How can applied research help decision-makers test assumptions about development strategy, future risk?

On February 25, 2026, the Frederick S. Pardee Institute for International Futures received the University of Denver's inaugural Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works (RSCW) Impact Award, recognizing research and creative work that makes a demonstrable difference beyond the University. 

The award honors the Institute's commitment to producing research that helps governments, international organizations, and development partners make better long-term decisions in the face of complex global challenges. 

The recognition highlights the Pardee Institute's work using its International Futures (IFs) integrated assessment model to support the African Union in developing Agenda 2063's Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan. This work helped shape the African Union's Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan for Agenda 2063 by providing data-driven targets and supporting the development of the plan's seven "Moonshot" priorities. The Pardee Institute has also used IFs to study important issues across Africa, including trade, food security, COVID-19 recovery, and long-term development.  

The Pardee Institute conducted scenario analysis with the United Nations on sustainable development and global risk. The IFs platform has become a foundational tool for strategic planning, helping the world’s largest development agencies analyze post-pandemic recovery, the climate-poverty nexus, and the invisible economy of unpaid care. 

The research quantified the long-term human costs of conflict and climate change in Yemen. The research shifted how people talked about the conflict by providing evidence of the depth of the humanitarian crisis that defined the conflict for the UN Security Council, the United States Congress, and the global press. From the canonical finding of 377,000 deaths to the projection of $93 billion in climate losses, the research demonstrated the far-reaching human and economic consequences of Yemen’s crisis. Together, these efforts demonstrate how integrated, long-term modeling can help clarify policy choices, reveal hidden tradeoffs, and identify levers to support more resilient futures. 

The award reflects years of collaboration across the Institute and with partners around the world. Letters of support from partner organizations emphasized the practical value of Pardee's research and its role in informing policy planning and long-term decision-making. 

The Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works Impact Award reinforces the tangible value of the Institute's work to translate long-term analysis into practical guidance. Through the International Futures (IFs) system and close collaboration with global partners, the Institute develops evidence-based insights that help decision-makers better understand the future and the choices available today.