The Randall L. and Deborah F. We nurture the next generation of
development scholars and practitioners.
Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development at the School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University - Bloomington, sponsors multidisciplinary research on international development. We give university researchers a voice in
policy by stimulating dialogue between
academics and leaders in government,
foundations, and international agencies.
03/27/2026
The IU Philanthropy Lab, directed by Professor Brad Fulton, is a research initiative that gathers and analyzes data on the entire social sector, including both private foundations and nonprofit organizations.
Read more about how The Tobias Center is proud to support the Lab’s efforts to expand its research globally!
03/25/2026
Join us for a screening of Creative Resolve The Future of Global Health!
A powerful look at how creativity and determination have reshaped global health, from Rwanda’s fight against HIV to the eradication of smallpox. More than history, this film is a call to action: a future where health is a right, and solidarity is our greatest strength.
Monday, April 27th, 2026 from 5:30-7:30pm at Shreve Auditorium.
03/25/2026
Join us for a full-day workshop on Measuring International Development, Advancing Equity!
From rethinking GDP to exploring new metrics for human well-being, this event brings together critical conversations on how we define and drive meaningful development. Featuring expert panels, real-world insights, and forward-looking discussions, it’s an opportunity to engage with the tools shaping a more equitable future.
Tuesday, April 28 | 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM | GISB 1060
03/23/2026
Join us for a book talk featuring Mary-Collier Wilks and her book, Reimagining Aid!
Reimagining Aid uses ethnographic research in Cambodia to examine how aid from Japan and the United States shapes women’s health initiatives. The book highlights how Cambodian development actors are not just aid recipients but active participants who reshape development by blending regional Asian perspectives with Western influences. It ultimately calls for a rethinking of development and gender policies in an increasingly multipolar world.
Wednesday, April 1st, 1:00-2:00pm via Zoom
02/11/2026
Congratulations to Elisheva Cohen for her work on Teaching Global Development!
We’re proud to support this publication, available as an open access book: https://lnkd.in/g6cG_TwU
01/20/2026
Discover how global development practitioners are preserving knowledge, data, and lessons and, in a post-USAID era, how they are reshaping the future of development practice, partnerships and professional pathways.
More information here: https://lnkd.in/g2UxeE-U
01/20/2026
Looking for a consolidated list of the Center’s major events and funding opportunities this semester? View our Spring 2026 promotional flyer here. We appreciate you sharing it with your students
01/18/2026
Over the past century, U.S. officials have purposefully enrolled for-profit consulting firms to design, implement, and assess U.S. foreign aid policy. Macekura will discuss the historical evolution of the consultant complex, from its inception during the New Deal and World War II through the United States’ wars and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Macekura argues that the consultant complex has produced a foreign policy apparatus that is vast and expensive, but also inefficient and ineffective because of its dependence on hiring private actors to conduct public affairs.
Join us to hear more about Macekura’s research!
12/10/2025
On Thursday, December 11 at 7:00 PM in Whittenberger Auditorium (IMU), The Alexander Hamilton Society will host a special event featuring Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and John Ciorciari, Dean of the Hamilton Lugar School, for a dialogue on “The State of American Foreign Policy.”
Join The Alexander Hamilton Society this Thursday to hear John Ciorciari and Richard Fontaine discuss about the state of American foreign policy!
11/19/2025
Join us for a day-long symposium and celebration of research and practical experiences related to international development that the Tobias Center has supported over the past year.
Come learn about the research that the Tobias Center has supported over the past year. IU faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate RAs will present their research and field questions from the audience. Additionally, the Tobias Global Development Consultants will present their consulting projects.
Come for the whole day or for specific panels!
Date: Friday, December 5th
Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Location: Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies - 1060 and Global Lounge
11/12/2025
The diplomatic relationship between the United States and Japan has frequently been described as “the most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none” (Mansfield 2024). While much of the broader focus has often been on the security and trade components of the bilateral relationship, the two countries have been working together on environmental and climate issues in innovative ways. Cooperative initiatives are occurring at the global, national, and local levels. U.S.-Japan cooperation on environmental and climate can serve as a model for how other countries might build multi-level, muti-sector, positive-sum relationships across national borders.
Professor Mary Alice Haddad is the John E. Andrus Professor of Government and Professor of East Asian and Environmental Studies at Wesleyan University. Her current work concerns city diplomacy and environmental politics with a focus on East Asia, especially China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. A Fulbright and Harvard Academy scholar, her earlier research focused on civic engagement, democracy, citizenship, volunteering, and nonprofit organizations.
Professor Haddad’s prepared remarks will be followed by a discussion/audience Q&A. This public event is open to all students, faculty, staff, and members of the community. Please join us!