Fakihra Najib of the Power 99 Foundation, Pakistan receives first prize for the Most Innovative Development Project in 2016. Image by Barriopixel/GDN.
Since 2001, the Global Development Network has been awarding researchers and development practitioners for exemplary research and development projects in developing countries around the world, with the support of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Japan, through and with implementation support from the World Bank. The awards have enabled young researchers and development practitioners to carry on their missions with zeal.
The awards are made through an annual competitive grants program. Three awards - for Outstanding Research on Development (ORD) and the Most Innovative Development Project (MIDP), as well as the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) award for which MIDP winners are eligible to apply, continue to attract attention from early career professionals and the development community to this day. In earlier years the program also awarded medals, funded by a pool of donors, which have been discontinued since 2015.
The awards are GDN's largest and longest-running program. Since its inception, it has supported more than 340 individuals, research organizations and NGOs with roughly US$ 3.8 million in award money, placing it as one of the most important global competitions targeting development and research. The awards, and the training provided to the winners, brought international visibility to the recipients, and have evinced impact on the betterment of vulnerable communities, on policy design and implementation as well as on the careers and professional recognition of researchers.
Impact Stories
- KENYA | Applying Modern Farming Techniques to Improve Livelihoods in Rural Kenya
- PERU | Analyzing the Effects of Social Interactions between Economically Disadvantaged and Wealthy Students at a Peruvian University
- INDIA | Self-Governance: the Backbone of Sustainable Development
- KENYA | Kickstarting a Research Career in Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment
- KYRGYZSTAN | Greenhouse Entrepreneurs Improve Income and Nutrition
- MACEDONIA | Closing the Gender Wage Gap
- NEPAL | The Business Case for Biodiversity Conservation
- PERU | Changing Dimensions of Poverty
- THE PHILIPPINES | Strengthening the Case for Local Investment of Overseas Remittances
- TUNISIA | Leveraging Trade Liberalization as a Means of Poverty Reduction
- UGANDA | Improving Nature Conservation Through Public Health
Evaluations and Reports
- GDN Impact Study: An Evaluation of Award Winners from 2015 - 2018 | Evaluation by Aidenvironment (August 2022)
- Global Development Awards Competition | Evaluation by Aidenvironment (June 2018)
- GDNext | A network of Laureates (March 2018)
- Ten years of the Global Development Awards (2000-2010)
Connect to GDN's Awards programs, including the Global Development Awards Competition
Please send your feedback and requests for further information to awards@gdn.int