Warwick launched its Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) on 25th September 2019 - the Global Day to Act for the Sustainable Development Goals.

What is the IGSD?

The Institute is Warwick’s hub for transdisciplinary research on global sustainable development. The IGSD team co-creates research that crosses disciplinary borders and collaborates with stakeholder communities to achieve effective and equitable long-term impact, emphasising the need for robust monitoring and evaluation as a means for delivering change.

Launch event

At the launch event, the Director of the IGSD, Professor Joao Porto de Albuquerque (pictured right), set out his vision and strategy for the Institute to over 70 academics and professional services staff from Warwick, plus invited guests.

Presenting his mission to foster a transdisciplinary research community that enables transformative change and provides for equitable partnerships, Professor Porto de Albuquerque outlined four strategic goals of the Institute:

1. Generate cutting-edge research on transformations of human-environment interactions to sustainable development
2. Cultivate cross-border transdisciplinary networks and enable equitable partnerships
3. Contribute to transformative impact by addressing global challenges
4. Develop capacity and collaborative learning

Explaining how IGSD planned to deliver these goals, he noted that activity would centre around four key areas: Collaborative Projects, a Community Hub, a Geospatial Sustainable Development Data Lab and Guidance and Support.

The programme included presentations on other support available to develop international partnerships and research, including the Institute of Advanced Study, the International Strategy and Relations team and Research and Impact Services, along with a series of case studies from researchers already working with partners on challenges in ODA recipient countries on the OECDs DAC list.

IGSD Fellowship Scheme

On 8 October, 2019, the Institute launched a new Fellowship Scheme. This scheme will nurture a network of five Global Sustainable Development Champions across different disciplines in arts and humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, and health sciences whose research specifically addresses economic and social problems faced by countries with low and middle incomes in the context of one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

More information

Find out more about the Fellowship Scheme.

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