What is the Reach Alliance?
The Reach Alliance began in 2015 at the University of Toronto as the Reach Project, a student-led, faculty-driven, multi-disciplinary research initiative dedicated to investigating the pathways to success for innovative development programs that are reaching the world’s most marginalized populations.
Reach has developed a unique methodology to uncover how and why certain development programs are able to reach the world’s poorest of the poor. Research findings are presented at the annual Reach Symposium attended by leading thinkers, researchers and practitioners from the public, private and civil society sectors. Findings have appeared in prominent journals.
The Reach Alliance is housed at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy with support from the Mastercard Impact Fund, administered by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. With $2 million USD in funding, the Reach Alliance will scale the Reach Project methodology to six other top universities by 2022.
“We would love to see it [the Reach Project] emulated in other parts of the world. We think it should be an export from the University of Toronto to other great universities.”
How does it work?
Students from all fields of study, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, are recruited to the Reach Alliance.
Once chosen, students are mentored for 18 months by dedicated faculty mentors as they undertake their research.
Student teams complete field research, conducting interviews with key stakeholders involved in local project implementation.
Once they return, teams produce a case study, highlighting the findings from each project.
The findings are published in journals, presented at conferences, and shared with practitioners and policymakers.
Not only does the Reach Alliance produce world-class research, it also cultivates a new group of global problem-solvers and purpose-driven leaders.
Working hand-in-hand with the private sector, governments, NGOs, and academics, the Reach Alliance brings new insights, tools, and a new generation of leaders to the fore.
Since 2015, 90 undergraduate and graduate students from nine schools and faculties across the University of Toronto have published 17 case studies on innovative programs in 14 countries. Reach alumni have secured positions in prominent public and private sector organizations such as the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, McKinsey, Global Affairs Canada, Grand Challenges Canada, the United Nations and the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health.