Global development

Our Global Development Initiative (GDI) provides targeted and innovative solutions to address complex challenges in the development sector, including climate justice, measuring systems change, and government innovation. By connecting and convening practitioners and local innovators, we seek to use learning and experimentation to improve the effectiveness of their initiatives.

Work with us Subscribe to CPI’s Collective substack

We collaborate closely with multilateral organisations, philanthropic foundations, grassroots organisations, and other key development actors. We design our approaches to:

Promote continuous learning through individual and collective reflective practices

Foster strategic cross-sectoral and global collaboration of actors

Advocate for the redistribution of power to ensure more equitable outcomes

Encourage psychological safety to support experimentation as a way to learn and adapt

The challenge

In today’s world of urgent and complex crises, and with resources shrinking, conventional approaches to development and policymaking are not working. Despite global commitments in 2015 to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 2024 Sustainable Development Report (SDR) paints a stark picture of our progress, showing that we’re significantly off track:

57.4

In 2022, global greenhouse gas emissions hit a new record high of 57.4 gigatons. Climate leaders report that increased coal and gas usage are the largest contributors to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

40%

Public transportation remains inaccessible to 40% of people globally residing in urban cities. Inaccessibility to public transportation poses a greater risk to marginalised individuals who rely on public transportation to reduce food insecurity and access necessary health resources.

1/3

While extensive progress toward expanding data coverage of SDG progress has transpired since 2016, over the last three years we have lacked lack available data on one third of the SDG indicators substantially limiting our availability to gauge where we need to adapt pivot in our efforts.

1/2

For the first time in this century, half of the 75 most vulnerable nations — those qualifying for concessional loans from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA)—are seeing their income gap with the richest economies grow.

Our vision for change

The path forward requires a renewed and collaborative effort across society. We can accelerate progress toward the SDGs by embracing innovation, fostering cross-sector partnerships, and ensuring accountability. Now is the time to act to build a sustainable, equitable, and resilient future.

CPI has partnered with governments, citizens, and philanthropic organisations worldwide for over a decade to strengthen government capabilities, foster global collaboration, and promote cross-sector partnerships. Despite significant progress, development practitioners still face challenges in building meaningful connections, whether linking ideas, experimenting, learning from one another, or collaborating effectively on a global scale.

CPI’s Collective

We need a revolutionary approach to convening, collaboration, and innovation to tackle the world’s most complex issues. CPI’s Collective is a digital space for changemakers worldwide dedicated to experimenting, learning, and driving sustainable solutions. It brings together development practitioners, nonprofit leaders, students, and researchers to experiment, share knowledge, and create sustainable solutions.

Learn more about CPI’s Collective