Official Launch: Lemann Collaborative (São Paulo, Brazil)In October 2025, the Lemann Foundation announced the establishment of the Lemann Collaborative: A Global Initiative for Excellence in Public Policy, developed in partnership with the University of Zurich and under the academic leadership of 2019 Nobel Laureates in Economics Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee. Formed in close partnership with J-PAL and the ADEPT network, the platform links academic research directly to front-line public administration, accelerating evidence-based policymaking and building institutional capacity to resolve systemic governance challenges. Program execution starts in late 2026.
Based at the University of Zurich’s Department of Economics, a global leader in applied economic research, the Lemann Collaborative joins the prestigious network of Lemann Centers, alongside academic partnerships with the Universities of Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Illinois, and Oxford, marking the Lemann Foundation’s sixth international hub.
The initiative operates across three complementary pillars: Dialogue and collaboration focused on multi-sector networks and knowledge exchange; Leadership development centered on training public sector leaders and institutional managers; and Research for scale, dedicated to generating rigorous data, applied research, and empirical evidence to optimize public policy. The goal is building sustainable environments for policy innovation, elevating state capacity and institutionalizing evidence-informed governance.
Supported by a total funding commitment of 26 million Swiss francs (~$33 million USD / R$ 174 million), the initiative creates dedicated talent pipelines for Brazilian leaders, offering annual funding for online MicroMasters certifications, full master’s degree scholarships at the University of Zurich, and visiting research positions.
