There are various research institutes in the south that work on governance. The following are the most notable by sub-region:

Middle East

Affiliated Networks for Social Accountability (ANSA) Middle East: The ANSA networks are an attempt to build the capacity of a network, centered around a regional institution but with diverse membership, to address accountability and demand-side governance issues.

South Asia

BRAC Development Institute (BDI): This is a resource centre based in Bangladesh, as part of BRAC University. It promoting research, providing training and building knowledge to address the challenges of poverty, inequity and social injustice in the global south.

India Governance Knowledge Centre: The portal assists civil servants to seek practical and implementable solutions to the day-to-day challenges they face. It serves as a platform for collaborative knowledge exchange for the improvement of governance.

Centre for Good Governance (CGG): The centre is based in India. It undertakes action research, provides professional advice to, and conducts change management programmes for government departments and agencies to help them implement their reform agenda successfully. CGG works closely with policy-makers such as Ministers, senior officials, management experts, institutions and other stakeholders, especially citizens towards ushering in a caring government centered on the people.

East Asia

Affiliated Networks for Social Accountability (ANSA) EAP: The ANSA networks are an attempt to build the capacity of a network, centered around a regional institution but with diverse membership, to address accountability and demand-side governance issues.

Partnership for African Social and Governance Research: Currently engaged in more than 12 African countries, PASGR works to enhance research excellence in governance and public policy that contributes to the overall wellbeing of women and men.

West Africa

Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD): An independent, non-partisan and, nonprofit organization based in Accra, Ghana. The CDD-Ghana is dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the power of the state, and integrity in public administration.

East Africa

Institute for Development Studies Nairobi: IDS is part of the University of Nairobi and was established in 1965 as a multi-disciplinary research institute in Eastern and Southern Africa, particularly focusing on socio-economic development.

Rift Valley Institute: The Rift Valley Institute is a non-profit research and training organisation working with communities and institutions in the Sudans, the Horn, Eastern Africa and the Great Lakes.

Southern Africa

Centre for Social Research (CSR): The CSR at the University of Malawi has a sub-research programme in Democracy and Governance which includes research on a wide variety of supply and demand side aspects of governance.

The Centre for Social Development in Africa: The centre is part of the University of Johannesburg. It has programmes on poverty and vulnerability, gender and development, children and youth, social policy and social welfare and state, citizen, private sector relationships for development.


Kwantu Ltd: Kwantu provides software and expertise to help Government and NGOs manage programmes and track their performance.There is a wealth of information on Community Score Cards

South America

Fundación Jubileo:A foundation, based in La Paz, Bolivia, providing research on budgeting, participation and social control.

Central America

CEPAL División de Desarrollo Social: CEPAL's social development division specializes on social protection, social spending, children's rights and child protection, working with disabilities.

Faculdad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLASCO): Social research on governance, institutionality, democracy, rule of law and human rights, interculturality and inequality.