GRADE Project - Government Revenue and Development Estimations

GRADE Project - Government Revenue and Development Estimations Translating revenue into development. Evidence-based tools for SDG progress
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The Government Revenue and Development Estimations (GRADE) Project is a research-led initiative co-hosted by the University of St Andrews and the University of Leicester. GRADE enables users to model how changes in government revenue affect sustainable development indicators such as access to water, sanitation, education, and health. It was initiated in 2021 by researchers at the University of St

Andrews and the University of Leicester, with support from the Scottish Funding Council, the Global Challenges Research Fund, the Medical Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (MRC IAA), and the Professor Sonia Buist Global Child Health Research Fund. Developed to address the question of how government revenue affects progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the GRADE model quantifies the relationship between fiscal capacity and development outcomes — especially in education, health, water, and sanitation. The project combines large-scale econometric modelling with an interactive online tool designed for use by everyone, including decision makers, policymakers, NGOs, academics, and advocates. Specialties
Development Economics: Emphasis on how government spending translates into social outcomes, Policy Impact and Advocacy: Provides evidence to support equitable fiscal policy and global governance, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Demonstrating the interconnectedness of fiscal capacity, global financial architecture, and the realisation of key SDG indicators

02/04/2026

🔥EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT🔥

Hear from Zambian debt and climate activist Precious Kalombwana in person this April 📢

Join us in London, Manchester and online 👇

🙌 RSVP London and online: act.debtjustice.org.uk/life-debt-conversation-precious-kalombwana

🌍 RSVP Manchester: debtjustice.org.uk/manchester

Precious is one of the leading voices for debt cancellation and climate action in her region.

Join us in April to hear how activists like Precious are resisting the twin crises of debt and climate - and what you can do to be part of the campaign.

21/03/2026

📢DID YOU KNOW?
Africa paid $163 billion in debt interest in 2024 alone. Not schools. Not hospitals. Just interest❗️❗️.
Africa is the only region where debt is growing faster than GDP. Interest rates on African bonds have reached 10%, while the USA pays just 2.5%. The system isn’t broken. It was intentionally built this way. Expert advice keeps piling up. Leaders keep on ignoring it- meanwhile, debt keeps rising, with it the high cost of living.
Read “Towards the Next Frontier in Sustainable Debt Advocacy in Africa” and find out why political will - not more policy papers - is the real missing piece.
🔗https://shorturl.at/y1qgY

28/02/2026

🚨PRESS ALERT 🚨

With Africa’s public debt reaching $2.1 trillion and external debt servicing projected to hit $90 billion by 2026, the continent is at a breaking point. We cannot continue to prioritise debt repayments over basic human rights like clean water, sanitation, and climate adaptation.
As our Interim Executive Director, Dr. Theophilus Yungong, emphasises in the article: "The G20 Common Framework has proven insufficient. We need a transparent, inclusive, and multilateral legal framework under the United Nations to ensure debt sustainability and economic justice for all Africans." It is time for Africa to be a rule-maker, not a rule-taker. Read the full coverage on GhanaWeb here:➡️http://bit.ly/46Kt7zw

After the G20: Can the Spirit of Ubuntu Survive? For the first time ever, the G20 was hosted in Africa, and the GRADE te...
30/01/2026

After the G20: Can the Spirit of Ubuntu Survive?
For the first time ever, the G20 was hosted in Africa, and the GRADE team made a meaningful contribution to the dialogue.

In this new blog, we reflect on what the outcomes mean for solidarity, shared humanity, and equitable global governance.

Link to the blog:

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24/01/2026

Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power

This is the Oxfam campaign that utilised the GRADE MODEL.Numbers in green were simulated by GRADE and are realistic.
22/01/2026

This is the Oxfam campaign that utilised the GRADE MODEL.
Numbers in green were simulated by GRADE and are realistic.

Today we’re launching the Davos Billionaire Wealth Tracker.

While leaders gather at the World Economic Forum, billionaire wealth is projected to keep growing — even as millions of people struggle with rising costs, climate impacts, and underfunded public services.

This tracker estimates that projected wealth growth during Davos week and puts it into real-world terms: what this level of money could fund if it were invested in people instead of piling up at the top.

The tracker is grounded in our latest report on how extreme wealth drives inequality and undue political influence.

👉 Explore the tracker here:
https://www.oxfam.org/en/oxfam-billionaire-wealth-tracker

Oxfam has just launched the Billionaires Wealth Tracker, timed to coincide with the Davos meeting. The tracker sheds lig...
22/01/2026

Oxfam has just launched the Billionaires Wealth Tracker, timed to coincide with the Davos meeting. The tracker sheds light on the scale and dynamics of billionaire wealth, and what it means for public resources and inequality.
Link to the tracker: https://www.oxfam.org/en/oxfam-billionaire-wealth-tracker

Notably, the tracker makes extensive use of the GRADE model, demonstrating how evidence-based tools can help communicate the real-world impact of increasing or decreasing government revenue. In a companion blog, Oxfam describes the model as “a game-changer for those who want to communicate the impact of changes in government revenue.

This is a powerful example of research translating directly into public debate and policy-relevant advocacy.

Link to the blog: https://www.equals.ink/p/the-numbers-behind-oxfams-billionaire

GRADE for evidence-based advocacy.This is a report from the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights on ...
20/12/2025

GRADE for evidence-based advocacy.
This is a report from the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights on Kenya which makes extensive use of the GRADE model and acknowledges our work and contribution.

GI-ESCR advances social justice and human rights worldwide, promoting equality, dignity, and accountability for all people.

New publication alert:Globally, classrooms are crowded and teachers are overburdened...But what if the answer lies not o...
18/12/2025

New publication alert:
Globally, classrooms are crowded and teachers are overburdened...

But what if the answer lies not only in education reform but also in fiscal policy?

The evidence 👉🏼https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1146/13/4/46

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