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Evidence into Policy and Practice

IDS has pioneered approaches to linking up the supply of inclusive research with the demand for evidence from governments, donors, international development agencies, and civil society. It has also helped shape the concept of the politics of knowledge and current understandings of the relationship between evidence, policy and practice being social, political and interactive.

We have significant experience of mobilising knowledge in response to urgent humanitarian crises, and also provide tailored development knowledge services to governments and donor agencies as well as centres of excellence for knowledge sharing and engagement.  Our research staff and knowledge specialists bring particular experience and expertise in the following areas:

Evidence into use –research design that integrates knowledge exchange and policy engagement mechanisms from the start.

Research communications – high quality accessible products designed for maximum engagement

Digitally-enabled knowledge exchange – making evidence more available and accessible with the thoughtful use of technology.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning – facilitated learning around research impact and the development of theories of change.

Capacity building and mutual learning – through research programmes and tailored training and strategy support for institutions and individuals working at the interface between research evidence and policy and practice.

Programmes and centres

Projects

Recent work

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Showing 1–12 of 15420 results

Upcoming Event

Pathways to development conference

Pathways to Development (Path2Dev) is a multidisciplinary conference that brings together empirical and historical research by economists, political scientists, sociologists, legal and constitutional scholars, and law and policy reform experts, within and outside Pakistan, to document and...

From 11 September 2025 until 13 September 2025

News

ICTD extends research partnership with WIEGO on informal sector taxation

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), based at the Institute of Development Studies, has signed a memorandum of understanding with global research and advocacy network WIEGO, formalising a long-standing collaboration on research and informal sector taxation.

25 July 2025

Publication

Succeeding in the Snakes and Ladders Game of Development in Mozambique: The Role of Collaborative Approaches

IDS Research Report 91

The existing wisdom on efforts to promote accountability highlights the importance of ‘thinking and working politically’ and moving from confrontational to collaborative approaches. This is particularly relevant given current trends, including closing civic space and the decline in...

24 July 2025

Brief

Supporting Mutual Aid in Sudan

BASIC Research Policy Briefing 7

This Policy Briefing sets out how donors and aid organisations can improve the quantity and quality of their support in Sudan.

24 July 2025

News

Podcast – Between roles: Mother, student, or self?

What does it mean to navigate motherhood while pursuing a postgraduate degree? How do students balance identity, care, and academia in a world not built with them in mind? In this podcast, MA Gender and Development (GAD) students Patronela Tshuma, Chaltu Merera Fana, and Akinyi Ochieng'...

24 July 2025

Opinion

Children as rights holders in the digital world

We, as guest editors, are seeking expressions of interest for a special issue of Global Studies of Childhood, entitled Children as rights holders in the digital world. Interested contributors should send a 500 word abstract (250 words for non-academic work) and a short bio of each...

23 July 2025

Book

Ideologically Motivated Sexual Grooming

Book

Across diverse societies, coercion often hides behind cultural norms, religious expectations, legal systems, and gendered power structures. This book exposes a disturbing but overlooked form of abuse: ideologically motivated sexual grooming – the manipulation of women and girls from religious...

Mariz Tadros
Mariz Tadros & 10 others

22 July 2025

Publication

Technical Note: Area-wide Programming for Safely Managed Sanitation

Exposure to human faeces is hazardous to human health. An estimated 564,000 children die from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe sanitation annually. A lack of access to safe sanitation is also a major cause of cholera outbreaks, with almost all cases coming from countries with the lowest...

Bisi Agberemi, WASH Specialist at UNICEF

22 July 2025

Why learn with us.

In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).

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