The Human Capital Initiative Announces the Winners of the 2026 Collaborative Grant Award

The Human Capital Initiative (HCI) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2026 Collaborative Grant award to advance innovative, policy-oriented research and support faculty-led projects that bridge evidence and policy to improve human capital outcomes globally.

The HCI Collaborative Grant engages core faculty members and affiliates within Boston University to provide up to 12-months of funding to catalyze collaborative research that advances the goals of the initiative. Funded projects are aligned with the Global Development Policy Center’s goal of the initiative: to foster evidence-based insights on the impact of human capital on development to inform policy and provide actionable solutions to address global challenges including poverty, women’s well-being, and sustainable economic growth.

For the 2026 cycle, three awardees have been chosen to receive up to $15,000 for collaborative projects or $5,000 for independent studies, to engage with policy makers and the public through their research. In addition to funding their research, the GDP Center will provide dedicated outreach and dissemination support to promote their work by enhancing visibility of their projects and support publication production.

2026 Winners

Collaborative Projects:

Lindsey M. Locks and Meredith Brooks – “Integrating Nutrition into Pediatric Tuberculosis Prevention in Ghana: A Policy-Oriented Implementation Readiness Assessment”

The Human Capital Initiative will provide $15,000 to Professors Lindsey M. Locks and Meredith Brooks for a six-month project. Their research will conduct a policy-oriented implementation readiness assessment to evaluate the possibility of integrating nutrition support into the existing pediatric tuberculosis (TB) prevention system in Ghana. The assessment will combine a document review, stakeholder and process mapping, and involve in-country engagement with national, regional and frontline actors across Ghana’s tuberculosis and nutrition systems.

While undernutrition is the major contributor for pediatric TB morbidity and mortality (recognized by World Health Organization as an essential component for TB care), practical strategies for integrating nutrition interventions into routine TB programs remain limited. Dr. Brooks and Dr. Locks’s research addresses the policy practice gap between global policy recommendation and real-world health system capacity in TB control program. This research will evaluate the readiness of Ghana’s pediatric TB preventive treatment (TPT) platform in Ghana platform in Ghana to support the delivery of small quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) to young children at increased risk of TB.

The project brings together faculty from across Boston University in collaboration with long-standing partners in Ghana, including researchers and leaders within the National Tuberculosis Control Program and the Ghana Health Service. Findings will be shared with government stakeholders and development partners through targeted dissemination and policy engagement activities supported by the GDP Center.

Independent Research Projects:

Rachel Nolan – “History of Deportation”

Professor Rachel Nolan will receive $5,000 for her independent project examining the history of deportations from the United States to Latin America. With this funding, she will travel to Mexico City to conduct archival and field research on a 1954 deportation campaign when many Mexican nationals were deported, often under harsh conditions, after most had been living and working in the US for years. The project traces post-deportation trajectories focused on some who stayed in Veracruz, forming a returnee community, while others tried to return to the U.S or settled in different parts of Mexico.

During her trip, Professor Nolan plans to meet with policymakers and organizations working with deported populations and give talks to share insights from her previous work. This project will connect historical experiences of deportation to contemporary policy debates about migration, reintegration, and human capital development.

Martin Fiszbein – “Human Capital and the Challenges of democracy: The roles of Education and Civic Norms”

Professor Martin Fiszbein is receiving an award of $5,000 for a six-month research project to examine the role of education and civic norms in shaping democratic resilience. The project is designed to engage a broad range of audiences, including academic researchers, policymakers and practitioners working at the intersection of education, governance and development.

Drawing on large-scale, cross-national survey data, the research investigates how education and civic norms condition political responses to shocks and economic dissatisfaction. Existing evidence suggests that, despite underperformances from the populist authoritarian regimes, many citizens still hold distorted beliefs regarding the performance of different political regimes, due to the expansion of new communication channels leading to the spread of misinformation.

By analyzing education and civic norms as determinants of democratic resilience, the project frames political stability and institutional quality as outcomes of human capital accumulation, rather than as purely political phenomena. Understanding whether investments in education and civic norms reduce vulnerability to authoritarian appeals is therefore central to designing effective development strategies. The primary academic audience consists of researchers in development economics and political economy, while the long-term goal is to develop this research into an academic paper for submission to leading economics journals.

The Human Capital Initiative (HCI) advances interdisciplinary research on the role of human capital in human development to inform policy solutions to global challenges including poverty, women’s empowerment and sustainable economic growth through investments in education and health.