The student arm of the G8 Research Group is comprised of several different research units, each of which produces at least one major report per annum.  The reports produced by each of the research units are disseminated worldwide to more than one hundred stakeholders for review prior to their release to the public.  The research and analysis produced by the G8 Research Group has attracted attention from governments, academics, policy institutes, international and non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, and the media.

Compliance Studies

Each year since 1996, the G8 Research Group has produced a compliance report on the progress made by the G8 member countries in meeting the commitments issued at each leaders’ summit. Since 2002, the group has published an interim report, timed to assess progress at moment of the transition between one country’s year as host and the next, and then a final report issued just before the leaders meet at their annual summit. These reports, which monitor each country’s efforts on a carefully chosen selection of the many commitments announced at the end of each summit, are offered to the general public and to policy makers, academics, civil society, the media and interested citizens around the world in an effort to make the work of the G8 more transparent and accessible, and to provide scientific data to enable the meaningful analysis of this unique and informal institution. Compliance reports are available at the G8 Information Centre at www.g8.utoronto.ca/compliance/

Expanded Dialogue Studies

For several years the G8 has invited the leaders of several major emerging economies in the developing world to participate in focused discussions on topics such as trade, climate change, the world economy and health. 

After years of participating in G8 Summits as observer nations, Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa have become known as the O5, or Outreach-5.  At the Heiligendamm G8 Summit in 2007, the leaders of the O5 countries released a joint statement with the German G8 Presidency committing to action in the areas of investment, innovation, climate change, energy and African development.

The Expanded Dialogue Unit has monitored the relationship between the O5 and the G8 since 2004, but the unprecedented formal commitments made by the O5 at the 2007 Heiligendamm Summit enabled the Expanded Dialogue Unit to expand its mandate.  Using the methodology developed by the G8 Research Group to monitor the perfomance of the G8, the Expanded Dialogue Unit now monitors the compliance of O5 countries with the commitments made at the G8 Summit.

Civil Society Studies

The term “civil society” first appeared in an official G8 summit document in 1995. Since then, the relationship between the G8 and civil society has undergone a marked evolution. Two decades ago, the notion of large-scale civic engagement occurring alongside G8 deliberations was unthinkable. Today, G8 summits are often synonymous with large-scale demonstrations.

Civil society does not only occupy the role of an external commentator, but also that of an internal stakeholder through a new program of formal consultations. Perhaps the most ambitious example of this form of civil society consultation is the Civil G8, an initiative created by the Russian Federation during its presidency of the G8 in 2006.  The increased recognition of civil society leaves open the possibility that we are entering a new phase of G8-civil society relations, whereby large-scale pre-summit consultations become a reified component of the G8 process.

The Civil Society Unit has been monitoring the relationship between various civil society groups and the G8 presidency since 2004, with the aim of developing a better understanding of the role civil society plays in the agenda-setting process and outcome of G8 Summits.

Media Studies

While there have been hosts of academic interrogations into the role of the media in political agenda-setting and public opinion-making, the impact of the international press on the G8 is a subject that has received little direct attention by scholars.  Journalists have become as much a fixture of G8 Summitry as world leaders, and each summit is equipped with an International Media Centre to house the plethora of reporters that descend upon the annual affair.

In 2007 the G8 Research Group commissioned a Media Unit to conduct media content analyses intended to measure the ostensibly bidirectional effects of the media and the G8 on each other’s agenda.

Summit Studies

Any comprehensive study of the G8 is incomplete without an in-depth analysis of the G8 Summit itself.  Due to the generous support of its benefactors, patrons and sponsors, the G8 Research Group is able to invite 25 of its student analysts to attend the G8 Summit each year.  Students participate in the summit as policy analysts for the G8 Research Group.

Prior to the summit, analysts prepare comprehensive reports providing detailed analysis on each G8 member-state’s priorities for the summit.  Analysts also prepare reports on each of the major issues that is expected to appear on the summit agenda.  These reports are based primarily on policy documents, position papers, executive briefs, media coverage, and expert interviews.  The reports serve to predict the most salient concerns for each country and the expected outcome of discussions on a given issue.

At the summit, students attend press conferences and briefings, conduct interviews, and analyze documents as they released in order to monitor the issue-areas they have identified and others that arise.  This research is integral to the G8 Research Group’s work throughout the year, as it provides the context for the next cycle of compliance analysis, which is closely monitored by our international stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental. 

Students also serve as a source of expertise for the international media, giving interviews about the G8 and the issues on the summit agenda.

This valuable work performed by the G8 Research Group has been noted by several G8 member-states through their officials, including Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the G8 Presidency of the Russian Federation, and the European Commission.