SDDirect strives to be guided by our vision, mission and core values in everything we do.
Values
Social justice
We put gender equality and social inclusion at the heart of everything we do. We strive for a more just, inclusive and sustainable world where everyone can realise their human rights and participate fully in social, economic and political life. Our values and work is in line with the principles of feminism and racial justice.
Empowering people
Diversity is a source of strength. We are committed to advancing inclusion, diversity and racial justice, both inside and outside our organisation. We foster a work culture that supports well-being and enables people to maximise their potential.
Partnership
Partnership based on mutual respect and shared purpose is central to our mission. Together with allies working for gender equality and social inclusion around the world, we aim to build more equitable partnerships that challenge global power imbalances and inequality.
Professional excellence
Our commitment to impact in social development is underpinned by the expertise and professionalism of our team. We promote continuous learning and improvement to provide best in class advice, management and innovation in all of our professional engagements.
Trust and integrity
Relationships of trust are fundamental to the way we work. We build trust by nurturing a culture of openness, inclusive dialogue, respect and accountability. We hold ourselves and partners to the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct, non-discrimination and safeguarding.
Passion and courage
We are passionate about social justice and courageous in our commitment to gender equality and social inclusion, even when this requires us to ask hard questions or face challenging situations. However difficult the context, we approach our work with enthusiasm and resilience.
Vision
Achieving a just and equal world founded on gender equality and social inclusion.
Mission
To achieve sustainable impact in gender equality and social inclusion by working with partners to advance policies, laws, social norms and institutions that work for everyone.
We do this by:
Partnering with civil society, the private sector, multilateral institutions and governments.
Providing long-term technical advice to donors and implementing agencies.
Running demand-led technical helpdesks for policymakers and practitioners.
Designing and delivering research, reviews, monitoring and evaluations.
Designing, leading and directly delivering programmes which create a lasting, positive impact in the societies and communities we work with and for.
Our Partnership Principles
A locally led approach to development is more effective, ethical and sustainable. High quality partnerships founded on shared values enable us to create long-lasting impact.
Our five core partnership objectives are:
Equity and inclusion
Valuing all of our partners and their contributions and making all voices count.
Accountability and transparency
Building trust, fostering open and inclusive dialogue, honesty, joint problem solving, and a culture of safeguarding and accountability to community stakeholders.
Shared vision, values and purpose
Investing upfront in building a clear joint purpose and forging partnerships that are more than the sum of their parts.
Effective communications and joint learning
Learning from setbacks as well as successes and sharing knowledge both within and beyond the partnership to support wider scale change.
Capacity development and sustainability
Dedicating time and resources for partnership skills development and building capacity for collaborative leadership and governance.