Research Initiatives

King Center research initiatives bring together communities of scholars working on sustained global development and poverty alleviation research agendas.

Learn more about the Request for Proposals (RFP) and application process

Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in the Global South Initiative

Given the amount of unavoidable warming and the growing movement in the international community to provide funding for adaptation, the initiative aims to identify where adaptation has occurred and what policies can effectively encourage future climate adaptation and resilience.

A flooded village with several people sitting on rooftops and two individuals on a floating platform

Climate Resilience Measurement Lab

The Climate Resilience Measurement Lab aims to create standardized tools for measuring resilience at the individual and household levels. By integrating these tools into other ongoing large-scale surveys, this effort could transform how governments, NGOs, and researchers understand and respond to climate impacts.

Conflict and Polarization Initiative

A large body of research has shown the substantial role that violent conflict plays in underdevelopment around the world, particularly in the most vulnerable communities.

Early Childhood and Women’s Labor Participation

In India, where female labor force participation remains low, concerns about child well-being are a major reason mothers stay out of the workforce—even when flexible employment is available. The Early Childhood and Women’s Labor Participation initiative seeks to understand the beliefs driving these decisions and test interventions that help mothers balance work and parenting.

Two people in a field; one is pointing to a plant, and the other is looking at the plant while holding a laptop

Ecosystems for Field Research in India: X ARC Lab

The eXperimental Applied Research Collaborations Lab (X ARC Lab) aims to transform how experimental economics is conducted, mentored, and scaled.

Firms and Global Productivity Initiative

The Firms and Global Productivity Initiative seeks to understand the underlying forces that drive productivity and how those forces affect economic growth in developing countries.

Gender-based Violence in the Developing World Initiative

Initiative team members aim to better understand the larger context of violence against women in low- and middle-income countries.

migrant worker picking strawberries in a field

Guestworker Migration Initiative

The Guestworker Migration Initiative analyzes the impacts of short-term labor migration on agricultural employers, migrants, and origin communities to inform the development of productive, effective, and humane immigration policy.

HIV Wastewater Epidemiology in South Africa Initiative

The HIV Wastewater Epidemiology in South Africa Initiative is collaborating with South African scientists to explore whether wastewater surveillance can detect unrecognized HIV transmission and drug resistance: a potential cost-effective, anonymous way to track outbreaks and target interventions in high-risk communities.

Inclusive Democracy and Development Lab

In partnership with a political party in India and a large central government Ministry, the Inclusive Democracy and Development (ID2) Lab will focus on improving women’s representation at all levels of the political process.

Initiative on Combating Lead Exposure

This initiative is working to reduce lead exposure, including in the turmeric wholesale and acid battery recycling industries. The initiative is a multidisciplinary and transnational effort.

Migration and Development Initiative

The Migration and Development Initiative seeks to reposition migration as a powerful catalyst for development in low-income countries.

Politics, Accountability, and Climate Transition (PACT) Lab

The lab is investigating how pressures emanating from the natural world in the wake of climate change increasingly shape politics in the Global South, including whether climate change itself could undermine the political feasibility of meaningful action on mitigation or adaptation.

Stanford Human Trafficking Data Lab

Human trafficking for forced labor or sexual exploitation poses unique challenges for policymakers. However, little is known about how the market for trafficked individuals works – and ultimately, how to prevent these crimes.

Understanding Suicide in Lesotho

Suicide is an under-studied public health crisis, particularly in Lesotho, which has the highest suicide rate in the world. This initiative investigates the motivations for suicide as well as the correlates and interpretations surrounding suicide behaviors in Lesotho through an integrated mixed-methods approach.

Previous Initiatives

Read more about initiatives previously funded by the King Center.