About the International Development Speaker Series

The International Development Speaker Series (IDSS) aims to stimulate, motivate, and support RAND researchers in bringing their talents to the pressing problems of the developing world. The RAND Corporation and the Pardee RAND Graduate School host IDSS to engage the RAND community in an intellectual dialogue to grow RAND's participation in international development research and support a community of RAND researchers interested in these topics.

Organized by doctoral fellows at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, the series alternates between panels of RAND researchers and external speakers. The series was launched in January 2008 and recent speakers include Dr. Francis Fukuyama, political scientist and best-selling author; Dr. Edward Miguel, economist and author; Dr. Esther Duflo, Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, and Dr. Joseph Nye, former Dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The RAND Corporation works to improve policy through research and analysis. Our findings and recommendations reach the world's most influential decision makers and attract a variety of esteemed visitors to RAND.

How to get involved?

IDSS is open to anyone interested in development topics. Join our mailing list to receive updates about our events. Contact us at idss@rand.org to recommend speakers who are conducting groundbreaking work in development, or find how to present your work to the IDSS audience.