Kebede, Wassie (PhD)Degie, Bruk2019-03-062023-11-042019-03-062023-11-042014-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/16547By tak ing the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) community development project of LG Corporation that is being implemented in Dugdedhera as a case, thi s study ex plores the role of CSR to community development. Dugdedhera is a rural village located in Kombole Kebele of the Bereh Woreda ofFinfinee Surrounding Special Zone of Oromia Regional State. It is loca ted 66 K.M north of Addi s Ababa. The study primarily employs the experiences of the beneficiaries to uncover the potential of CSR to community development. In-depth interviews, FGD and keyinformant interviews were the techniques of data coll ection that were used in th is study to find out the experiences, complaints and satisfactions of the members of the community towards the CSR community development proj ect. A total of twenty four pat1icipants were engaged in this study; fourteen for in-depth interviews, e ight for FGD participants and two key informants. The findings of the study indicate that the LG's Corporate Social Responsibility Proj ect is tuned to the rea li ties and needs of the community there by reflecting a deviation from the mainstream CSR agenda. The project is a multi-level community development proj ect comprised of different initiatives including income improvement initiatives, educational initiative and hea lth and hygiene initiative. The study further indicated that CSR initiatives can be moulded to attend to the needs and co ntex ts of the local communities of developing nations. Bes ides, the study also shows that CSR can be an important force for community development in developing nations where governments find it difficult to meet the social governa nce needs of local communities. However, the study proved that the role of the government in creating an enabling environment and that of the local gove rnments' (Wereda admi ni stration) role to follow up the implementation of the project has gene rally been ve ry low. Key Words: Corporate Social Responsibili ty, Community DevelopmentenCorporate Social Responsibili tyCommunity DevelopmentThesis