The MFMI has managed a fund that has supported capacity-building organizations to create original training materials, through small awards primarily to faculty, researchers and writers.

After funding the creation (research and writing) of many dozens of new case materials for education, the Global Fund is currently on hold, as the MFMI seeks new donor funding to support this effective work. Please feel free to share research ideas with the MFMI, but small grants are not currently being given.

About the Global Fund for Research and Materials Development

The Global Fund for Research and Materials Development (the "Global Fund") supports the research and documentation of case studies and other academic materials that capture the broad international experience of microfinance.  These materials are produced by MFMI network members, and practitioners and experts working in the field of microfinance worldwide.  This Global Fund constantly strives to develop materials that reflect international perspectives and experiences, some of which may challenge prevailing local paradigms.

Employing a competitive bid process, the Global Fund for Research and Materials Development selects and finances case studies across a spectrum of management themes.  All final studies are made publicly available via the Resource Library of this web site.  A small sample of potential topics for materials development includes:

• designing organizations around the task environment of the informal sector
  
  
• strategic orientation and scenario planning
  
  
• organizational restructuring
  
  
• entrepreneurial organizational design
  
  
• designing flexible human resource systems
  
  
• models for flexible business planning
  
  
• governance models

The MFMI is currently not reviewing proposals for funding, but is interested to hear from universities and training organizations about ideas which the MFMI can help to take to donors.