To steadily improve program approaches and ensure responsiveness to the needs, interests and expectations of local partners, NDI is dedicated to learning about what works when helping citizens participate in different forms of organized political action. NDI’s programs support citizen actions that can include everything from the individual act of voting to the collective act of social-movement building, and they take place across of range of political contexts. Every program conducted offers NDI an opportunity to reflect and learn about what is working using both formal and informal review processes. 

In addition to program-specific monitoring and evaluation, NDI also periodically facilitates internal conversations with staff members to explore different cross-cutting aspects of citizen participation programs. The product of these conversations is the Civic Update, which is produced three times a year. Each Update deals with a particular theme and uses program vignettes to highlight how NDI approaches work in different countries. Since 1997, NDI has produced more than 50 Civic Updates.