Martin Chautari began as an informal, nameless discussion group in 1991, which allowed development professionals and academics to meet every two weeks to share their insights and experiences. In 1995, this discussion group came under the management of Centre for Social Research and Development, a registered NGO (Kathmandu DAO No. 285/051/052), adopting the name Martin Chautari, after late Martin Hoftun, one of the founders of the discussion group. Managed in a cooperative style, Chautari began to hold weekly discussions, and to expand its work into research and advocacy, and other activities to enhance the quality of public discourse in Nepal. In 2002 Chautari became a non-government organization in its own right. Today, Chautari's broad goal is to encourage open and high-level dialogue on matters pertaining to the public interest of Nepali citizens. By encouraging public debate and disseminating ideas in ways that are able to influence public opinion and policy, Chautari works to create the kind of democratic space which can house an engaged and vibrant civil society. Chautari currently organizes public discussions, conducts research, launches advocacy projects, publishes books, and intervenes in the pre- and post-publication processes of book publishing in Nepal. Over the years, the organization has gained high public credibility, and has succeeded in networking with a wide community of civic-minded professionals, researchers, students and volunteers through its activities. Despite the organization's growth over the years, Chautari retains an inclusive, cooperative management style, and a voluntary ethic in its core activities. It is poised, today, to expand its work in sharpening the focus of public debate in Nepal through its research and advocacy work.