Harvard Center for International Development

What Harvard Center for International Development does

Harvard Center for International Development (CID) is a research center within Harvard Kennedy School, located at 79 JFK Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with 53 employees. CID's mission is to build an international pool of talent, convene academic and practitioner networks, and deploy breakthrough research addressing global development challenges. The center organizes its work around 12 research themes spanning business and finance, climate and energy, conflict and security, culture and institutions, education, and health, among others. It delivers value through an integrated portfolio of research programs, publication platforms, and event-based initiatives rather than a unified commercial product.

Core offerings include the Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM) as a flagship annual event, the CID Voices blog and Faculty Publications platforms for disseminating research, the Development, Reimagined publication series, the Visiting Researcher Program, and CID Fellowships. Distribution is entirely open-access: all publications, working papers, and policy briefs are freely available on the CID website, with content amplified through a weekly newsletter and active social media channels (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram). The center convenes stakeholders through events including Country Spotlights, the Urban Mobility and Climate Change Conference, and the Future of U.S. Foreign Aid series.

CID does not sell commercial products or services. It operates as a non-profit academic unit under The President and Fellows of Harvard College, funded through institutional support from Harvard University, external research grants from government agencies, foundations, and international development organizations, and donor contributions. Its customer base consists of policymakers, government officials, academic researchers and PhD affiliates, development practitioners, NGOs, and executive education participants. No proprietary technology platform or AI/ML product is described in available materials; recent AI-adjacent activity is limited to faculty research on AI's fiscal policy implications.

Name

Harvard Center for International Development

Legal name

The President and Fellows of Harvard College

Website

https://cid.harvard.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Harvard Center for International Development is a Harvard Kennedy School research center that builds international talent pools, convenes academic and practitioner networks, and conducts policy research on global development challenges for policymakers, researchers, and development practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC), Erasmus+ and Government-Sponsored Exchange Partnerships (EDAIABAJ)

Keywords

• International development research
• Policy research
• Development economics
• Academic research
• Global development policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research grants and institutional funding: As a Harvard Kennedy School research center, CID operates primarily through institutional funding from Harvard University and external research grants from government agencies, foundations, and international development organizations. Donations from alumni and supporters also contribute to operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Harvard Center for International Development is an academic research center within Harvard Kennedy School that conducts policy-relevant research on international development challenges, disseminates findings through open-access publications and a blog (CID Voices), hosts flagship events such as the Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM), and offers fellowship and visiting researcher programs to build a global development talent pool.

Product overview

Harvard Center for International Development (CID) is a research center within Harvard Kennedy School that functions as a platform-plus-programs architecture. Rather than offering a unified commercial product, CID delivers value through an integrated portfolio of research programs, publication platforms, and event-based initiatives. The core offerings include research programs and initiatives spanning 12 thematic areas (Climate & Energy, Education & Human Development, Health & Wellbeing, Technology & Data Science, etc.), the Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM) flagship annual event, the CID Voices blog and Faculty Publications platforms for disseminating research, and fellowship/visiting researcher programs. These components work together to fulfill CID's mission of building an international talent pool, convening academic and practitioner networks, and deploying breakthrough research on global development challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM) An annual flagship event hosted by CID that brings together global development practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to examine how to address pressing development challenges and build a world where all can thrive.
• Road to GEM A preparatory series of events and activities leading up to the annual Global Empowerment Meeting, designed to build momentum and engage the broader development community.
• CID Annual Country Spotlights An annual event series that provides in-depth examination and discussion of specific countries' development trajectories and challenges.
• Urban Mobility and Climate Change Conference A conference focused on exploring the intersection of urban mobility challenges and climate change impacts in developing regions.
• Speaker Series A recurring seminar series featuring talks by CID faculty affiliates and external experts on development topics.
• CID Fellowships Fellowship opportunities for researchers and practitioners to engage with CID's research programs and academic networks.
• Visiting Researcher Program A program that hosts visiting researchers to collaborate with CID faculty affiliates and strengthen global scholarship through community engagement.
• Research Programs and Initiatives CID's integrated research portfolio spanning 12 thematic areas including Business, Firms, & Finance; Climate & Energy; Conflict, Peace, & Security; Culture, Institutions, & History; Education & Human Development; Health & Wellbeing; Technology & Data Science; and others, designed to produce rigorous, peer-reviewed research on international development challenges.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: Major Washington-based think tank producing policy research across economics, foreign policy, and global development. Overlaps with CID's policy research and convening role but operates at much larger scale and with broader thematic scope.
• Center for Global Development: Independent think tank focused exclusively on international development policy. Comparable to CID's mission of producing research to inform development policy, but operates as a dedicated policy organization rather than a university center.
• World Bank Development Research Group: World Bank's research arm producing economic research on development topics. Comparable to CID in producing policy-relevant research on international development, though embedded in a multilateral institution.

Regional players

• Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs: Sibling HKS research center producing policy research on international affairs, security, and science policy. Co-located with CID and sharing faculty affiliates, making it a closely related but distinct policy research entity at Harvard.
• UNU-WIDER: United Nations University research institute on development economics based in Helsinki. Comparable to CID in producing academic research on international development, though with a multilateral/UN mandate rather than a university affiliation.

Direct peers

• Columbia Center for Sustainable Development: Columbia University center producing research on sustainable international development. Comparable to CID in convening academic and policy communities around global development research from a leading private university.
• Oxford Department of International Development: Oxford's hub for research and graduate training on international development. Directly comparable to CID as a globally recognized university-based academic center producing development research and policy analysis.
• MIT Global Poverty: MIT initiative tackling global poverty through research, education, and technology-driven solutions. Functions as a direct peer to CID, combining academic research with practical development interventions from a leading research university.
• Yale Economic Growth Center: Yale-based research center focused on economic growth and development in low-income countries. Comparable to CID in producing peer-reviewed research, training PhD students, and convening development policymakers from a top-tier private university.
• Stanford Center on Global Poverty and Development: Stanford-based research center producing academic research on international development, poverty, and economic policy. Direct peer to CID as both are elite university research centers convening scholars and policymakers on global development challenges.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HarvardCID
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HarvardCID
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harvardcid
• Instagraminstagram.com/harvardcid

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Harvard Center for International Development