The papers in this volume were selected from those presented at an international researcher-stakeholder forum organized by the Grupo de Analisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE) in collaboration with PEP, the Universidad del Pacifico and the Network on Inequality and Poverty (NIP). Conducted at the midpoint of the MDG process, the meeting was an excellent opportunity to assess the progress in the MDGs and the challenges ahead. The five papers cover a range of challenges to reaching the MDGs. These papers, along with the conference proceedings offer insightful comments about the way to realign efforts toward reaching the MDGs and highlight ways to capture the interactions between the various MDGs .