The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of Harvard Kennedy School's research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy. In 2014, the Belfer Center was ranked the world's #1 University Affiliated Think Tank by University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.

The Center has a dual mission:

(1) to provide leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the most important challenges of international security and other critical issues where science, technology, environmental policy, and international affairs intersect; and

(2) to prepare future generations of leaders for these arenas.

Building on the vision of founder Paul Doty, the Center integrates insights and research of social scientists, natural scientists, technologists, and practitioners in government, diplomacy, the military, and business. The Center pursues its mission in four complementary research programs:
 

• The International Security Program addresses the most pressing threats to U.S. national interests and international security.
• The Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program analyzes ways in which public policies influence S&T for security, energy efficiency, sustainability, and economic competitiveness.
• The Environment and Natural Resources Program is the locus of Harvard's interdisciplinary research on resource and environmental problems and policy responses.
• The Diplomacy and International Politics Program examines the future of diplomacy and conflict prevention, and also supports research and teaching on global political relations through initiatives on the Middle East, the Gulf, and South Asia.

 

The heart of the Belfer Center is its resident research community of more than 150 scholars, including Harvard faculty, researchers, practitioners, and each year a new, international group of research fellows. Through publications and policy discussions, workshops, seminars, and conferences, the Center promotes innovative solutions to significant national and international challenges.

Current Programs

Environment and Natural Resources

The Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP) is the center of the Harvard Kennedy School's research and outreach on public policy that affects global environmental quality and natural resource management.

International Security

The International Security Program (ISP) addresses the most pressing threats to U.S. national interests and international security. The program supports young scholars with its fellowship program and sponsors and edits the quarterly journal International Security, a leading peer-reviewed journal of security affairs that provides sophisticated analyses of contemporary security issues and discusses their conceptual and historical foundations. ISP also created and continues to publish a book series, the Belfer Center Studies in International Security, to provide an outlet for policy-oriented research and analysis in the field of international security.

Science, Technology, and Public Policy

The Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program (STPP) applies methods drawn from technology assessment, political science, economics, management, and law to study problems where science, technology, and policy intersect. Our goal is to develop and promote policies that expand the contribution of science and technology to human welfare.

Current Projects
 

• Agricultural Innovation in Africa
• Cyber Security Project
• Defense and Intelligence
• Energy Technology Innovation Policy
• Future of Diplomacy Project
• Geopolitics of Energy Project
• Harvard–Belfer on Syria
• Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
• India and South Asia Program
• Iran Project
• Managing the Atom
• Middle East Initiative
• Science, Technology, and Globalization
• US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism