Speaker Series on the Future of Aid: Innovation Under Tighter Constraints
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With aid budgets shrinking amid rising global challenges, the King Center on Global Development at Stanford University is launching The Future of Aid, a two-part event series in Autumn 2025 and Spring 2026. These convenings will explore how foreign assistance is evolving in an era where traditional donors are stepping back and new actors—from philanthropy to the private sector—are stepping in. Through high-level dialogue and keynote conversations, the series aims to reimagine how aid can be more innovative, inclusive, and impactful.
On September 30, Rachel Glennerster of the Center for Global Development presented her call for “radical simplification” in aid delivery. In a time of tighter budgets, she argues that donors must focus on a small set of cost-effective, scalable interventions and reform how programs are reviewed and staffed—ensuring resources are used efficiently and transparently. A central challenge is making sure that programs, policies, or interventions are rigorously tested and proven effective before being scaled to larger populations.
Norma Altshuler of Open Philanthropy shared insights into how different actors can contribute to making scarce resources go further, including by supporting low- and middle-income country governments priorities in the face of aid cuts. She also mapped out ways the field may be able to attract new resources from governments and philanthropists.
Schedule:
4:30 PM–5:00 PM: Registration and reception
5:00 PM–6:00 PM: Panel discussion and Q&A
About the Speakers:
Norma Altshuler, Senior Program Officer, Global Aid Policy at Open Philanthropy
Norma Altshuler leads Open Philanthropy’s work on global aid policy and advocacy. Prior to joining Open Philanthropy, she served as a Program Officer in Gender Equity and Governance at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. She managed a portfolio of grants designed to increase the use of data and evidence to improve public policies in developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, Altshuler helped found the Global Innovation Fund, where she also built a grant portfolio supporting evidence-informed innovations in developing countries. Prior to that, she worked as a portfolio manager at USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV). Norma has also worked for several social enterprises and non-profits in East Africa. Earlier in her career, she conducted evaluations of development and social protection programs with Mathematica Policy Research. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley.
Rachel Glennerster, President at the Center for Global Development
Rachel Glennerster is the president of the Center for Global Development. Prior to joining CGD, she was an Associate Professor of Economics in the Division of Social Science at the University of Chicago. Dr. Glennerster previously served as Chief Economist at the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for International Development in the UK. From 2004 to 2017, she served as Executive Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Glennerster helped to establish “Deworm the World”, which has helped provide 1 billion deworming treatments to children worldwide, and played a pivotal role in establishing initiatives and providing advice to governments about the most effective education strategies. In 2021, Dr. Glennerster was appointed Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) for services in international development. She also currently serves as the Chair of Teaching at the Right Level Africa (TaRL Africa).
About the Moderator:
Katherine Casey, Faculty Director at the King Center on Global Development
Katherine Casey is a professor of political economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Faculty Director of the King Center on Global Development. Her research explores interactions between economic and political forces in low-income countries, with particular interest in strategies to improve governance and spur local economic development. Her work has appeared in the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Science, among others. She teaches a course in the MBA program focused on firm strategy vis a vis government policy in a diverse set of international markets.
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