PDRI–DevLab Students to Present at the World Bank and the United Nations (IOM)

PDRI–DevLab at the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce that student research teams will present their work at both the World Bank Headquarters and the International Organization for Migration (IOM/UN) Headquarters in Washington, DC, on September 5, 2025.

These presentations reflect the strength of PDRI–DevLab’s partnerships with global institutions and showcase how applied student research contributes directly to pressing international policy debates.

Presentations at the World Bank

Over the summer, two student teams worked in collaboration with the World Bank on applied research at the intersection of land, climate, and infrastructure:

• Land Gap Analysis in Latin America & the Caribbean
  Extending the Land Gap methodology to the LAC region, with a focus on the Amazon Basin, the team analyzed how climate pledges rely on land-intensive actions and identified governance conditions—such as tenure security and land-use planning—that will shape feasibility.

• Land Access and Infrastructure Restructuring
  This project assessed how land acquisition and tenure challenges affect World Bank–financed infrastructure projects, producing evidence on delays, costs, and sector-specific risks.

Presentations at the UN (IOM)

In parallel, PDRI–DevLab students partnered with IOM on two major initiatives addressing migration data and reintegration policy:

• Compendium of Innovative Data Initiatives
  A global catalog of 22 IOM-led projects that leverage data innovations to strengthen humanitarian response and development financing.

• Latin America and Caribbean Country Migration Briefs
  Country-specific analyses for Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia that highlight reintegration challenges, structural barriers, and opportunities for policy action.

Updates to Come

These presentations are part of broader collaborations with the World Bank and IOM that will continue into the 2025–2026 academic year. More updates on findings and next steps will be shared in the months ahead.