The Center for Development Studies and Activities, (CDSA), is a research and post graduate teaching institution located in

Pune, India Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. Founded by the architect and urban planner

Christopher Charles Benninger Christopher Charles Benninger (born 1942) is one of India's highly decorated architects. His award-winning projects are, The Mahindra United World College of India, The Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies, The Suzlon One Earth world headquar ...

and geographer and sustainable development planner Aneeta Gokhale Benninger in 1976, the institute became known for its pioneering work in decentralised planning, micro-level planning, and

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

management. The institute has carried out policy analysis for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, various central ministries of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

, the

Royal Government of Bhutan The Government of Bhutan has been a constitutional monarchy since 18 July 2008. The King of Bhutan is the head of state. The executive power is exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, or council of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. Legislat ...

, the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

and various countries in Asia. The Institute offers a master's degree in Development Planning and Administration, a Masters of Science in Development Planning and Administration and programs leading to the Doctorate in Philosophy. The Institute is affiliated with the

University of Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

, the

Indian Council of Social Science Research The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) is the national body overseeing research in the social sciences in India. It was established in New Delhi in 1969. Council The Council is currently chaired by Bhushan Patwardhan. Current ...

, and other research organizations. The CDSA is located on a campus, designed by the founder director, which is widely published as an example of Critical Regionalism.

Institutional Overview

The Centre for Development Studies and Activities (CDSA), Pune has a record of accomplishment of 37 years of outstanding performance in the field of Sustainable Development policy and planning, which emphasize decentralized, micro level, participatory decision-making through formal and non-formal local institutional mechanisms. CDSA enables human resource development and human development by imparting state of the art education and training in the globally significant fields of sustainable development, micro and multi-level planning and development informatics. CDSA promotes action in these areas through its subsidiary institutions: Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD), The School of Development Planning (SDP) (Recognised by UGC and affiliated to the University of Pune), Barbara Ward Library and Documentation Centre (BWLDC), Wasteland Development Demonstration Project (WDDP), Executive Training Centre and Hostel (ETCH). CDSA’s clients include the National Government and State Governments of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Gujarat. The bi-lateral and multilateral agencies for which CDSA has successfully carried out projects include DFID, HIVOS, NOVIB, CEBEMO, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, FAO, ESCAP, UNCHS (HABITAT) from the UN system.

Institutional Overview

References

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