The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is an independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues, founded in 1960. Based in London, its mission is "to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries." It does this by "locking together high-quality applied research, practical policy advice, and policy-focused dissemination and debate."
History
In 1960 ODI began in small premises in Regent's Park, central London and operated a library devoted to international development issues as well as performing consultancy work and contracts with the Department for International Development (then known as the Overseas Development Agency) of the UK government. Since then it has moved several times and is currently on Blackfriars Road.
Since 2004 it has had a Partnership Programme Arrangement with the UK's Department for International Development.
In July 2007, ODI was named 'Think Tank of the Year 2007' by Public Affairs News magazine. It was named 'Think-tank to Watch' in the Prospect 'Think-tank of the Year' awards in 2005.
It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010, with guests including former ODI Fellow and current UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable.
Organization
As of 2014 ODI had more than 230 staff. Its director since 2013 has been Kevin Watkins who took over from Dr Alison Evans, formerly of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at Sussex University. Unlike its counterpart IDS, ODI does not engage in teaching. As of 2012 ODI had the following 10 programmes that focus on aspects of international development:
- Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure (CAPE)
- Climate Change, Environment and Forests
- Communications (for dispersal of ODI events and publications)
- Growth, Poverty and Inequality
- Investment and Growth
- Humanitarian Policy Group
- Politics and Governance
- Private Sector and Markets
- Protected Livelihoods & Agricultural Growth
- Social Development
As of January 2015 ODI had changed 'Protected Livelihoods & Agricultural Growth' into Agricultural Development and Policy and added the following 2 sections:
- Research and Policy in Development
- Water Policy
Event series and publications
ODI hosts regular event series with conferences/panels discussing a wide range of development issues. Speakers include ODI staff, visiting development policymakers, DFID officials and other prominent figures such as Justin Yifu Lin, the former World Bank Chief Economist.
ODI has published many books, papers, briefings, and two leading academic journals, Development Policy Review and Disasters. In November 2013 an ODI report on fossil fuel subsidies and climate was published, followed up by another report about the same topic a year later, which was discussed by BBC, the Guardian and Die Welt.
Fellowship
ODI runs a fellowship scheme, which sends young postgraduate economists of all nationalities to work in the public sectors of developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific on two-year contracts. Since 1963 ODI has sent over 900 post-graduate economists to work in 40 mostly low-income countries. Participants were initially known as Overseas Development Institute Nuffield Fellows (ODINs) and later titled as ODI Fellows.
Funding
As a registered charity, ODI's income relies on "grants and donations from foundations, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, governments, multilateral agencies and academia".
For its £28,541,000 income (USD 42,811,000 as of 1/2015) per its annual report from 2013-2014 ending 31 March 2014, ODI provided a list of these "major donors":
Africa Progress Panel, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Canadian International Development Agency, Care International UK, Coffey International, Crown Agents, DAI, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia, Department for International Development, UK Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Economic and Social Research Council UK, European Centre for Development Policy Management, European Commission, European Union, Girl Hub Rwanda, Global Development Network, Institute of Development Studies Sussex, International Development Research Centre, Irish Aid, KPMG, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Ministry of Finance, Liberia, Ministry of Finance (Netherlands), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (France), Foreign Office (Germany), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway), Natural Environment Research Council, UK, New Venture Fund, Oak Foundation, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Oxfam, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Research Triangle Institute, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Swiss Federal Government, The Prince's Youth Business International, UN Women, UNICEF, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, US Agency for International Development, Wiley-Blackwell, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, World Bank, World Resources Institute.
Criticism
David Steven of Global Dashboard criticized the ODI for not making the distinction between subsidy and having a lower VAT rate on fuel comparison to other goods.
See also
- Institute of Development Studies
- Climate & Development Knowledge Network, run by an alliance of organisations that include ODI
References
External links
- Official website
- ODI Blog
- Overseas Development Institute â€" via International Relations and Security Network (publications fulltext)
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