Established in March 2009 the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) was created to combine the best elements of three high-level policy forums which had been previously established (in the 1990s) to promote dialogue on Africa’s development. The three forums were the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) which brought together African policy makers and their partners to deepen dialogue and build consensus on Africa’s priority development issues; The Big Table which was an initiative designed by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to promote frank, constructive dialogue between African finance ministers and their Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) counterparts; and The African Development Forum, a flagship biennial multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa’s development. In the same vein, CoDA was established in Addis Ababa (2009) as an independent and international but African-owned forum which identifies and discusses issues of importance to Africa’s development within a global context. It is a think tank that advocates for the continent, brings together a range of stakeholders to promote dialogue and provides a platform for African voices to be heard. It is policy-oriented, and works in collaboration with other African and international organizations addressing issues of Africa’s security, peace, governance and development. CoDA operates as a special initiative of the following Pan-African institutions: the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Import-Export Bank (AFREXIMBANK) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Following its establishment, it was agreed that the organization should place particular emphasis on promoting dialogue and debate that would bring together the ideas of diverse groups of individuals. CoDA therefore provides a platform for the ongoing engagement in rigorous and candid dialogue on crucial, and at times controversial, questions of vital interest to the future of the continent. It also sets a premium on convening informal and inclusive dialogue on niche issues between diverse and influential groups of stakeholders (including government leaders, policy makers, civil society, the private sector and media) and advocating their recommendations effectively to influence policy. Additionally, the initiative seeks to play the role of a think-tank and change agent, which takes a proactive stand, and helps define new perspectives, on a wide range of issues, including the most sensitive and controversial. In addition to this, the institution aims to build strong partnerships and synergies with leading African research institutions with the objective of grounding its work on solid scientific findings. It aims to place particular attention on bridging the gap between the research and policy making communities in Africa.