The National Development Agency (NDA) is repositioning and reorganising itself to adapt to the required socioeconomical and political changes to fully service the nation’s disadvantaged communities in the civil society sector. From its inception, the NDA has approached its mandate from a civil society grant-making perspective, which at the time was relevant and brought hope for civil society organisations. The strategic shift the NDA has adopted for the planning period primarily focuses on civil society organisations in the most deprived and prioritised districts in South Africa, and its main contribution will be building capacities of these organisations.

The NDA is also aware that globally, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will also set the development agenda in South Africa, prompting the NDA to play a meaningful role in achieving the SDGs. It is very clear that the South African community development sector will not achieve its full potential without a viable and capacitated civil society sector.<