Future Leaders Programme 6: Thinking strategically about international and domestic development finance for sustainable production strategies

The Development Leadership Dialogue (DLD) at SOAS University of London, co-directed by Ha-Joon Chang, Christopher Cramer, and Jonathan Di John, announces its sixth Future Leaders Programme (FLP), to be held 4-8 November, 2024 in London.

DLD promotes dialogue and mutual learning between the key actors that drive economic and social development – governments, private firms, civil society organizations, international organizations, trade unions, academia, and others – and that often operate in separate spheres, understanding each other poorly, even seeing each other as adversaries. 

The FLP is one of the key programmes of DLD, bringing together a small number of people who will be in leadership positions in the next five to ten years in different sectors of the development community for a workshop of lectures, discussion sessions, and debates, led by speakers with a wealth of senior experience in government, international organizations, and academia.

This workshop will discuss how and why international and national development banking is fundamental in facilitating productive capabilities and structural transformations in low- and middle-income economies. The workshop moves beyond simply identifying the large financing gap for urgent needs such as achieving climate resistant infrastructure, and explores how challenges and crises can be met with viable financing strategies.

More specific topics include: the interface of development finance and industrial policy; rethinking and reforming the international financial architecture; how global sustainable future bonds work; strategies to cope with the looming debt crisis; how international  index funds affect development finance; how central banks can enhance green transition; how policy space in national development banking emerges; the Chinese experience of financing green production strategies; and how designs in experimentalist governance can promote effective international climate funds to accelerate green trade and production.

We have invited the following lecturers (in alphabetical order of surname): Antonio Andreoni (SOAS); Paddy Carter (BII); Adeyemi Dipeolu (Nelson Mandela School, Cape Town); Amir Lebdioui (Oxford); Natalya Naqvi (LSE); Matt Robinson (BII); Ulrich Volz (SOAS), Jiajun Xu (Peking University) as well as the three DLD Co-Directors.

Applications are welcome from people from different sectors – governments, the corporate sector, civil society, international organizations, trade unions, etc. Applicants should submit a CV and a covering letter to dld@soas.ac.uk explaining their work and their view on thinking strategically about international and domestic development finance for sustainable production strategies. Applicants are normally expected to have at least ten years’ experience in their fields. If they are from academia, they should provide evidence that they have worked with development practitioners – in national governments, international organisations, the private sector, or CSOs. The deadline for application is Friday, 6 September, 2024

The fee for the course is £3,000 and participants are expected to pay for their travel, accommodation, and subsistence in London. However, scholarships are available, awarded in consideration of the applicant’s personal circumstances. Full scholarships will cover the fee and the cost (travel, accommodation, subsistence) while partial scholarships will cover the fee. Applicants should clearly state in their applications whether they are applying for a scholarship (and which one – a full or a partial one) and explain why they need a scholarship.

Header Image Credit: Steve Johnson via Unsplash.

Future Leaders Programme (FLP) workshops bring together a small number of people who are expected to be in senior leadership positions in the coming years for a workshop involving lectures, discussion sessions, and debates.

Each FLP workshop has a key theme and/or regional focus and is led by presenters with a wealth of senior experience in government, academia, the private sector, civil society, and international organisations.