Paris-based DIAL (Développement, Institutions & Analyses de Long terme) was created in 1990. The focus of this public research center is on research and statistical analysis of development policies.

DIAL is the result of a partnership between the Institute for Development Research (IRD) and the French Development Agency (AFD). It is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (General Direction of International Cooperation and Development) and the Ministry of Economy and Finances (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies). DIAL includes a research unit of IRD, with research branches in Senegal (Dakar University) and soon also in Bamako, Mali, and Hanoi, Vietnam.

A multidisciplinary team of economists, demographers and statisticians are investigating the links between the demo-economic development process, resource distribution and state intervention. In the research process, special attention is given to closely associate the three domains of
a) production of statistics on priority issues,
b) in-depth analysis of the collected data, and
c) evaluation of economic policies.

The research program 2005-2008 follows three principal axes:

• Genesis of inequalities and poverty (dynamics of poverty, job market and social mobility; rural dynamics; multiple dimensions of poverty; impact of economic policies on distribution);
• Governance, institutions and long term distribution of resources (participation, identities and construction of the state; historical perspective of resource distribution in Africa); it is in this context that, within the framework of Metagora, DIAL assists and coordinates the implementation of the modules on governance, democracy and subjective poverty in francophone Africa and the Andean Community;
• Aid, international strategies and global inequalities (development aid policies; monitoring and evaluation of new international strategies in the fight against poverty).