Bhanu Joshi, PhD candidate in the Political Science department and fellow with CCSA, as part of a collaborative project of researchers from BRICS (Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa) countries, received a research grant of USD 33,815 from the South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT) under the Economic Growth and Development cluster. A multi-country comparative study, the lead research collaborators along with Bhanu (India), are - Prof Fulfhelo Netswera (Durban University of Technology, South Africa), Prof Jiejin Zhu (University of Fudan, China), Roman Chukov (RUSPRO, Russia)) and Sérgio Veloso dos Santos Júnior (BRICS Policy Center, Brazil). The research project is interested in the linkages between bureaucratic institutions, state capacity and urban societies. Specifically, research verticals include: (1) metropolitan-level institutions to address environmental externalities or threats posed by climate change in cities of the global south. (2) Development projects and urban regeneration schemes and their distributive consequences and (3) Explaining economic growth and dynamism by studying politician bureaucratic interaction in urban governance.