TWCF’s Global Innovations for Character Development (GICD) is a first-of-its-kind attempt to promote the development of character strengths worldwide. The projects funded under GICD are led by researchers from diverse geographic and disciplinary backgrounds such as human development, psychology, public health, and education. Due to this diversity and limited infrastructure for character development research outside of North America and Western Europe, it can be challenging for grantees to connect with, learn from, and build upon the experiences and knowledge of others working in this space. 

The GICD Platform seeks to address this challenge by providing a series of research support and community building activities for grantees. Based at, and led by, the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues (JCCV) at the University of Birmingham, the GICD Platform will be a collaborative partnership with the Institute of Applied Research in Youth Development (IARYD), Tufts University, and the Institute for Research on Youth Thriving and Evaluation (RYTE), Montclair State University. 

In collaboration with a network of international experts, the Platform will provide tailored one on one support to grantees, and host a series of expert and peer led seminars and roundtable events. The specific aims of these activities will be to:

• Strengthen grantees conceptual, evaluation, and methodological skills, including developing their knowledge of existing international research and use of relevant literature;
• Generate opportunities among grantees and others working in character development for peer learning and knowledge exchange;
• Transfer learning to practice and to plan for sustainability
• Support the creation and dissemination of high-quality research outputs, such as journal articles etc. 

The GICD Platform’s model of research engagement and community building is a unique and important contribution to GICD and character development research globally.