Global Development Policy Center – Annual Report 2019

The Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center is a university-wide research center in partnership with the Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies and the Office of Research at Boston University.

In its second year of operation, the GDP Center is proud to present the 2019 Annual Report. The report provides an overview of the mission and strategic plan of the GDP Center, while also reviewing the work and impact of our four research initiatives. Additionally, the report details the experiential learning and student research opportunities conducted at the Center, along with an overview of our global communications, policy engagement and finances.

The GDP Center is unique among development-oriented centers across other academic institutions in two important ways. First and foremost, the GDP Center recognizes the complexity of the development process and thus pursues an interdisciplinary approach to global development policy. To that end, the GDP Center has assembled a faculty steering committee from the schools of law, engineering, business, public health, earth and environmental studies, economics and global studies at Boston University to inform our work.

Second, the GDP Center puts a premium on global engagement—generating concrete policy lessons from rigorous research and advancing such lessons into the global discourse. To meet this ambition, the GDP Center works not just to release expedient research, but to make sure it translates into real policy impact. 

In sum, the GDP Center strives to not only be a university-based think tank, but also an action tank.