The Research Centre for the Global Compact was created in October 2008 as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Global Compact and the State University of New York. The Research Centre is housed at The Levin Institute for International Relations and Commerce in New York.

The mission of the Research Centre for the Global Compact is to engage in research and academic activities consistent with the purposes and objectives of the Global Compact, in close coordination with the United Nations Global Compact Office.