IDS has renewed its institutional partnership agreement with the International Institute of Social Studies in a move that highlights our shared values and ongoing commitment to ensuring the representation of social sciences in responses to global shocks.
Reaffirming a long-standing partnership
As academics and knowledge professionals committed to a more equal and sustainable world, staff at IDS and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) share the goal of collaborating across sciences, sectors and communities to do research, learning and teaching that brings progressive change.
The agreement builds on decades of collaboration and extends our 2017-2020 agreement until December 2024. Recent collaborations have been through the Journal of Peasant Studies (which IDS’ Ian Scoones guest edits), the Land Deals Politics Initiative, the Wellbeing, Ecology, Gender and Community Innovation Training Network (WEGO-ITN), , and Robert Chambers’ and Richard Jolly’s Honorary Fellowships at ISS.
The partnership renewal will facilitate a significant range of activities, from joint research projects on youth, migration and political ecology, to staff exchanges, convening platforms to influence European development policy, and sharing learning on digital pedagogies. It will facilitate ground-breaking research and policy influence collaborations under the auspices of our Strategic Research Initiative on ‘Ensuring decent work and inclusive politics for youth’, including on Youth mobility, security and livelihoods in West Africa and the Horn (follow the link to register for our event on 23 February), and on rural youth. The agreement establishes a relationship of mutual learning and professional development for both of our institutes, particularly related to innovative, learner-centred pedagogies as we shift to online and blended learning. It also affirms our shared commitment to influencing European development research, practice and policy making, including through the upcoming EADI conference on Solidarity, Peace and Social Justice.
Strengthening European engagements post-Brexit
This agreement is critical for IDS as we reaffirm ourselves as a truly European partner. The IDS-convened European Engagement Initiative provides focus on a region facing intense geopolitical change post Brexit. It recognises that tackling universal challenges such as climate change, poverty and injustice requires knowledge sharing, mutual learning and collaboration inclusive of diverse perspectives within Europe and about Europe globally.
The IDS Europe Initiative creates space where European researchers can share, learn and work with global researchers, governments, civil society and the private sector. It aims to strengthen development thinking and practice including policy impact and the generation of actionable solutions. The initiative also builds and increases the visibility of our collaborative research on development challenges within Europe.
The initiative includes a network of mutual partnerships with research, learning, teaching and policy work underway. It is part of an evolving network that includes China, Brazil, Ghana and Pakistan.
If you would like to know more about these initiatives or the IDS-ISS partnership please contact Rachel Dixon ([email protected])
