The Council is comprised of workers, business persons, social groups, individuals of recognized competence and leadership in their respective fields of activity and government representatives, that may discuss, on equal terms, the fundamental issues of Brazilian development.

The president of the Republic indicates the Council’s members for a two-year term, with the possibility of renewal, so as to include different representatives of the society. This diversity distinguishes the Council from other spaces of dialogue, and has given CDES a wider and more systemic view of national issues.

Also, the variety of its composition is the basis of the understanding, currently shared by all CDES members, that development gathers the economic, social, political and environmental issues, and should rely on the inclusion and the responsibility of the society as a whole.