“[The Summit] represents a major leap forward in the development of partnerships, with the UN, governments, business and civil society coming together to increase the pool of resources to tackle global problems on a global scale. The true test of what the Summit achieves, [will be] the actions that are taken afterward” UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

CASDP derives its mandate from the political declarations extending from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, September 2002). In particular, partnership initiatives emerged as a key implementation mechanism for achieving a broad range of sustainable development objectives. Moreover, the closely interconnected Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations Millennium Summit (New York, September, 2000), present both challenges and opportunities for partnerships to contribute to sustainable development.

CASDP recognises the formidable challenge WSSD placed on partnerships. The Centre’s mission is to ensure that partnerships are capable of meeting this challenge. In particular, the Centre will concentrate on five support areas necessary for partnerships to contribute effectively to sustainable development: information, capacity building, financing, awareness and achievement.