Introduction to GDSI

Established in 1991, GDSI has its origins in the Centre of Development Studies in the National University of Ireland, Galway. We are now one of Ireland’s most respected international development consulting companies, with an outstanding record of success in delivering sustainable solutions to economic, social and institutional problems in developing and emerging economies.  

GDSI has a multi-disciplinary core team of experts in economics, management, enterprise development, public administration and finance, education, social policy, law and human rights. In addition to its core staff, GDSI maintains a carefully registered database of nearly 6,000 international experts in a range of disciplines allowing us to tailor our services to the needs of the client.

GDSI’s mission is to provide sustainable solutions to development problems by using the highest quality local and international expertise in a sensitive and collaborative way.  We seek to offer value for money in all assignments in the following technical areas:

• Economic Planning and Management
• Enterprise Development and Trade
• Agriculture and Rural Development
• Tourism
• Governance and Public Finance
• Education and Vocational Training
• Labour Market Planning and Management
• Poverty and Social Development
• Law, Justice and Human Rights

GDSI has worked in over 100 countries worldwide. We have implemented technical assistance projects in Western and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, the Caucasus, Africa, Central and South Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. As one of the first western companies to establish consulting services in the former Soviet Union, GDSI is exceptional in its accumulation of practical experience and in its understanding of the operation and transformation of CIS economies. Its core staff and associates are highly skilled in a variety of European languages and in Russian.

GDSI’s clients include the European Commission, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, United Nations, DFID, Danida and other bilateral and multi-lateral donors. We have also done work for national, regional and local development agencies in Ireland and in EC Member States.