Improving the effectiveness of development aid requires understanding policies and funding portfolios, analyzing what works, and contributing new ideas. We work with donors and other development partners, global advocates, think tanks, and multilateral organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to modernize development aid systems, unlock more funding, and get more value from each aid dollar spent. This work includes developing and championing structures to support innovation and research.

We work closely with the World Bank and regional development banks, including the African Development Bank, on common agendas in health and development as well as financing innovations. We also provide support to think tanks and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to conduct research and develop ideas in areas such as the new geography of poverty and the need for smooth transitions from concessional to domestic and non-concessional resources, the updating of poverty numbers, and innovative multilateral financing instruments. Within the foundation, we help program teams navigate their relationships with multilateral development banks and design new partnerships to help them achieve their strategic goals.

Domestic resources outweigh all other funding—including foreign aid—in most developing countries. We work with countries to analyze their spending on health and poverty and to develop data, analysis, and ideas to advance progress toward their human development and equity goals. Our work includes a partnership with the African Development Bank to create a policy toolkit that helps African countries direct resources from new oil, mineral, and gas discoveries toward human development; supporting analysis of the equity of tax systems in Africa; and building a database to track country expenditures within the social sectors. Key partners in this effort include national governments, multilateral institutions, regional and international think tanks and advocacy groups, and local NGOs.