Institute of Development Studies

David O' Brien's first Board of Trustee Meeting July 2011

Dear IDS Alumni

I had the pleasure of participating in my first IDS Board meeting in July as the IDS Alumni Trustee, a position previously filled by Mary McKeown. Mary contributed significantly to the Board and will be greatly missed. While I was clearly sitting in Mary's vacated seat, the advantage of having an alumni representative on the Board is that any one of us would bring an historical understanding of where IDS has been. For this reason, I think the Board stands to gain from the informed and detached perspective that alumni have to offer.

In addition to discussing some familiar topics, there were also new developments that demonstrated IDS' ability to reinvent itself. For example, IDS recently launched a new Climate Change Team, coordinated by Mathew Lockwood. A new Fellow and a former Sussex professor, Dr. Lockwood gave a well-received presentation on the four pillars of this new research programme. Those with an interest in climate change governance and development strategies can find a full description on the IDS website. The team is in consultation mode and would likely welcome feedback or connections that alumni may have.

Given the dramatic growth of the teaching programme including 8 MA degrees, 127 MA and 54 PhD students, and over 1000 applications, I expect that future Board meetings will devote time to this area of the Institute's mandate. I did, however, have the opportunity to meet with Robert Nurick the new Head of Teaching and Alumni Relations. I think he would welcome your suggestions on how IDS might effectively tap into the Alumni network.

Best wishes

David O'Brien