Project Starling’s Senior Adviser John Norris and Policy and Research Analyst Joshua Wells explore some of the key issues that the next Secretary-General should place front and center at a pivotal moment.

The September 2025 edition of Starling’s Call newsletter, the Starling’s Call, is out, covering the UN80 initiative which will be the talk of the town during UNGA high level week, our views on the Plastics Treaty, the ICJ advisory opinion, what we’re reading, key dates coming up, and more.

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Speaking in an interview with Foreign Policy, Minh-Thu talks about a shift in global governance where coalitions of actors are taking ownership of the issues that matter to them—such as climate change, pandemic protocols, and development goals—and moving forward with reform even if the full consensus of a multilateral group isn’t behind them.

On Monday, October 13, Project Starling CEO and co-Founder Minh-Thu Pham spoke at a briefing on UN mandate creation to a meeting of the Informal ad hoc Working Group on the UN80 Initiative.

This Pulse Update presents an initial analysis of Member State positions on the UN80 initiative based on insight from our informal networks and statements delivered up to August 2025.

Pulse Update is new series providing the latest insight on issues that are of interest to select subgroups in the multilateral community.

In our first Pulse, we analyze the Compromiso de Sevilla’s climate finance outcomes to inform the 2nd Africa Climate Summit’s Addis Declaration in September.

In her latest article, Minh-Thu Pham breaks down why the Compromiso de Sevilla matters, what it signals for the future of international cooperation, and how it fits into a broader pattern of international cooperation adapting to a very different global landscape.

The UN80 initiative represents a major reform and restructuring effort spearheaded by the Secretary-General at the UN’s 80 anniversary. In this July 2025 explainer, Senior Advisor John Norris spells out the basic contours of the UN80 initiative and their potential implications for the United Nations and multilateralism. It may come with major implications across the entire UN family.

July/August 2025 issue No. 5 of Starling’s Call newsletter is out. Subscribe to receive it without delay in your inbox.

At the Financing for Development (FfD4) Conference in Seville, Project Starling, Centre for Policy Dialogue (Bangladesh), and NYU’s Center on International Cooperation launched a new civil society-led effort designed to help ensure that the promises made at FfD4 are tracked and translated into tangible improvements for developing countries.

In a time of political flux, many foundations are rethinking how -- and when -- they spend their money. In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Project Starling co-founder Jacob Harold argues for a new framework for determining foundation payout based on the unique characteristics of each social issue. 

The announced withdrawal of several states from the Ottawa Convention to ban landmines represents an alarming retreat from an agreement that has prevented untold suffering. Deputy Director Elena Bertozzi examines a troubling pattern: the accelerating unraveling of many of the international norms we once took for granted.

September 2025 | Writing in the Addis Fortune, Project Starling Policy Advisor Gabriel Mekbib reflects on the implementation challenges of the 2015 Financing for Development Addis Ababa Action Agenda and emphasizes the importance of deliberate, sustained implementation to ensure the 2025 Compromiso de Sevilla delivers.