The lead institutions for this global research initiative are three universities ranked in the Top 50 by the QS World University Rankings (published by the Times Higher Education Supplement):

• Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
• School of Social Science and Public Policy, King's College London
• Robert F Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University

While the initiative will be launched by three global universities, it will also reach out from the academic realm to embrace policymakers. It will thereby build a platform for information exchange across three world cities, and for high-level academic research and evidence-based policymaking.