Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD)

The Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) is a non-profit organization based at Columbia University in the United States. IPD was founded in July 2000 by Joseph E. Stiglitz, with support of the Ford, Rockefeller, McArthur, and Mott Foundations and the Canadian and Swedish government, to enhance democratic processes for decision making in developing countries, to ensure that a broader range of alternative are on the table and more stakeholders are at the table.The organization is a global network of more than 250 leading economists, political scientists, civil society representatives, and practitioners from all over the world with diverse backgrounds and views. IPD intends to help countries find solutions to pressing problems, and strengthen their institutions and civil societies.

IPD helps countries analyze the complex policy trade-offs they face and provides them with access to a broader range of economic solutions that promote democratic, equitable and sustainable development. IPD pursues its objectives through four programmatic areas:

• Task Forces bring together experts from various countries to study complex development issues and provide policy alternatives;
• Country Dialogues improve the quality of official decision making on economic issues, and open critical development debates up to a broader array of participants;
• Journalism Program helps strengthen journalists' economic literacy to better report on the major economic issues confronting developing economies;
• Education Programs are grounded in a critique and reformulation of standard economic theory, examining issues at the nexus of the global and local in developing countries.