundation

For International Co-Operation

The NPT is a government of Netherlands project for institutional strengthening of post-secondary education and training.

Under this project the Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Co-operation in the Hague (NUFFIC) is funding the Centre for Development Studies of the University of Cape Coast to design and implement an MA Sandwich Programme in

The project involves three universities and institutions namely the University of Cape Coast, Centre for Development Studies, the University of Maastricht, International Centre for Integrative Studies and Vrije University, Amsterdam.

CTION-AID GHANA

In addition to government efforts at ensuring local level development, several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) have also been assisting the districts through various capacities building programmes as well as support social and economic improvements.

Action-Aid Ghana (AAG) is one such NGO which has been active in Northern Ghana, including the Brong Ahafo Region in supporting some District Assemblies (DA’s) to provide various services to the population.

The CDS is working with Action-Aid Ghana to evaluate the capacity of the DA’s, in AAG operational areas, to deliver development within the context of national polices and laws on spatial development. CDS recently completed a study in local governance performance in five districts where AAG operates.

Its report to AAG - Local Governance Performance: Case studies of Five Districts of Ghana, has been widely disseminated in workshops and other fora.

CIKOD

The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD) is a Non-Governmental Organization based in Accra, Ghana. Its main focus is mainstreaming culture and indigenous knowledge in development planning for community development.

Traditional institutions such as chieftaincy, Asafo Companies, extended family system etc. have endured the test of time by providing prescriptive norms to sanction deviancy or validate current behaviour.

Thus any programme of activity that supports community initiatives that originate from such institutions and organizations should pave the way towards sustainable development.

The Centre for Development Studies, (CDS) is collaborating with CIKOD to research possibilities for institutional growth based on observed spheres of influence and to map indigenous institutions in Southern Ghana. Two reports have been published in the CDS Occasional Paper Series.

THE COMMUNITY WATER AND SANITATION AGENCY(CWSA)

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) is the Ghana Government Agency that provides small towns in Ghana with potable water.

The small town water and sanitation systems management training programme is a collaboration between CDS, the CWSA on one hand and the Department of Business Studies of the University of Cape Coast ant he Department of Civil Engineering, KNUST, to train 1000 staff of small towns water boards that had benefited from CWSA projects in operations and maintenance (technical and business aspects) of water systems.

ILO DECENT WORK PROJECT

The ILO defines decent work as productive work in which rights are protected and which generates an adequate income with adequate social protection.

The ILO Decent Work Project in Ghana uses this underlying concept to inform interventions in the characteristics of medium and small scale enterprises and work environment of employees in this sector at the Ajumako and Awutu Efutu Senya Districts using the Ahanta West is used as a Control district.