Noam Unger

Director, Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative and Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development
Noam Unger

Noam Unger is the director of the Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a senior fellow with the Project on Prosperity and Development. Previously, he served on the executive team and as a vice president at InterAction, the largest U.S.-based coalition of nongovernmental organizations focused on international development, humanitarian action, peacebuilding, global health, and democracy. Among other things, he oversaw InterAction’s work on public policy, advocacy, civil society, and the NGO Climate Compact. Unger also served in leadership positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the director of the Policy Office, acting deputy assistant administrator, and the agency’s acting chief strategy officer. Other government roles included working as a USAID country desk officer, and as a U.S. Department of State humanitarian analyst and foreign affairs officer. He was also a vice president for Global Citizen Year. From 2007 to 2012, he worked at Brookings, where, as a global economy and development fellow, he directed the Foreign Aid Reform Project, cofounded the Development Assistance and Governance Initiative, and managed the annual Brookings Blum Roundtable. Unger earned a patent as a coinventor while working for StreamSage, a private sector software company. He holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He graduated from Swarthmore College with honors before spending a formative year on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in Central America, South America, West Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

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Analyzing the Role of Blockchain Technology in Strengthening Democratic Institutions

To create a regulatory environment in which the implementation of blockchain technology strengthens democracy without compromising individual flourishment, policymakers require a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and limitations of the many innovative usages of blockchain by governments and civil society. 

Event — October 25, 2023

Analyzing the Role of Blockchain Technology in Strengthening Democracies

In a world increasingly overflowing with data, blockchain is neither a panacea nor solely an instrument of cryptocurrencies but rather a tool that offers intriguing applications to support democratic governance, including in Ukraine.

Report by Noam Unger, Austin Hardman, and Ilya Timtchenko — October 25, 2023

Purchasing for Impact: Making Procurement Work for All

Please join the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development, in partnership with UNOPS, the United Nations Office for Project Services, for a discussion on procurement in support of localization and the SDGs.

Event — September 26, 2023

Press Briefing: Previewing the High-Level Week of UNGA 78

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a call-in press briefing on to preview the high-level General Debate at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78), which will begin Tuesday, September 19.

Event — September 14, 2023