Global Development Network (GDN)

Research capacity building program - ("rcbp"). This project supports quality research in many countries, involving local research teams from across the world. The multi-country studies allow for both comprehensive and comparative perspective across regions and countries. Global Development award competition previously was a standalone activity and has now been allocated under rcbp from this financial period. The Global Development awards competition is an award scheme administered by gdn, funded under the policy and human resources Development fund (phrd) trust fund managed by the world bank, and generously supported by the ministry of finance, government of japan. It has included three award categories: the japanese award on outstanding research on Development (ord), the japanese award for most innovative Development project (midp), and the japan social Development fund award (jsdf). From 2022, a connector grant (cf) category was added for close collaborations between ord and midp/jsdf winners on impact and its determinant. This makes for a great variety of activities in the competition, making it gdn's only program to involve both researchers and Development practitioners. The awards competition recognizes excellence in policy-oriented research, identifies talents, supports the career advancement of researchers in developing countries, and funds innovative social Development projects implemented by ngos and benefiting marginalized groups in the developing world. Currently, the program is funded through 2 grants (one of them at signature stage), each grant funding 3 consecutive editions of the awards. Up to 3 midp and ord awards are given out per category in each edition, and finalists from the midp award compete for the jsdf award after one year of implementation. From the 2022 editions onwards, 3 additional grants from the cf award will be granted. Accordingly, starting with the 2022 edition, 8 awards will be provided and implemented as grants over a period of minimum 3 years after each competition. 7 grants are currently open: 3 ord projects: 1st from the 2020 edition, 1st and 2nd prizes from the 2021 edition, 4 midp projects from the 2021 edition (the 2019 and 2020 editions of the midp had been postponed and 3 parallel competitions took place in 2021 in agreement with the world bank. 3 jsdf projects were recently selected and will be issued over november 2023. 5 grants pending to be issued as soon as the contract with the wb is signed:3 ord projects: all prizes from the 2022 edition2 midp projects from the 2022 edition: one of the 1st prize winners, 2nd prize winner. Midp 1st prize midp awardees will compete after 12 months of implementation for the jsdf award.- the fp&d program signed an agreement with giz's good financial governance program and the policy for sustainable Development to develop and enhance giz's equity budget tool (ebt). The baseline ebt, which was developed by giz in between 2017 and 2019, generates impressions of when and how equity principles of equity are taken into account during budget formulation and execution of expenditures. The enhanced ebt or ebt+ will also include (1) results from ceq assessments or other fiscal incidence analysis tools and (2) diagnosis and qualitative conclusions regarding if and how equity concerns are taken into account during the formulation and debate over revenue policies. The ebt+, which was produced in january 2023, will linked the primarily quantitative analysis from ceq assessments with the process-based analysis in the ebt to provide a more holistic picture of the entire budget cycle, from policy debate and formulation through to budget execution and social impact. The ebt+ approach to policy analysis is currently being piloted in ghana, guatemala, and namibia. Trainings were implemented in guatemala and namibia in november and december 2023. The project closed in march 2023.

The gdn Global Development conference is a prestigious annual event held in different regions with a different theme each year. It serves as a platform for high-level, inclusive, evidence-based debates on current Development challenges and priorities. What sets it apart is that it's the only international Development conference where the majority of participants are from developing countries. This unique feature provides promising researchers from developing countries with the opportunity to showcase their work, exchange ideas with renowned academics and policymakers, and establish Global networks, thereby enhancing their professional visibility and capacity. The conference offers fresh southern perspectives on sustainable Development issues, typically discussed in developed countries, and promotes cooperation and Development effectiveness. The 2022 Global Development conference on tax policy for sustainable Development was successfully hosted in clermont ferrand from november 2-4, 2022. The event was jointly organized by the Global Development Network (gdn), the center for studies and research on international Development (cerdi), the foundation for studies and research on international Development (ferdi), and the university of clermont-auvergne. The conference adopted a hybrid format, with 280 in-person participants and 322 online attendees, representing a total of 79 countries, with the majority hailing from developing countries. This hybrid approach expanded the reach of the conference, allowing the participation of researchers, policymakers, Development funders, and private sector representatives who might not have otherwise attended. The conference was bilingual, and conducted in both english and french.in terms of thematic focus, the conference encompassed a wide array of topics, ranging from the overarching connections between taxation and sustainable Development to environmental taxation, the impact of tax systems and reforms on inclusivity and inequality in developing nations, the progressivity of various tax types, and broader discussions on future research agendas and local evidence ecosystems. Despite efforts to achieve gender balance, the conference saw a 35% female participation rate. Thanks to the flexibility of the bilingual format in english and french, a significant number of attendees from francophone africa were attracted to the conference.