Our research on governance, power relations, participation and citizen engagement, informs change processes in pursuit of social justice and social change. With power and politics central to our analysis, we support the generation of new evidence that contributes to improved processes for good governance, citizen engagement, empowerment and accountability.
We pioneer new ways of working with governments, communities, activists and academics, to understand the complex relationships and processes that exist across states, markets, and citizens, and between formal and informal institutions, to tackle issues such as digital inequalities, women’s participation and empowerment, decentralisation and local governance, rapid urbanisation, migration, taxation and domestic resource mobilisation, food security and hunger and nutrition. These draw on our extensive expertise in complex approaches to how change happens. Through our research and policy partnerships we are also bringing new insights on the role that rising powers and emerging economies such as China and Brazil have in relation to global governance and tackling development challenges such as sustainability and poverty. Our world-renown participatory research has a particular emphasis on systematic social exclusion facing women, people living in extreme poverty, people with disabilities, slaves bonded labourers, indigenous peoples and others. We advance cutting edge methodological development in action research, participatory visual methods, participatory mapping, participatory statistics, participatory Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) amongst others.
In alignment with the ‘leave no one behind’ framing of the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the PMA programme is working with groups of people living in poverty and marginalisation to strengthen processes of citizen-led accountability.
The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) provides research evidence that supports developing countries in raising domestic revenues equitably and sustainably, in a manner that is conducive to pro-poor economic growth and good governance.
Join us for a launch event for Prof Sabina Faiz Rashid’s book Poverty, Gender and Health in the Slums of Bangladesh: Children of Crows, published by Routledge UK.
Author Prof Sabina Faiz Rashid will read excerpts from her book, which is a compelling ethnographic exploration of the daily...
International collaborative research group, the Food Equity Centre (FEC), will share insights into inequities in food systems in Brazil, South Africa, the UK and globally, particularly in the context of South Africa’s 2024 elections, climate change, and the United Nations Sustainable...
Questions about rigour, validity and credibility are central concerns of all evaluation practice. So too should be how we pay attention to meaningful participation to enable greater equity, especially when embracing complexity and seeking to achieve systems change.
Yet many evaluators and...
Sierra Leone received its first shipment of 550,000 malaria vaccines in December 2023, marking a milestone for public health in a country that sees over two million hospital visits for malaria annually. Over the last 20 years, routine childhood vaccination in Sierra Leone has increased...
Several parts of Asia are currently reeling under the effects of extreme heat. Although heatwaves are a common occurrence in this part of the world, the change in frequency, duration and intensity of extreme heat is creating challenges for preparedness and planning for day-to-day survival for...
This report describes findings of an analysis of capacities to deliver social protection in Nigeria. It focuses specifically on generating findings that will be useful to situations of protracted crisis, such as displacement due to conflict or climate shocks.
On 29 May, South Africans will join voters from more than 60 countries at the polls this year. This is a pivotal moment in South African history, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party facing defeat for the first time, 30 years since the first democratic election in April 1994...
This chapter examines the important role that can be played by national and regional development banks in the green transformation. Our focus is on the European Investment Bank (EIB), but we argue that EIB’s effective mechanisms to fund the initiatives of the European Green Deal can be...
At the International Global Land Grabbing conference held recently in Bogota, Colombia, we held a ‘dialogue session’ with about 50 academics and activists, asking whether land redistribution had a future. I co-facilitated the session with Morgan Ody, the General Coordinator of La Via...
Gendered disinformation is being used across Africa as a tactic to silence critics and exclude women from online civic discourses, new research shows.
A new book ‘Digital Disinformation in Africa: Hashtag Politics, Power and Propaganda’ explores this further. It is written by Nkem...
Major land sales organised by states and businesses continue to cause problems for rural communities and indigenous groups, a landmark conference in Colombia has found.
Over the past 20 years, more than 30 million hectares of agricultural land has been sold off around the world according...
This seminar delves into Brazil's multifaceted engagement with international development, with specific reference to the hunger agenda.
Watch at 1pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV8ejkRgTOE
It will examine Brazil's evolving strategies, partnerships, and its impact on the global stage....
9 May 2024
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).