WDI's Programs
WDI organizes its activities into five broad areas—research, development consulting services, executive education, educators’ outreach, and supporting international activities at U-M.
Each of WDI’s research initiatives focuses on a policy or business development that is important, not well understood, and of the scale that the Institute’s resources can make a difference in our understanding of the phenomenon. The objective of the Institute's educational and research programs is to develop knowledge and capability that helps improve the effectiveness of firms and social welfare in these economies. Partnerships are formed with companies, institutions, and individuals around the world who collectively share their knowledge and resources to promote successful economic transition.
--Base of the Pyramid ( BoP):
The Base of the Pyramid initiative is a global leader in studying the BoP perspective as an important market-based approach to poverty alleviation. It has also designed the Base of the Pyramid Impact Assessment Framework, a tool that managers can use to assess and enhance the poverty alleviation outcomes of the BoP ventures. Our research has also helped development organizations assess how to best facilitate the growth of the BoP ventures. And the initiative continues to provide in-depth analysis of the power of different BoP business models to achieve specific poverty alleviation outcomes.
The Health Care Research initiative seeks to improve the delivery of health care in low-income countries by means of business rather than clinical approaches. Two field studies to further examine the impact of improving the management and organizational skills of health care workers are being undertaken in Rwanda and Ghana. The initiative also examines the interdependence of business, foreign aid and non-profit organizations in the delivery of health care. In developing countries, health care is strongly supported by non-profits and foreign aid coming from both government sources and private donors. That leads to questions such as how health care systems start to become less dependent on donors, and what happened in countries that have steadily reduced their dependence on foreign aid.
DEVELOPING CONSULTING SERVICES (DCS)
Development Consulting Services is WDI’s international consulting practice. With over 15 years of experience serving donor clients, private clients, and partner governments, DCS applies business expertise to strengthen economic, educational, and social infrastructures to promote meaningful change so people can live better, healthier, productive, and more independent lives. Working under contracts or grant mechanisms, DCS designs, develops and implements development projects in many of the world’s developing countries.
Executive Education delivers quality executive education programs to those working in emerging and transition markets. More than 5,000 managers from over 1,500 organizations have attended WDI Executive Education programs, which are run in Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Russia, Latin America, Africa, China, and Vietnam. Our programs feature the latest global management thinking while also weaving in local examples to ensure the learning is relevant to the target audience.
Educational Outreach works with leading faculty to develop teaching materials on important international business topics. It then distributes the material through GlobaLens (www.globalens.com), a global hub for aggregating and distributing these materials to business educators around the world. Many of the leading business schools around the world use GlobaLens teaching materials in their classrooms. Finally, Educational Outreach also works with faculty at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan faculty to help move their research ideas into the classroom.
SUPPORTING INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
WDI supports initiatives at the Ross School of Business. This includes the WDI Global Impact Speaker Series, which features leading thinkers who work in emerging markets. The goal of the series is to spur discussion around development and developing country issues. WDI also sponsors Multidisciplinary Action Project (MAP) teams from Ross. The projects allow MBA students to work with international organizations to create new business models, research new directions, and strategize for the future. WDI identifies and develops international projects with host organizations, and provides financial and faculty support. WDI also organizes Global Impact Summer Internships for UM students, either finding opportunities with partner organizations doing work related to our research initiatives or funding self-generated internships for students to work with organizations doing innovative work in emerging markets.
