This study is the beginning of a longer-term process to build a systematic and evidence-based understanding of the collective contribution and impact of accredited organisations. The study is also intended to draw attention to the potential of accredited organisations to play an even bigger part in supporting Commonwealth countries and empowering Commonwealth people in the future
to overcome a growing and complex range of socioeconomic and environmental risks.
The contribution that Commonwealth-accredited organisations make in advancing the values and principles in the Commonwealth Charter is a key pillar of the Commonwealth system. To better understand and recognise the contribution accredited organisations make, and the value they add in addressing the shared concerns that bind the Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Innovation and Partnerships team commissioned this first-of-its-kind independent study to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter, which serves as the anchor and guide for all accredited organisations.
For the purposes of this report, accredited organisations are grouped according to each of the Commonwealth Charter’s 16 clauses. All the organisations were reviewed and assigned to one of the Commonwealth Charter’s clauses. It is acknowledged that the organisations group and regroup themselves without reference to the Charter. This may, for example, be for the purposes of making submissions to a Commonwealth ministerial meeting and is a dynamic process.
