[1][2] The OAD is jointly funded by the International Astronomical Union and the National Research Foundation of South Africa.

[3] The office consists of eleven regional offices located in Armenia, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Nigeria, Portugal, Thailand, the Netherlands, United States, and Zambia which have similar objectives to the OAD but with regional focus.

The mission of the OAD is to help further the use of astronomy as a tool for development by mobilizing the human and financial resources necessary in order to realize the field's scientific, technological and cultural benefits to society.

The OAD was established on the 16th of April 2011 at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town.

[6][7] In 2016, the IAU together with the OAD director Kevin Govender was awarded the Edinburgh Medal for "furthering education and technological capacity worldwide through the inspirational science of astronomy".