We transform the knowledge, action and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally, through our world-class research, learning and teaching.
Over the last fifty years, we have worked with governments, philanthropic foundations, academic institutions and civil society organisations to transform approaches to progressive social, political and economic change. Here are some of our stories of change:
We live in uncertain times, with threats to progress on women’s rights and gender equality. To counter this, two collaborative research strands this year aimed to bring progressive change for women by highlighting the barriers that prevent them from realising their rights – and yielded...
6 September 2023
Collaborations are central to how we work at IDS. The bedrock of this work is participation – of local communities and citizens, and of country-based researchers, businesses, advocates, activists and policymakers. Building, sharing and valuing local knowledge was the springboard for the...
1 September 2023
Mina Chiang studied for an MA in Development Studies in 2017, with a scholarship from Rotary International in her home country, Taiwan. She has since founded the Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), an award-winning social enterprise that works to end modern slavery and human...
28 August 2023
At IDS, our teaching and support systems are designed to enable students to give their best and to be well equipped to work at the forefront of international development. Modules explore decolonising perspectives In line with our aim to bring a decolonising agenda into teaching, activists and...
23 August 2023
From 2022 -2023, a number of projects at IDS have demonstrated how effective arts-based methods are in giving people a voice and facilitating meaningful and equitable dialogue. Migrant stylists and researchers co-create art installation A working nail salon in a glass pavilion in an Amsterdam...
10 August 2023
We provide world-class professional, practitioner and organisation-wide learning for people working in development. Our action-oriented, collaborative training and learning are offered in three broad types: Specialist short courses for development professionals – for example,...
7 August 2023
How evidence is generated, shared and used underpins our drive to increase equity in knowledge production. We challenge knowledge hierarchies and explore ways to think more deeply about evidence and impact. Over the past year, that impact could be seen in IDS research influencing policy and...
1 August 2023
The IDS International Initiatives are spaces for researchers, governments and civil society from diverse locations to share new perspectives on tackling global challenges. Below is a snapshot of some of the activity that has taken place over the last twelve months. Brazil The IDS Brazil...
28 July 2023
Ahead of next year’s WHO-led treaty on pandemics, our Pandemic Preparedness project and Covid Collective initiative - both examples of what can be achieved through agile partnering and collaboration - have underlined the need to make responses equitable, ethical and...
24 July 2023
We worked closely this year with the employee-led Reward Review Working Group to establish fair and transparent pay and reward structures. An external consultancy (ECC) was commissioned to support IDS to develop clear structures, policy and processes around pay and progression, and that work is...
20 July 2023
Two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the more complex impacts of the disease are becoming clearer. Rising to these multidimensional challenges, IDS partnerships have gone above and beyond expectations in pursuing social science research to inform policy and practice. Despite the constraints...
1 September 2022
Participatory research and inquiry is all about ‘putting the people who are experiencing the problems at the heart of finding the solutions’. As interest in participatory methods has surged, IDS this year produced a highly acclaimed and comprehensive handbook aimed at social science...
30 August 2022
