Vision

To increase opportunity and equity for those most in need through solutions that protect and promote well-being in every community.

Mission

To improve quality of life through applied research and technical assistance to communities by pioneering solutions that yield measurable results.

Values

We pursue our mission with entrepreneurism, creativity, and originality.

We are humble and mindful in our actions and words of the insights and counsel of diverse opinions.

We seek to learn how to tap the great potential of science and technology to improve lives around the world.

We believe that it is only in partnership with the community that experts can begin to bring the tools of modern science to bear effectively on efforts to improve the quality of life.

We demand ethical behavior of ourselves and our partners.

We make every effort to explore and examine issues with objectivity and neutrality.

We strive for excellence through continuous quality improvement.

We are accountable for the decisions we make and the work we perform.

Strategies

The cornerstone of our strategic approach is the development and application of techniques to help communities gain a better understanding of their environment and to thereby help determine how to attain their goals.

A common element in our repertoire of techniques is community learning which involves members of the community in all program phases--problem definition, program design, resource procurement, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation--with the ultimate objective of vesting in the community the skills and knowledge necessary to attack not only the problem at hand but also the unanticipated problems of the future.

We treat important human development problems and their potential solutions as systemic community issues which are usually not served well by existing institutions alone.

We help communities decipher complex development problems that from the outset are usually not framed properly nor well-understood.

We strive to design and implement engaging educational exercises and programs devoted to promoting accurate images of commitments and needs throughout the world.

We help provide access to timely and relevant information that is necessary for solutions.

We help close data gaps and improve data quality.

We help transform data into information, information to knowledge and knowledge into wisdom.

We strive to attract good people and "throw them at the problem" as contrasted to "throwing money at the problem."

We are committed to the long-haul: we pay attention to going beyond writing up a report and leaving to go on to the next problem.

We endeavor to be as flexible and timely as possible in working with existing institutions even though we start with the assumption that they are often as much "part of the problem" as "part of the solution."

We find out how to attract, aggregate and multiply resources without getting caught paying for an institutional infrastructure that does not do much if anything.

We believe it is vital to find partners that have similar inclinations and do not proceed by telling them what to do.

We help them do what they want to do, always trying to ask them challenging but supportive questions along the way.

We help diverse groups and interests discover common solutions that work.

CSF is a non-profit, public corporation with a tax exempt status of 501(c)3.