AID cooperative agreement no. PDC-0095-A-00-0061-00 with the Institute for Contemporary Studies to support ICS"s program on economic policy making for growth and human development

Under a previous grant, ICEG organized an international network of research and policy institutes concentrated in Latin America. The current grant will enable ICEG to expand its program from Latin America to Asia, the Near East, and Africa. Many of ICEG"s activities will be aimed at building and strengthening an international network of corresponding institutes -- e.g., organizing regional conferences, acting as a repository of research, publications, and training resources. The project"s institution-building component will provide general support to institutions that already are part of the ICEG network, especially in Latin America and Asia, in areas such as publications, joint research projects, translations, organization of seminars, information dissemination, etc. ICEG will also help develop younger institutions, especially in Eastern Europe and Africa, through joint research projects, in-country seminars, fellowships, etc., and in special cases help create entirely new policy centers, especially in Africa. ICEG will also improve policy dialogue within countries by helping corresponding institutions to disseminate economic information and research to economists and policymakers, local leaders, and the general public. In a new activity, ICEG will establish an Institutional and Policy Reform Program (IPRP) to develop programs abroad (the domestic program is already underway). IPRP staff will develop an organizational structure, hold training programs for host country national and local government officials, host an international conference, publish a newsletter and six books, and conduct two or three small pilot programs to test alternative approaches to self-governance and institutional reform (e.g., a program linking groups in the U.S. and abroad).