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CID launched several new initiatives to expand graduate and undergraduate student engagement including our inaugural Global Internship Program, Career Chats, Student Research Scholars Program, Ph.D. Development Retreat and Development Graduate Workshop, Study Group, and opportunities for hands-on learning as CID Student Ambassadors and student facilitators at our flagship Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM). GEM23, for instance, included “Climate Chats” with CID graduate student researchers, a climate art contest run by the undergraduate Harvard Climate Coalition, Climate Incubation Rooms led by student facilitators, Road to GEM produced by students, and even a video documentary created by student-led group, Outspoken Narrative. Growth Lab launched a part-time to engage students to work on research relevant to the program's ongoing projects which blend academic research and real-world policy engagements. Collectively, these hands-on learning experiences allowed students to deepen their subject matter expertise, learn best practices for successful convenings and dialogue, and expand their professional networks as they prepare for jobs after graduation.

CID programs and faculty trained and taught practitioners worldwide this year. trained 550 practitioners to use the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation () approach to solve complex public problems and improve the implementation of policies in 35 countries. Evidence for Policy Design’s Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence () program trained 766 policymakers and civil servants on how to generate, use, and communicate data and evidence for more effective policymaking in places like Morocco. CID faculty taught executive education courses on topics including infrastructure for market economies, leading economic growth, smart policy design, migrant remittances and financial inclusion, and assessing effectiveness. Educating current and next generation policymakers on how to design, implement, and assess development strategies is fundamental to improving the lives of millions around the world.

CID tapped into Harvard’s unrivaled convening power to bring together researchers and practitioners here on campus and around the world to share research results and shape development policy. Our focus on bridging policy and research allows us to work with governments, multilaterals, companies, and funders to ensure that effective solutions are promoted and scaled. Examples of our engagement include:

• Our Monday “Lunch on International Economic Policy” (LIEP) series hosted 21 faculty presenters on topics ranging from immigration in Latin America to female genital cutting to climate policies and international trade. 
• Our Tuesday “Development Graduate Workshops” offered 32 students the opportunities to present their research to faculty and peers and engage in job market practice talks. 
• Our Friday “Speaker Series” brought leading practitioners and academics to speak to students about topics including the debt crisis in developing countries to aid effectiveness to sustainable development models at provincial government levels.  
• Growth Lab's “” seminars featured conversations with policymakers and academics working on economic growth and development around the world, providing a platform to discuss analytical work centered on policy. 

At a country-level, CID spearheaded a Spotlight Series on Afghanistan bringing together five Harvard research centers to examine the gender, human rights, economic development, humanitarian aid, and political dynamics shaping the country under Taliban rule. We hosted a virtual discussion with the President of Sri Lanka as the island nation experiences its worst-ever economic crisis.  And we engaged in senior level policy dialogues with African leaders including the Vice President of Ghana, former Prime Minister of Mozambique, Minister of Youth in Zimbabwe, Minister of Digital Transformation in Togo, and current/former Finance Ministers from Namibia, The Gambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Burkina Faso. 

At CID, we have a proven track record in generating evidence to produce new policy insights, applying those insights to inform program design, and adapting and scaling evaluated programs in other contexts. CID faculty published research papers in top journals over the past year on a range of issues from education to social protection to health to labor markets.

Examples of research include an examination of the ways political oversight can improve government responsiveness in settings with a modicum of party competition in Uganda by ; an analysis of the quality measures women prioritize over distance and consider essential when choosing a family planning facility in Pakistan by , and a detailed look at Ethiopia's growth challenges and insights into how the government and international community can unlock resilient, post-conflict economic recovery by the . 

Faculty published research in NBER, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Health Policy and Planning, and Comparative Political Studies. Our faculty have also written for outlets such as Project Syndicate, VoxDev, The Conversation, Foreign Affairs, Boston Globe, Devex, and more on issues including climate change and financing mitigation responses, the future of globalization, and threats of a global recession. 

As a center, we are mobilizing our global network by offering research grants through our funding competitions. This year, in partnership with Harvard Radcliffe Institute, CID launched the GEM Incubation Fund to support emerging solutions to the climate crisis in developing economies and incentivize new research collaborations with practitioners in international development. We are uniquely positioned to help catalyze evidence-informed innovations on pressing development issues by generating rigorous evidence and translating it into action. With an extensive global presence, we continue to engage collaborators around the world to conduct rigorous research, build capacity, share policy lessons, and scale-up effective programs.