Faculty
The Pulte Institute for Global Development serves as a bridge between faculty research and teaching interests at the University of Notre Dame, and the global development community. At the Pulte Institute, our goal is to empower faculty—both through our own in-house expertise, as well as our wide, international partnership network—to develop cutting-edge research that contributes to issues of poverty and inequality.
At the Pulte Institute, we understand that no one academic field holds the answers to solving the issues of poverty and inequality, so we work with faculty from any and all of Notre Dame's colleges and schools. Through fostering interdisciplinary faculty collaboration at Notre Dame, and by bringing faculty together with our global partners, the Institute is able to develop novel, targeted approaches toward systematically reducing and eradicating poverty and inequality across the developing world.
How We Work with Faculty
Through our strong expertise in proposal development, project design, and large-scale grant writing, we work with Notre Dame faculty to develop and receive significant external grant funding for global development research and programs that address the issues of poverty and inequality. After helping faculty secure funding, the Pulte Institute offers implementation and logistical support to get research and programs up and running successfully and compliantly.
The Pulte Institute also works with faculty to monitor, evaluate, and determine the efficacy of ongoing, closing, or recently closed research and programs. We can also help determine the efficacy of research and programs that have been completed for years, even if the Institute was not involved with the original research or program. Using our significant expertise in evaluation research methods and rigorous evaluation designs, the Institute helps faculty understand the short- and long-term impact(s) of their research and programs. While some research and programs end up being less efficacious than anticipated, we aim to help faculty understand the "why" behind efficacy, both positive and negative. We then can help faculty structure their research and programs in new ways—that are more likely to be efficacious—or work with faculty to tackle the underlying development question or problem from a completely new angle.
Additionaly, the Pulte Institute helps faculty scale-up successful and sustainable research and programs from proof of concept or local pilot levels to national and international levels. Through our Applied Research Grants Program, the Institute also supports faculty in generating policy-relevant research reports, journal or magazine articles, opinion columns, blogs, and the like.
Examples of Our Work with Faculty
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders
Mendoza College of Business, ESTEEM, Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity
- 25 Africans from 19 countries trained in business and entrepreneurship at Notre Dame as part of this U.S. Department of State program
- Began in 2014 and will continue for five years
USAID | ND Global Development Fellowships
College of Arts & Letters, College of Science, Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering, Hesburgh/Yusko Scholars Program, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
- Notre Dame graduate students from a variety of disciplines work with cutting-edge scientists, scholars, and innovators from around the world to solve development challenges through innovative research.
- Notre Dame faculty mentor students throughout the program.
Paper Analytical Device Project
Advanced Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Eck Institute for Global Health, Pulte for Global Institute Development
- Notre Dame faculty are developing new technological tools to monitor and detect counterfeit drugs in the developing world.
- Paper Analytical Devices (PADs) provide counterfeit drug detection in techology-limited environments.
Political Trust, Tolerance, and Public Goods
Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Pulte Institute for Global Development
- Researchers studied the impact of grinw, political groups ubiquitous in Mali, in generating trust, tolerance, and public goods in post-conflict Mali.
- The purpose of the evaluation was to determine if grinw membership was associated with higher levels of trust, tolerance, and willingness to provide public goods.
CE3 Project - Connectivity, Electricity, and Education for Entrepreneurship
College of Engineering, College of Science, Mendoza College of Business
- The CE3 project provided clean, renewable solar energy for more than 3,000 students at two secondary schools, enabling them to study into the evening. Additional outcomes include fully equipped computer labs used for entrepreneurship and job skills training along with the creation of 200 new jobs.
- The Pulte Institute for Global Development is applying its success to communities in Uganda and South Africa.
Reducing Child Labor in Nepal
Dept. of Economics
- The Pulte Institute is designing an impact evaluation to determine the most effective approaches to reducing child labor in Nepal by studying a UNICEF Nepal program.
- Services and programs being examined include establishing a child helpline, creating temporary shelters, and making counseling, legal services, and vocational education services available.