ODI (formerly the 'Overseas Development Institute') is a

global affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on

injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but n ...

and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the planet." It does this through "research, convening and influencing, to lead new thinking and future agendas to deliver transformational change." Its Chair is

Suma Chakrabarti Sir Sumantra "Suma" Chakrabarti (born 1959) is a former British civil servant who served as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) from July 2012 to July 2020. He was previously the highest ranking Indian in Br ...

History

In 1960 ODI began in small premises in Regent's Park, central London and operated a library devoted to international development issues as well as performing consultancy work and contracts with the

Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

(then known as the Overseas Development Agency) of the UK government. Since then it has moved several times and is on Blackfriars Road. Since 2004 it has had a Partnership Programme Arrangement with the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

. The institute also developed a strong focus on communications and 'bridging research and policy'. In 2007 the ODI was named 'Think Tank of the Year' by ''Public Affairs News'' magazine. It was named 'Think-tank to Watch' in the '' Prospect'' 'Think-tank of the Year' awards in 2005 and is considered to be in international policy circles to be one of the world's leading think tanks on development. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010, with guests including former ODI Fellow and UK Business Secretary,

Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet as ...

Organisation

ODI had more than 230 staff. The Chief Executive is Sara Pantuliano. Alex Thier was ODI Executive Director 2017 – 2019. From 2013 until 2016 it was directed by

Kevin Watkins Kevin Charles Watkins is at the London School of Economics as a visiting professor of development practice at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. Recently the chief executive of Save the Children UK, from October 2016 until his resignation in ...

who took over from Dr Alison Evans, formerly of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at Sussex University. ODI does not engage in teaching. As of 2021, ODI conducts research and convening in the following global affairs areas: * Climate and Sustainability *Development and Public Finance *Digital Societies *Equity and Social Policy *Gender Equality and Social Inclusion *Global Risks and Resilience *Humanitarian Policy *Economic Development *Politics and Governance

Event series and publications

ODI hosts regular event series with conferences and panels discussing a wide range of development issues. Speakers include ODI staff, visiting development policymakers, DFID officials and other prominent figures such as

Justin Yifu Lin Justin Yifu Lin (; born on October 15, 1952) is a Chinese economist and professor of economics at Peking University. He served as the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank from 2008 to 2012. He has been appointed as China S ...

, the former

World Bank Chief Economist The Chief Economist of the World Bank (full title: Senior Vice President for Development Economics and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group) is the senior economist at the World Bank Group, tasked with providing intellectual leadership and direct ...

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, and David Miliband, chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee. In 2020 ODI published 235 papers, research reports, briefings, case studies and analysis. ODI has two academic journals, '' Development Policy Review'' and ''

Disasters A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

''.

Fellowship

ODI runs a fellowship scheme, which sends young postgraduate economists of all nationalities to work in the public sectors of developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific on two-year contracts. Since 1963 ODI has sent over 1000 postgraduate economists to work in 40 mostly low-income countries. Participants were initially known as Overseas Development Institute Nuffield Fellows (ODINs) and later titled as ODI Fellows.

Funding

As a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

, ODI's income relies on "grants and donations from foundations, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, governments, multilateral agencies and academia".

Criticism

David Steven of Global Dashboard criticized the ODI for not making the distinction between subsidy and having a lower

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

rate on fuel comparison to other goods.

Selected publications

* ''

Interrogating the evidence base on humanitarian localisation Localisation (or localization) is the practice, in humanitarian aid, to give more power, funding and resources to humanitarian aid organizations and people that are based in countries local to the emergency. The need to localise was agreed upon ...

,'' 2021''''

References

External links

*
ODI Blog
* (publications fulltext) {{Authority control 1960 establishments in the United Kingdom Development studies Foreign policy and strategy think tanks based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark Think tanks based in the United Kingdom Think tanks established in 1960