Center for International Development at Harvard University (CID)

Kennedy School's Center for International Development to Receive Fund for Sustainable Development - Fund will Support Research, Teaching and Fellowships

CID to receive Fund for Sustainable Development - signing by CID Director Ricardo Hausmann, Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood, Italian Ministry General Director Corrado Clini, and Harvard University's Denise Gorayeb
L to R: CID Director Ricardo Hausmann, Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood, Italian Ministry General Director Corrado Clini, and Harvard University's Denise Gorayeb (Photo by Martha Stewart)

9 March 2006 – In an effort to address one of the world's most pressing public problems – sustainable development – Harvard's Center for International Development (CID) and the Ministry for the Environment and Territory of the Italian Republic will work together to create The Fund for Sustainable Development at the Kennedy School of Government.

The fund will support training and research programs on sustainable development and natural resource management with an international orientation and a vision toward achieving shared prosperity and reducing poverty while protecting the environment.

"The Fund for Sustainable Development will help generate solid solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems," said Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood. "We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory in this worthwhile endeavor."

The fund will be managed by the Director of CID, who will also chair an Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives from Harvard and from the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory.

"Harvard University and the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory will work together in designing and testing innovative ways to address sustainable development in developing as well developed countries," said Italian Ministry General Director Corrado Clini.

More specifically, the fund will support efforts in the following areas:

Research to foster problem-driven scholarship on the broad topic of sustainable development. Results will be disseminated widely through books, journal publications, conferences and dialogues with the policy community;
Teaching, including the preparation of course materials on the topic of sustainable development for use at the Kennedy School and for dissemination internationally through the Kennedy School's Case Program, and the promotion of efforts to place practitioners and students in appropriate executive education programs and research opportunities; and
Fellowships that will enable senior leaders to spend time as Visiting Fellows at CID, and the creation of an international competition to bring younger professionals to CID to help strengthen the international network capacity in the field of sustainable development.

"The fact that the Government of Italy and Harvard join forces to fight poverty in developing countries and protect the earth shows the emergence of a global consciousness to address global challenges," said Ricardo Hausmann, Director of the Center for International Development and professor of the practice of economic development at the Kennedy School.

William Clark, Harvey Brooks professor of international science, public policy and human development at the Kennedy School added: "The Fund for Sustainable Development will significantly enhance Harvard's capacity to promote policy-driven, collaborative research on core challenges of sustainable development, ranging from food, water and health security to clean energy and the conservation of natural ecosystems and the services they provide to society."

Harvard's Center for International Development (CID) was established in 1998 and serves as Harvard's primary center for research on sustainable international development. CID is a university-wide research center, dedicated to bridging the gaps between disciplines, pulling together Harvard's top minds as they, in collaboration with colleagues throughout the world, push forward the science of explaining the sources of and remedies for entrenched global poverty and the political and environmental circumstances that surround it.

Journalists: Visit this web site to download photos of the 8 March 2006 signing of the agreement to create the Fund for Sustainable Development: http://www.marthapix.com/harvard.

Contact: Molly Lanzarotta, Kennedy School Communications, 617-495-1115 (KSG press release)

PDF version of this press release (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)