Our Work
The Duke Center for International Development (DCID), a unit within Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, focuses on promoting sustainable development through its research, education and engagement with students, policy makers, practitioners, development partners, civil society and the private sector.
Preparing ChangeMakers
We support Duke's Master in International Development Policy (MIDP) program for mid-career professionals and the Certificate in International Development Policy (IDP) for full-time graduate/professional students at Duke and local universities.
In partnership with Rotary International and the University of Chapel Hill's Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs, we host Rotary Peace Fellows and co-manage the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center.
We have decades of experience designing and delivering short-term educational training addressing the challenges facing policymakers, leaders and development professionals. We also create and execute custom training programs for a variety of clients. Previous clients include the World Bank, United Nations, U.S. Department of State, Oxfam America, and senior government officials from Bangladesh, China, India and Liberia.
Strategic Research and Global Policy Advising
Our faculty and researchers often conduct our work directly in partnership with foreign governments, donor organizations, and other development stakeholders, ensuring that our findings reach those that can act on our experts’ policy recommendations. They focus on conducting cutting-edge research on pressing policy issues and regularly collaborate with international and bilateral agencies, consulting firms, foundations, universities, NGOs and national governments. Advisory projects have included a range of issues, from recommendations on dealing with corruption to responding to problems caused by climate change.
Recent publications have covered global health, economic governance, tax policy reform, domestic resource mobilization, fiscal decentralization, anticorruption policies, climate migration, regulatory compliance, the evolution of foreign aid strategies, sub-Saharan Africa’s growth prospects, and the design of conflict-sensitive development strategies.
History
Dr. William Ascher and Dr. Malcolm Gillis founded the Center for International Development Research (CIDR) in 1985 to focus on policy issues related to international development and to provide a forum for collaboration among scholars, professionals, practitioners and technical experts from around the world. The center established Duke's Master of International Development Policy program as well as executive training programs for professionals and organizations around the world.
In 2001, the CIDR was renamed the Duke Center for International Development and members of Harvard University’s Public Finance Group joined the center’s faculty, greatly strengthening our capabilities in overseas advising and executive education.
In 2002, the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center was created as one of seven Rotary Peace Center Partner Universities in the world. Managed jointly by DCID and UNC Global Affairs, the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center offers Rotary Peace Fellows a rigorous program of study and applied field experiences in areas relating to peace and conflict resolution.
Today DCID is represented around the world by an MIDP and executive education alumni base of over 6,000 individuals from more than 200 countries. Through research, teaching, advising, training and policy engagement, we are impacting sustainable development policy and practice around the world.