The partnership approach of SDC is based on the vision of a pluralistic society and hence, recognizes the specific and complementary roles of the various stakeholders (government, civil society, private sector) for achieving a balanced and sustainable development. SDC cooperates with and supports governmental and non governmental partners with emphasis on scaling up promising practices and influencing policies and programmes. NGOs play a role as innovators, implementers and partners in the policy dialogue. The mix of partners in the programme will be defined by their strategic role or contribution in a particular sector. SDC aims at maintaining contact with and knowledge about the local reality. This may also imply the inclusion of partners (particularly civil society partners) such as movements, watchdog organizations, or farmers associations. SDC’s support to its partners includes capacity building of the individual partner organization and promoting linkages and interaction between relevant partners at all levels. SDC follows a rights-based approach.