Global Development Network

📢 Call for Research Teams: Building the Economics of Open Transaction Networks

GDN invites research teams based in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to apply for the Building the Economics of Open Transaction Networks research programme, supported by the Gates Foundation. Six selected teams will each receive USD 50,000 to conduct research on the economics of Open Transaction Networks (OTNs), with preference given to studies on the Beckn Protocol in Brazil, India, and Kenya. Selected teams will also receive strategic and technical guidance from GDN's Global Scientific Advisory Committee.

Learn more and apply by 21 August 2026:

Call for Research Teams: Building the Economics of Open Transaction Networks Apply by 21 August 2026

🌍 Day 1 of the West African Digital Transformation Forum in Cotonou, Benin, brought together researchers, think tanks, and policymakers to discuss how research can support more inclusive digital transformation across the region.

Six research consortia, established through the West Africa Digital Governance Research Agenda process, presented proposals focused on digital inclusion, reducing inequalities, context-sensitive indicators, and conceptual frameworks to shape the region's digital agenda.

The conversation moved beyond asking how West Africa can catch up with or compete in digital innovation, towards identifying the priorities that the region can bring to the global digital agenda. Participants also stressed that research must go beyond generating evidence. It should help tackle today's challenges, inform policy, and prepare for those ahead.

Co-hosted by GDN, Fondation FERDI , ACED, African School of Economics - Abuja Campus and CERDI.

✏️ Retour visuel sur la première journée du Forum Régional sur les Transformations Numériques en Afrique de l'Ouest à Cotonou, illustrée par Idah Razafindrakoto, Programme Manager à GDN.

A visual recap of Day 1 of the West African Digital Transformation Forum in Cotonou, illustrated by Idah Razafindrakoto, Programme Manager at GDN.

Fondation FERDI AFD - Agence Française de Développement CERDI ACED

📢 Help Shape GDN's AI Research Agenda

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming economies, societies and institutions at an unprecedented pace. Yet conversations on AI often overlook local perspectives, particularly from the Global South.

As part of GDN's Inclusive Digital Transformation Research Facility, we are launching a new AI research programme in 2027 to generate evidence that informs better policies and supports inclusive digital transformation.

We invite researchers, policymakers, practitioners and experts to complete our short survey (around 15 minutes) by 1 August 2026. Share the AI debates, opportunities and challenges you are seeing in your country and professional context: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScL9vUQw-7Qo9bwk50T3YMlJ4G-vMV-n6lYNSluzAmtUJP9Xg/viewform

Your insights will help shape GDN's research priorities and identify opportunities for future collaboration through conferences, workshops and partnerships.

Social Science Knowledge for the AI Transition This survey aims to understand the ongoing debates on AI in your field, re-surface existing knowledge already held by social scientists in response to these debates, and identify the social science gap in the ongoing research on AI. The core questions take about twelve to fifteen minutes. A few opti...

📢 GDN’s 2025 Annual Report is here!

In 2025, digitalisation emerged as a defining theme across the global development landscape, and much of our work reflected that. From research on the socioeconomic impacts of digital transformation to our annual Global Development Conference on Inclusive Digital Transformation, the year was about understanding digitalisation not just as a trend, but as a strategy for transformative socio-economic development.

We also launched our Strategic Framework for 2025–2035, setting a vision for the decade ahead, while continuing to strengthen research capacity and evidence-based policymaking across low- and middle-income countries.

Read the full report to learn more: https://www.gdn.int/annual-report-2025

Thank you to our partners, researchers, donors, and the wider GDN community for another year of impact! 🙏

💡🌍 La troisième édition de la Foire aux Savoirs a réuni à Abidjan, plus tôt ce mois-ci, une vingtaine de think tanks du Sahel et de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, des chercheurs, des décideurs publics, des organisations de la société civile et des partenaires du développement pour réfléchir aux conditions qui permettent à la recherche de contribuer de manière crédible et légitime aux politiques publiques.

Pendant trois jours, les participants ont mis en lumière la diversité des expériences, des trajectoires et des fonctions des think tanks dans la région, et analysé les défis communs auxquels sont confrontés les systèmes de recherche et les processus de décision publique. Les discussions ont fait émerger un constat partagé : l'impact des think tanks ne dépend pas uniquement de leur capacité à produire, diffuser ou mobiliser des connaissances, mais aussi de leur capacité à renforcer les relations, les collaborations et les conditions institutionnelles qui structurent les débats sur la place des savoirs dans l’espace public.

Organisée par le GDN avec le soutien de l'AFD - Agence Française de Développementnt et la participation d'acteurs clés de l'écosystème, cette troisième édition a réaffirmé l'importance de disposer d'espaces de dialogue inclusifs pour identifier des modalités de collaboration internationale, susceptibles de renforcer une interface recherche-politiques publiques mieux ancrée dans les réalités régionales.

🌍 During the 2026 SRI Africa Regional Conference held in Cape Town last week, GDN, together with Future Earth and the Centre for Systems Solutions (CRS), hosted an End-Term Meeting and Deep Dive Workshop for the Belmont Forum's Migration and Mobility Collaborative Research Action (CRA).

The workshop brought together representatives from five international research consortia to share key findings, strengthen cross-consortium exchange, and explore pathways from research to policy impact.

Discussions highlighted the complex drivers of climate-related (im)mobility, the importance of evidence-informed policymaking, and opportunities for joint synthesis and future collaboration. We look forward to sharing the programme's collective insights and outputs in the months ahead!

Learn more: https://www.gdn.int/migration-cra

▶️ Tune in today! GDN President Jean-Louis Arcand joins the India Global Forum at 15:30 BST / 16:30 CET for the panel “Who Controls the Compute That Powers Tomorrow?”

Watch live: https://www.youtube.com/live/k-vFUAHon7c?is=m-7C6HZxXWj9caFi
Learn more about the forum: https://indiaglobalforum.com/IGF-London-2026/index.html

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