Fighting poverty in all its forms.
Operating alongside our partners and building durable solutions in parts of the world where it has proven most challenging to eradicate poverty — in the Global South and conflict-affected areas — the Pulte Institute uses research in policy and practice to make a tangible impact on vulnerable populations across the globe.
As we continue our mission to improve lives, these features make our work distinctive in the fight against poverty:
• We are leveraging the strengths of diverse perspectives and disciplines to tackle poverty’s many facets.
• We recognize that solutions will only be found by working in and with front-line communities.
• We know that lasting change demands a commitment to translate findings into policy and practice around the world.
This distinctiveness is possible thanks to our research’s many manifestations:
• Policy and Program Evaluation: The Institute evaluates the effectiveness of existing policies and programs and identifies how to scale their impacts to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
• System Strengthening: The Institute develops and applies novel diagnostic tools to uncover why poverty persists and where to focus our efforts and investments to strengthen systems.
• Innovation and Co-Creation: The Institute works with local partners to innovate new policies, programs, and interventions, along with the evidence base necessary to ensure they can be sustained and faithfully replicated.
“It is a grim outlook for billions of people living below the poverty line globally. We need to reverse the status quo,” Tracy Kijewski-Correa, the William J. Pulte Director, says. “Just as poverty is more than a lack of material wealth, it is also often tied to systemic inequality and marginalization from society. The complexity of these issues demands that we — as a Catholic University — consider how these conditions impact the whole person and each person’s ability to fully flourish.”
The Pulte Institute is also mobilizing its global networks SHARE (Supporting Holistic and Actionable Research in Education), CARA (Central America Research Alliance), and FLARE (Forests and Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and Engagement) to create more opportunities for faculty and students to engage in research on global education, migration, and climate change as part of the University's new Poverty Initiative as outlined in Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework.
Progress on the complex issue of poverty and its intersections with systematic factors requires domestic and international policy and humanitarian assistance to converge in new ways. A truly sustainable approach can only be implemented with committed partnerships, world-class expertise, and the research infrastructure that the Pulte Institute brings to bear.
