Stories of Change | Center For Global Development

Stories of Change

Since its inception, CGD’s innovative solutions and rigorous research have helped change global development policies and practices, making a real difference in the lives of people in low- and middle-income countries. Our work addresses a wide range of development challenges, all connected by a commitment to evidence-based policymaking that benefits the poorest.

Explore Our Stories

Our Theory of Change

CGD’s mission is to reduce global poverty and improve lives through innovative economic research that drives better policy and practice by the world's top decision makers. To achieve this, we focus on shaping better development policies, driving the discourse, and creating new institutions and mechanisms; examples of this are detailed below.

Theory of Change diagram

Featured Stories

Driving the discourse

From Neglected to Funded: The Global Push Against Childhood Lead
November 03, 2026
Shaping better development policies

Helping the EU Unlock More Development Finance
November 03, 2026
Creating new institutions and mechanisms

Supporting the Green Transition by Expanding Safe Routes for Refugees
November 03, 2026
Shaping better development policies

Unlocking Hundreds of Billions in Additional Lending Headroom at the World Bank and Other MDBs
November 03, 2026

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All Stories of Change

Stories of Change Category
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Date
Displaying 1 - 7 of 47
Driving the discourse

Tough Times, Tough Choices: Preparing Global Health Agencies for a Post-Aid World
November 03, 2026
With widespread aid cuts, Gavi, the Global Fund, and the WHO face funding shortfalls of more than a fifth of their planned budgets. To help chart a path forward, CGD launched the Tough Times, Tough Ch...
Driving the discourse

From Neglected to Funded: The Global Push Against Childhood Lead
November 03, 2026
Lead poisoning affects one in three children globally but receives much less attention and funding than comparable health threats. CGD is working to change this by bringing together researchers, polic...
Driving the discourse

Putting Health Taxes on the Global Agenda
November 03, 2026
Non-communicable diseases could account for three-quarters of all deaths worldwide by 2030, with most in low- and middle-income countries. To address this challenge, CGD served as the secretariat of t...
Shaping better development policies

Helping the EU Unlock More Development Finance
November 03, 2026
With development financing needs rising and aid budgets strained, the European Union must find a way to stretch scarce public money further. CGD experts, together with Lion’s Head Global Partners, pro...
Shaping better development policies

Unlocking Hundreds of Billions in Additional Lending Headroom at the World Bank and Other MDBs
November 03, 2026
Multilateral development banks were not using their capital efficiently, underutilizing resources provided by taxpayers in shareholder countries. They were lending far less than they could against the...
Creating new institutions and mechanisms

The Education Smart Buys: Making Every Dollar Count for Learning
November 03, 2026
Millions more children are now in school, and new teaching approaches have been shown to sharply increase learning. Yet most children have yet to benefit from these improved pedagogies, despite many e...
A banner image showing a child at a chalkboard
Creating new institutions and mechanisms

Supporting the Green Transition by Expanding Safe Routes for Refugees
November 03, 2026
As the number of refugees in low- and middle-income countries has surged over the past two decades, high-income countries face labor shortages in skilled trades, threatening their green transition pla...