The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) is an economic and policy research centre within the Oxford Department of International Development at the University of Oxford. OPHI's mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is grounded in people's experiences and values. In recent years, our main area of work has been on multidimensional poverty measurement, both through academic research and with concrete outreach activities at the global and national level.
OPHI designed the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) as a practical tool to provide a more comprehensive view of poverty, giving policy makers the information needed for more effective, efficient and coordinated programs to combat poverty in its many dimensions. It uses the Alkire-Foster (AF) Method of measurement, developed by OPHI Director Sabina Alkire and Research Associate James Foster. OPHI is a founding member (with the governments of Colombia and Mexico) of the Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network (MPPN) and serves as its Secretariat.