Support the Institute
To make a difference in the world, we need people, ideas, and resources. Help us increase our impact.
GRI is a cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research hub that supports 10 discrete research labs. Through innovative student-faculty research collaborations and international partnerships, GRI creates new knowledge to address global issues.
Creating New Knowledge To Address Global Challenges
GRI’s research labs are changing the way the world looks at some of the most pressing global challenges. The Institute’s research labs track Chinese foreign aid spending, analyze the allocation and impact of health aid in developing countries and study the impact of digital technologies on society, politics and the economy.
GRI has become a model in higher education for engaging students through:
- Integrative Learning Experiences: Each year, more than 200 students engage in direct, hands-on research and more than 1,000 students participate in GRI courses, programming and activities. GRI houses 10 distinct research labs that focus on a range of thematic areas from health and the environment to human rights and development.
- Cutting-Edge Collaborative Research: GRI takes a whole-of-university approach, partnering with faculty in economics, business, law, public health, data science and government. Currently, 25+ GRI researchers and/or affiliated faculty are working on 20+ active grants and contracts with external partners that have invested more than $70 million in GRI since 2008.
- Dynamic International Partnerships: Project collaborators include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of NY, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the World Bank, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Defense, the United Nations and others.
- New Knowledge Creation: GRI research findings have been published in leading science publications and insights from GRI research are discussed at the highest levels of government, including at the U.S. Department of State and the National Security Council, as well in communities with research labs’ local partners around the world.
Your Support Makes a Difference
Contributions to the Global Research Institute Fund will provide support for GRI’s most pressing needs, allowing for early, targeted investments in faculty and student research ideas that have promise to scale and bring in external funding. Current funding priorities include:
- Seed Funding for Research Labs: To provide opportunities for exploratory research initiatives led by GRI faculty, the Institute awards early-stage funding to new researchers and existing research teams. Recent investments have focused on projects related to mobile phones and women’s empowerment, COVID-19 data collection in Zimbabwe and two pilot studies on community health in developing countries.
- Student Innovation Funding: Several of the game-changing research labs the Institute now supports originated with student ideas. Each year, GRI provides innovation funding to student teams with promising research proposals.
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity: This key initiative tackles the dual challenge of improving diversity of both researchers and students who focus on global challenges. Researchers from underrepresented groups come to William & Mary for two or more years to mentor students. These scholars integrate their work with ongoing research projects at GRI or create their own research labs. Learn more about the program here.
To learn more, contact:
Kim GrayAssociate Director of Advancement
ksgray@wm.edu
GIVE to GRI
