The Africa Civil Society and Governance Assessments Forum (Dakar, Senegal, 10-12 November 2011), organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with TrustAfrica, CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation), Africa Governance Institute and CONGAD (Conseil des ONGs d’appui au développement), brought together 150 development practitioners, academics, foundations, donor institutions, private sector and civil society representatives and UNDP staff from over 35 countries to engage in policy dialogue and collaborative initiatives.

This publication contains the key messages from the three-day forum, grouped around the three main themes:

• African governance assessments in which civil society is involved in partnership with government
• The involvement of civil society in Africa in assessing the civil society sector
• Assessments initiated by civil society independently from government, with a particular focus on initiatives which make use of information and communication technologies