Founded in late 1989, the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) is a European public policy institute dedicated to the values of democracy and market economy. CSD is a non-partisan, independent organization fostering the reform process through impact on policy and civil society. CSD objectives are: • to provide an enhanced institutional and policy capacity for a successful European integration process; • to promote institutional reform and the practical implementation of democratic values in legal and economic practice; • to monitor public attitudes and serve as a watchdog of the institutional reform process in the country; • to strengthen the institutional and management capacity of NGOs in Bulgaria. Building bridges is the old-fashioned way of bringing together social actors and cementing new alliances. Born as a think-tank, the Center for the Study of Democracy has evolved into policy development through dialogue and partnership. Bringing cutting-edge solutions to transition problems is our way of keeping the middle ground between academia and social practice. The CSD has pioneered in several areas traditionally perceived as the inviolable public property, such as anti-corruption institutional reform, and national security. Our belief is that bringing a new culture of cooperation and trust in a milieu of inherited fragmentation and opacity is equally rewarding as the achievement of concrete social goals.