The power of advocacy and social movements to impact cultural, economic, and political outcomes is a growing field of study and research at Harvard Kennedy School.

The Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) conducts and disseminates policy-relevant research on nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, and nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The project supports an international group of pre- and post-doctoral fellows and other experts working on these issues and helps to advance their research work through seminars, workshops, and conferences.

Malnutrition is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, as well as a major impediment to population health and economic development. The Harvard Nutrition and Global Health Program - developed with the support of a three-year award from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center - offers new coursework and training opportunities in nutrition and global health in conjunction with partner institutions including the St. John's Research Institute in Bangalore, India; at Muhimbili University in Tanzania and at the University of S o Paulo in Brazil.

The Ash Center’s Initiative on Democracy in Hard Places aims to foster social science research on democratic experiments—both successful and failed—throughout the developing world to learn how democracy can be built and maintained in a variety of terrains. And, through engagement with policymakers, practitioners, and activists, it aims to translate that research into action.

The Geopolitics of Energy Project explores the intersection of energy, security, and international politics. The project aims to improve our understanding of how energy demand and supply shape international politics and vice versa. It also endeavors to inform policymakers and students about major challenges to global energy security and, where possible, to propose new ways of thinking about and addressing these issues. The project focuses both on conventional and alternative energies, as both will influence and be influenced by geopolitical realities.

The Future of Diplomacy Project is dedicated to promoting the study and understanding of diplomacy, negotiation and statecraft in international politics today. The Project aims to build Harvard Kennedy School's ability to teach in this area, to support research in modern diplomatic practice and to build public understanding of diplomacy's indispensible role in an increasingly complex and globalized world.

The Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) encourages research and education about the environment and its many interactions with human society. The Center draws its strength from faculty members and students across the University who make up a remarkable intellectual community of scholars, researchers, and teachers of diverse fields including chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, engineering and applied sciences, biology, public health and medicine, government, business, economics, religion, and the law.

The Institute will foster research and policy dialog about the structure and potential for global governance and international law affecting the most pressing issues of global policy from armed conflict and humanitarian cooperation to foreign investment and economic development.

EFL first pioneered psychometric credit scoring through research at the Harvard Center for International Development. We now work with leading financial institutions across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Through our partnerships we enable lenders to safely approve more people globally.

The central mission of the Harvard Project on Disability is to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This landmark human rights treaty mandates that persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights as all other persons. The United Nations adopted this agreement in December 2006, and it became binding international law in May 2008. The CRPD commits countries to ensuring equality for persons with disabilities as well as to stopping discrimination against them.