Our interdisciplinary research explores how pathways to sustainability, green transformations and equitable access to resources such as land, water and food can be achieved and help us meet the environmental as well as human development-related goals of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
Our work builds on a long tradition of critical social science engagement with environmental issues and resource politics in collaboration with partners globally. It explores how pathways to sustainability are shaped by political-economic and social processes, and understands how they are driven by technology, markets, states and citizens. Our research sheds new light on how we can achieve green transformations that move us from fossil fuel to renewable energy, from throw-away to circular economies. It addresses the politics of sustainability, and understands how transformations occur at local levels as well as global, in both rural and urban settings, and be led by citizens as well as national governments. In doing so, it shines a light on how sustainable resource use, consumption and production is shaped by issues such as gender, livelihoods and politics.
The ESRC STEPS Centre (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) is an interdisciplinary global research and policy engagement centre.
This paper asks whether the chances of export-oriented industrialization in countries with low skill/land ratios seem better when the definition of manufactures is broadened to include processed primary products.
The European economy faces a crisis of competitiveness. This book looks at the experiences of 13 leading European companies, demonstrating how organization has been the key to their productivity growth.
This book reviews major initiatives to increase the supply and reduce the consumption of domestic energy, and explores the possibility of an alternative biomass energy strategy which relates more closely to the needs of rural people.
Recent years have seen a major rethinking of some of the hallowed assumptions of range ecology and range management practice. This book examines the management and policy implications of new ecological thinking for pastoral development in dryland areas, and the consequences of living with...
This book brings together the results of 16 evaluations in four countries (Bangladesh, India, Uganda and Zimbabwe), to provide a detailed assessment of the contribution that NGOs make to rural poverty alleviation.
How are gender relations evolving in India? Awareness of gender issues in India has increased due to the influence of the women's movement, feminist debates and donor advocacy. However this awareness has yet to be translated into policy and practice that significantly improves gender equality...
This paper presents the main conclusions from research into the experience of economic policy reforms in African countries that are undertaking political liberalization.
The promotion of 'good government' has become an explicit objective of most aid donors. This has raised suspicions in developing countries, particularly when the threat of withholding aid has been used to force multi-party elections.
Famine poses a continuing threat to many of the poorest countries in Africa. There is much that can be done, however, to reduce the risk of famine, and limit the damage done. Speeding up the response to famine early warning signals is vital.
China's rural health services provided a model for the rest of the world during the 1970s. Since then, China has been undergoing a shift to a market economy. This has had a radical impact on the health sector.
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).