The Centre is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organisation based in Accra, Ghana. It is dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the powers of the state, and integrity in public administration. The CDD’s specific objectives include:

• The promotion of transparency, accountability and integrity in the exercise of administrative and political discretion, and in the allocation and use of public resources
• The promotion of access to information and data relating to matters of public interest, 
• The provision of support, including training to agencies of democratic governance and civil society; defend the operational autonomy and help strengthen the oversight capabilities of public and private watchdog institutions.

In pursuit of its integrity promotion and corruption control objectives, the centre has undertaken the following programmes and activities among others:

• Undertook the “Ghana Governance and Corruption survey: Evidence from Household, Pubic Officials and Business Enterprises”, April-August 2000. the study was sponsored by the world Bank following a competitive bidding process
• Conducted a nationwide survey on public perceptions of corruption in the delivery of education and health care services in Ghana.

The Centre served as the local contact for the Secretariat of Transparency International (Berlin) and coordinated activities leading to the formation of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, a national chapter for TI.