Mission and Values

The Mission Statement of the Commonwealth Foundation is:

  • "We work to enhance the role of civil society organisations in governance, democracy, sustainable development and culture by strengthening their institutional and human capacity, and creating opportunity and space for partnership, participation, advice and leadership, thereby achieving lasting improvements in the lives of Commonwealth people."
  • The Foundation's principal stakeholders are those who finance, shape, govern and help the Foundation in the execution of its Mission, together with the people the Foundation exists to serve. These include the Member Governments in the Board, Executive Committee and Grants Committee, Associate Members, Commonwealth civil society, its organisations and the Civil Society Advisory Committee, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Commonwealth associations and societies. 


Values

The Foundation's work is guided by the Commonwealth principles, values and priorities as enshrined in the Harare Declaration of 1991. These include democracy and good governance, respect for human rights and opportunities for all, gender equality, access to education and training, poverty reduction, environmental protection and sustainable development. 

The values of the Commonwealth Foundation are to:

  • Uphold the fundamental values of the Commonwealth;
  • Liaise closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat and converge with Commonwealth programme priorities;
  • Work in partnership with governments, intergovernmental organisations, the private sector and civil society;
  • Celebrate and seek to conserve social, cultural & environmental diversity;
  • Aim for effective delivery of programme priorities;
  • Aspire to good practice in management and organisation;
  • Value institutional learning, knowledge management and personal development.