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.
The growth of urban agriculture in Zimbabwe has been phenomenal. Every space seems to be cultivated, with a huge array of crops. Today you see tractors, irrigation pumps, trucks carrying produce to markets, with significant investments in commercialised agriculture happening alongside...
On 7 June, a paramilitary group estimated to be around 700 people – mostly police, park rangers, military and other security forces – arrived in the Loliondo area of Ngorongoro, Tanzania. Violence followed, including the shooting and arrests of local residents protesting against the...
To date, the Government of Cambodia has issued at least 2,216 policies in response to Covid-19. These have largely been directed at limiting the spread of the Covid-19 within Cambodia, with clear attempts to mitigate the burden on economically- and socially-vulnerable groups.
This study...
People living with disabilities face significant challenges when seeking employment - from stigma and discrimination to a lack of interest in their work aspirations and passions.
We have been working with the Inclusion Works (IW) programme (part of Inclusive Futures) to learn about people with...
What does empowerment for young women look like? For many, the answer would include jobs. But the belief that jobs bring empowerment through income, greater autonomy, and bargaining power within the family fail to recognise that these potential gains for young women are undermined by widespread...
Women’s equal participation in an economy means they pay and benefit from fair taxes.
This policy brief from the Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development (K4D) Programme shares key messages and recommendations for more gender-inclusive tax programmes.
Given that gender issues...
This paper draws on evidence from the Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) research programme to show how women express their political agency and activism and seek accountability in repressive contexts.
We live in illiberal times. The systematic attack on women’s rights, and human rights more broadly, is a global emergency. The overturning of Roe vs Wade – the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling that established access to abortion as a constitutional right – is the latest assault. Overturning...
This year’s Development Studies Association (DSA) Conference takes place on 6-8 July 2022. Researchers from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) will be participating in the conference, highlighting research on gender, youth, livelihoods, and citizenship.
The Conference provides...
The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the UKCDR COVID CIRCLE Researcher Community, invite you to join them for a Fireside Chat on 'The Impact of Evidence in a Pandemic: How has Covid-19 shaped the engagement of research with policy and practice in Low- and Middle-Income...
This report summarises key institutional lessons that emerged from a Learning Journey commissioned by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for its Covid-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) programme.
Placemaking and urban public spaces are important but often neglected factors in the integration and wellbeing of forcibly displaced people and other migrants. Migrants tend to have limited access and ability to use public spaces and are under-represented in urban planning processes.
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).