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.
In the growing body of research on gender and taxation in low-income countries, the implications of having more women in tax administration have received relatively little attention. Using data from employee records and key informant interviews, we examine the representation of women in the...
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...
New IDS research shows that out of 120 active mineral mine projects in Argentina and Chile, over 50 percent (61) are in conflict. In Chile, the majority of mineral mines are in conflict, with indigenous peoples in many cases, who are left to risk their wellbeing to protest against the lithium...
Societies are committed to moving from fossil to clean energies. Yet, this transition will not be possible if we do not change the way we extract minerals. Clean energy systems require massive amounts of them, but they create multiple environmental and social problems.
The piece reports on a recent workshop convened in Lusaka, Zambia, which shared the findings of the research project “The ‘right to nutrition’ in its social, legal and political context” and what it means for Zambia, and enabled conversations to strengthen action on a right to nutrition...
Across West Africa and East Africa, policy actors and citizens have tended to discuss socio-environmental issues in ways that recognise emotional, subjective viewpoints, but can be antagonistic.
Artists have often used artworks to express emotions and thus prompt public dialogue about contemporary challenges. At the same time, it has been suggested that collaborative art-making can be used in environmental deliberation processes, where stakeholder groups discuss contentious challenges...
Les premières publications sur la délibération environnementale partaient du principe que les pairs débattaient rationnellement des preuves pour parvenir à des conclusions logiques. Cependant, des travaux plus récents présentent les activités artistiques comme un moyen de reconnaître...
The blog is taking a break for a few weeks as holidays and book-writing deadlines beckon. But there’s plenty to catch up on if you haven’t already. Here’s a list of the ‘top 10’ most viewed posts of 2023 (so far) that have been published during the year.
This year there have been a...
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and other humanitarian emergencies exacerbate pre-existing inequalities faced by people with disabilities. They experience worse access to health, education, and social services, and increased violence in comparison with people without disabilities. Adolescents...
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,...
Sir Gordon Conway, who was the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex between 1992 and 1998 and former Chair of IDS has died.
Early career
Professor Conway trained in agricultural ecology, attending the University of Wales (Bangor), the University of Cambridge and the University of...
7 August 2023
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).