KSG, Italy Create Development Fund

In a joint effort to address global environmental and energy issues, Harvard’s Center for International Development (CID) and the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory signed an agreement on Wednesday to create a fund of $2.5 million for sustainable development at the Kennedy School of Government.

The project is the result of an initiative sponsored by the Italian government to work on environmental protection issues, focusing on efficient energy use and the promotion of economic growth.

Italian Ministry General Director Corrado Clini said the fund resulted from discussions with the Kennedy School about its work in sustainable development.

“We decided to work together in designing the implementation of both the projects for sustainable development and training,” Clini said. “This is the reason we decided to start this fund in Harvard University for promoting joint activities.”

Ricardo Hausmann, the director of CID, will manage the fund and chair an advisory committee that will include representatives from both Harvard and the Italian Ministry.

“This is very very unusual,” Hausmann said, of the cooperation between the Kennedy School and the Italian government. “I think it shows a maturity that the world is developing, that the democracy of Italy is willing to use its tax money with us because they want to be good for the world.”

Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood ’75 said the fund “is an exceptional opportunity to think about really one of the premiere problems of today, about how do we combine development with effective environmental policies.”

Hausmann said the fund will be used to support research, teaching, and fellowships. He said the Italian Ministry was aware of the importance of research and had given a “pretty broad mandate in this area.”

“This is path-breaking in the sense that it puts the funding where the forefront of scholarship and work in the field is, rather than into conventional silos,” said William Clark, the Brooks professor of international science, public policy and human development. Clark said the fund would be at the “interface of scholarship and practice.”

In addition, Hausmann said the fund will be used to sponsor case development, teaching materials, and scholarships.

“The focus of the Italian Ministry and of CID will be mostly on developing countries,” Hausmann said.

He said the research will not be limited to developing countries, though they traditionally have been the CID’s main focus. Hausmann also said that the fund would help CID’s financial situation, which was already in a “very strong position” before the gift. Through projects with several groups—including the South African government and the World Bank—the center has been able to consolidate its budget and create a surplus for this year, according to Hausmann.

The CID was founded in 1998 by the Harvard Institute for International Development and the Kennedy School, to “serve as Harvard’s primary center for research on sustainable international development,” according to CID’s website.

—Staff writer Claire M. Guehenno can be reached at guehenno@fas.harvard.edu.