Global Development Network (GDN)

The Global Development Network (GDN) is an independent International Organization that allies researchers and institutes in development globally. GDN supports researchers in developing and transition countries to generate and share applied social science research to advance social and economic development. GDN’s core business is building research capacity. Its aspiration is to achieve a critical mass of researchers who are globally interconnected and produce good research to impact public policy.   CORE ACTIVITIES GDN sponsors core activities, which together serve the goals of building research excellence, promoting networking, expanding outreach and shaping global policy debates in developing and transition countries. To promote homegrown expertise in development research, we help researchers from the developing and transition countries to: generate high-quality, policy-relevant research build research excellence and policy outreach capacity to improve the quality and expand the policy influence of their work on a national and international level promote greater linkages with the policy process to foster effective, evidence-based policy-making.   GDN's core activities include:   Global Research Projects Global Research Projects seek to explain different elements of development through a comprehensive and comparative approach, harnessing the global nature of the network to conduct studies in many countries simultaneously. They balance GDN's twin goals of generating high-quality research and building research capacity with its developing country partners. The projects involve case studies in different countries on a common theme. Building understanding at the country-level and comparing across countries allows impacts to be tracked and outcomes anticipated to provide a sound basis for policy intervention. Global Research Projects also encourage networking among researchers from different countries. Key to this effort is the facilitation of high-quality work by local authors in partnership with each other and with development specialists from around the world. Through such networking and capacity building, GDN hopes to facilitate the creation of local knowledge of a global calibre, which is essential for development.   Awards and Medals The Global Development Awards and Medals Competition, launched in 2000, is a unique competition for promoting research on development. With the support of the Government of Japan, this competition seeks to unearth new talent and support innovative ideas on development . Nearly 7,000 researchers representing more than 100 countries throughout the developing and transition world have participated in this competition to date. Nearly US $ 2.2 million has been distributed in prizes and travel to finalists and winners. In 2010 alone, the competition received 499 applications. In the past GDN has supported multi-disciplinary research on a range of issues including global health concerns and domestic responses; pro-poor market reform; changes in global trade; industrial development and long-term growth; governance and development, reforms, interest groups and civil society; conflict, human security and migration; and the role of institutions for development in the context of globalization.   Regional Research Competitions The regional research competitions (RRCs) promote high quality research in developing and transition countries by funding well-conceived, policy relevant research projects. These efforts help discover new talent and increase research capacity in the regions. A unique feature of RRCs is that competition—selection of the brightest—is complemented by cooperation—nurturing talents and helping them thrive. In addition to providing development and research grants, RRCs involve mentoring of grantees by experts, special training programs, “quality assurance” mechanisms to improve research results, and projects to bridge research and policy.\   GDNet GDNet is a knowledge hub that brings together and communicates policy-relevant research from the Global South. It aims to be an internationally recognized focal point/ knowledge broker for development research to inform policy debate. GDNet is a partnership with regional networks and leading experts in the field. GDNet provides access to on-line journals and data, synthesizes and communicates Southern research, and strengthens research communications capacity.