ALDA - Association des Agences de la Democratie Locale - Association of Local Democracy Agencies

ALDA – The European Association for Local Democracy, is dedicated to the promotion of good governance and citizen participation at the local level. ALDA focuses on activities facilitating cooperation between local authorities and civil society.

ALDA was established in 1999 at the initiative of the Council of Europe to coordinate and support the network of Local Democracy Agencies, which are self-sustainable, locally registered NGOs acting as promoters of good governance and local self-government. Today, ALDA is a key stakeholder in the field of local democracy, active citizenship, and cooperation between local authorities and civil society.

ALDA is a membership based organisation gathering more than 300 members (including local authorities, associations of local authorities, and civil society organisations) coming from more than 40 countries. ALDA is funded through membership fees, as well as and project funding from the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and other public and private donors.

Most of ALDA's work is based on the method of multilateral decentralized cooperation. This method involves a multi-stakeholder approach which focuses on strong partnerships between Local Authorities and non-governmental organisations. These partnerships create positive synergy and ensure that common goals are reached in a successful way.