In recognition of the growing importance and influence of the Center for Global Development’s London-based Europe Program, we are delighted to announce that Senior Fellow Owen Barder, currently Director of CGD Europe, will now take up the new role of Vice President, and Director CGD Europe.
In just two years since its establishment, CGD Europe has garnered a strong and growing reputation for rigorous research and creative, practical policy recommendations. Under Owen’s leadership, CGD’s London office has become a recognized convening place for serious debate and new ideas.
Nancy Birdsall, President of CGD, said, “In just a short time, CGD’s Europe Program has become known as a center for world-class research. Owen and his team have produced great work, including managing one of our signature initiatives, the Commitment to Development Index, as well as influential work on Development Impact Bonds and other innovative finance mechanisms, illicit financial flows, and how to improve humanitarian aid. Here’s to even more success!”
Barder will continue to lead the CGD Europe team of researchers and policy analysts, including Matt Collin, Theo Talbot, Petra Krylova and Matt Juden, as well as a soon-to-be announced new Senior Fellow.
Barder said of the change, “European governments are key development players and having a physical presence in London has been important in getting our ideas to policymakers in these places. I am looking forward to cementing CGD’s position in the UK, Europe and beyond as an innovator and a go-to source for solid research and development policy ideas.”
Barder first joined CGD in 2004, when he contributed to our ground-breaking work on Advance Market Commitments for vaccines, which have gone on to help the development and deployment of millions of life-saving vaccinations among children throughout the developing world. He also helped to develop the International Aid Transparency Initiative, now a benchmark for effective assistance. He spent 12 years working for the British government including as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, in the UK Treasury and the Department for International Development (DFID). He was recently named as one of the top ten most influential economists in the UK by the financial newspaper City AM.