On September 26, 2025, NYU Global TIES for Children co-hosted The Agency Summit alongside The Agency Fund and NYU Office of the Provost. This one-day, interdisciplinary gathering set out to foster collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and funders to explore how agency — the capability to navigate toward your desired future — can be harnessed to promote sustainable development outcomes.

Coinciding with United Nations General Assembly week in New York City, The Agency Summit  brought together influential scholars and leaders in Economics, Psychology, International Development, and beyond. The day featured many IHDSC affiliates and was full of stand-out sessions focusing on the theory, research and science of agency and problem-solving the challenges and opportunities in scaling and implementing  agency-based approaches to reduce social inequality and advance opportunity. 

In one particularly impactful panel moderated by Global TIES Director, Florencia Lopez Boo and featuring Hirokazu Yoshikawa (Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education, NYU Steinhardt), panelists spoke of the importance of turning evidence into decisions that communities can actually use. In a later session facilitated by Rezarta Bilali (Associate Professor of Psychology and Social Intervention, NYU Steinardt), Kate Schwartz (Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU Steinhardt) shared reflections on implementation, measuring what matters, building feedback loops, and staying close to context.

Sharing their reflections from the Agency Summit, The Agency Fund underscored takeaways from the day, highlighting that “when systems, organizations, and tools are designed with agency in mind, people don’t just move toward better futures – they gain the capability to shape them.”