Research Centre of Excellence
The School of International Development (DEV) was founded in 1973 and along with the Overseas Development Group (ODG) has built a reputation as a centre of excellence for research, teaching and consultancy in international development, within the UK. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), DEV was ranked in the top three British ‘development studies’ departments, which is a 5-star department using the old RAE 2001 grading method. At the time of the 2008 RAE, all 32 academic staff were included in the RAE, which means that the outcome applies to the whole department. More than 60 percent of research outputs were considered as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Within DEV, faculty members work as researchers, consultants and advisers on a wide range of development projects, and their experience feeds back into research and teaching.
DEV undertakes problem-centred research with involvement of end-users to facilitate change, which is guided by the framework of research areas and themes. DEV has a research reputation in the fields of political ecology, gender, agricultural/rural development and livelihoods, and emerging research profiles in health, HIV/AIDS, climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental governance, and education and literacy.
DEV publications are located in leading journals, such as Journal of Development Studies, Science, World Development, Journal of South Asian Development, African Affairs, Journal of Human Development and Economic Journal, as well as in books, research reports and working papers. DEV policy impacts are found within key development institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Department for International Development (DFID), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID, World Bank, World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). DEV has a strong presence in national and international agendas through membership of ESRC panels, DFID committees and key UN policy forums; journal editorial positions, such as co-editor of Global Environment Change and book reviews editor of Journal of South Asian Development; high-level appointments, such as the former President of the Development Studies Association (DSA), Scientific Adviser on two major DEFRA projects on climate impacts and adaptation in China and India, and Vice-Chair of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel to the Global Environment Facility; and by attending, presenting at and organising seminars, workshops and conferences. Many faculty are members of the DSA, as well as other professional bodies, such as the International Society for Agricultural Economics. In recent years, DEV has awarded honorary degrees to Bob Geldof, Yolanda Kakabadse Navarro, Sorious Samura and Dr Naresh Saxena.
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