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CSD Research Capacity CSD was founded by Michael Sherraden, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development. The Center has 11 full-time staff. Across its projects, CSD involves 33 PhD-level faculty, 20 of whom are former doctoral students located at universities and colleges around the world. CSD emphasizes its role as a teaching institution, training doctoral and master’s students through projects. At any given time, the Center employs approximately 20 Research Associates (PhD students) and 25 Research Assistants (Master’s Students), the majority of whom are international students. In many cases, both PhD and MSW graduates take on related projects in their native countries, building capacity and creating opportunities for partnership. CSD Research Experience Since 1997, CSD has designed and implemented nationwide multi-method impact assessments that influence policy in the United States and abroad. In its research, CSD takes a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing on experts from many fields. Large projects include advisory boards that guide research design and implementation. CSD has a strong record in conducting quantitative and qualitative research at local, regional, national, and international levels. CSD faculty and staff are leading three research projects in the local St. Louis community, two in Native American tribal communities, and a project spanning across all states on asset policy research. In addition, the Center is implementing three demonstration projects at the national level, and six projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CSD has published over 250 working papers, research reports, and policy briefs on its website, and served as the editorial headquarters for the refereed journal of applied social theory and research, Social Development Issues (SDI). Asset Building CSD is the leading academic center of theory and research on asset building. Asset-building research focuses on strategies that promote saving and investment for low-income individuals, families, and communities. Central to this work is the design and testing of subsidized (matched) savings in the form of individual development accounts (IDAs). In part as a result of this work, over 500 IDA programs have been established in the US, including 25 in native communities, and 35 states have implemented an IDA policy. CSD has also influenced policy at the federal level, including the Assets for Independence Act (1998), the Savings for Working Families legislation, and the ASPIRE “Kids Accounts” legislation. Internationally, CSD's work has influenced asset-building policy and program development in the United Kingdom, Canada, Peru, Korea, Australia, Uganda, and China. CSD is currently studying asset-building policy through the Global Assets Project (GAP), a collaboration with New America Foundation Civic Service CSD is becoming an academic leader in civic service and civic engagement. Civic service--an organized period of engagement and contribution to the local, national, or world community--is an emerging institution in many countries. Research on civic service, however, is still in its infancy. While civic service may have positive effects on both the servers and the served, impact studies on volunteers and beneficiaries are rare. In 2001, CSD began a major international research initiative on civic service to study, inform, and assist in developing the knowledge base on civic service worldwide. CSD’s initial survey of civic service (McBride et al., 2003) found that youth serve more than any other group and that international service is the most prevalent form of service worldwide. This work has informed the development of a global research agenda on civic service focused on service across the life course, policies of inclusion, and the impact of international service. This research has since been augmented by the efforts of CSD's Civic Service Fellows--international scholars who have completed research on civic service in 22 countries, e.g., Costa Rica, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, and Botswana. CSD has concentrated on the forms and effects of youth service, elder
service, and international or transnational service. Currently, CSD is
pursuing research initiatives on youth service in Latin American and the
Caribbean, the Experience Corps elder service program, service learning
in the United States, and international voluntarism. To promote development
of a worldwide network to inform and assist in developing civic service,
CSD operates a global information network that links scholars, practitioners,
and policymakers.
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