To overcome poverty, hunger, environmental degradation, unemployment and human diseases, many developing countries will need to achieve faster and more sustained pro-poor economic growth. Good governance plays an essential role in reaching these goals. To navigate the difficult choices among policy and investment alternatives and governance reform options, policymakers and stakeholders need a holistic and dynamic approach, in which the interaction of policies is understood and pro-poor strategies are developed and implemented.

The Development Strategy and Governance (DSG) Division takes the lead at IFPRI to:

• Undertake policy research and outreach on strategic development options and governance reform options to achieve higher growth and greater poverty reduction in developing countries;
• Strengthen the capacity of developing countries in formulating and implementing pro-poor development strategies and governance reforms; and
• Improve the access of local policy analysts and researchers to knowledge and information, analytical tools, and data.

DSG’s research agenda is geared towards exploring and finding answers to some of the following questions:

• Why do hunger and poverty persist despite major global efforts to overcome them during the second half of the 20th century?
• Why do some countries develop more successfully than others?
• What is the role of the agricultural and the rural sector in developing a pro-poor growth strategy?
• How do policy processes and governance influence development strategy formulation and decision-making?
• How can decentralization and local governance contribute to pro-poor rural development?
• How can the governance of agricultural sector institutions be improved?
• What should be the priorities for public investment to reduce poverty and increase food security?
• How can information and knowledge systems help policymakers successfully design, implement, and evaluate their strategies?
• How can research and analysis have a stronger bearing in policymaking, thus responding to knowledge gaps in developing countries?