Community Organizations Development Institute

The Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI) is a Thai government agency formed in 2000 through the merging of the Urban Community Development Office (UCDO) and the Rural Development Fund. CODI is an independent public organization under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.

CODI recognizes that projects cannot be ends in themselves; they need to be part of a more comprehensive plan that is driven by the poor. Conventional development systems and processes are not designed for the conditions of the poor nor are they appropriate to the needs of the poor. There are almost always problems when the poor try to fit into these systems. What is required is that the poor determine the conditions attached to projects – thereby enabling plans and processes to be better suited to their needs and capacities. At the same time, the poor cannot resolve their problems on their own. What is needed is an open and inclusive process that engages the many other groups that are relevant to development within a process that is determined and controlled by the poor.