Although this annual report covers our year from August 2019 to July 2020, before Eddy came on as director, we wanted to write it together.

So much has happened in the past year that has shaped our future.

In August 2019, our flagship Master of International Development Program welcomed 38 fellows from 21 different countries. As with previous cohorts, the diversity of their interests- from poverty to peace, from land development to youth development- reflects the unique value of the MIDP program. Here, our fellows continue to “choose their own adventures” and design course plans that allow them to turn those passions into policy. While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the spring semester and dramatically reshaped our plans for the fall, our global community persevered. Don’t take our word for it, watch the moving graduation toast from Manal El Tayar below.   

Before the pandemic, the MIDP program was commended by the Masters Review Committee at Duke for the flexibility of the curriculum that “enables students to obtain the precise training they individually need to make a difference after graduation,” and the unique value of the program’s location inside DCID, facilitating a “connection to practice [that] ultimately results in students gaining practical insights.”

Now as we look to the future, we’ll build on those core strengths to enhance our research portfolio through projects that provide evidence-based solutions for policy-makers looking to rebuild economies, governance structures, and public services that have been devastated by the pandemic.  We will do that both through our in-house expertise, but also by leveraging the enormous development talent on Duke’s campus. These cutting-edge findings will be brought directly into the MIDP classroom under the guidance of foreign aid and migration expert Sarah Bermeo, our new Director of Graduate Studies. Sarah picks up from the reins from aid and governance expert Phyllis Pomerantz, who guided the program last year and continues to champion our fellows (see her important plea for international student support published in the Hill below). 

Our executive education programs are also entering a new era. Despite postponing many of our programs due to COVID-19, we still managed an impressive global footprint for our programs: 466 people from 40 countries participated in our open enrollment and custom programs this year!  Custom programs included our second successful run of the Leaders for Democracy Fellowship program, an intensive four-week session at Duke for young civic leaders from the MENA region that we operate in partnership with World Learning. But perhaps the highlight from the Executive Education team this year was winning the contract from the U.S. Department of State to design and implement the inaugural Humphrey Fellowship in Development Economics program. The program included a week of intensive “development economics 101”  training here at Duke, followed by professional shadowing placements all over the U.S. that were arranged by our staff and faculty (and made possible by our strong alumni and partner network!).   

As with development policy and practice on the ground, unexpected circumstances can lead to innovation. We are impressed by the flexible pivot of our faculty and staff that enabled us to maintain high quality instruction remotely, and we are excited by the innovations in online learning that the DCID executive education team is exploring for the coming year.

Cory’s leadership as interim director for the past 18 months has kept DCID both stable and well-positioned to enter its next iteration under Eddy’s vision.  The solutions to tomorrow’s complex, transnational development dilemmas demand interdisciplinary teams that can combine expertise in economics, political science, engineering, public health, and the environment. We see DCID as the cornerstone for unifying research and teaching on international development on campus, placing Duke University at the forefront of efforts to rise to these new challenges. Our dedicated staff and faculty know how to do this. They bring years of expertise in answering these problems and classroom experience in translating cutting-edge research findings into actionable policy goals.  In broadening our teaching and research mission, we also seek to tap more deeply into the reservoirs of knowledge and talent of our thousands of alumni around the globe, who are on the frontlines in dealing with these new challenges.

Thank you for being part of our community and joining us in this endeavor,