This years' workshop is entitled "Development studies and climate change: ways forward for curriculum building".

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As the effects of climate change become more and more visible, so does the necessity to incorporate teaching on this matter in development studies curricula. So far, while the effects of climate change are often discussed in international development courses, the approach remains topical and usually embedded within the traditional teaching frames. This workshop will discuss how programmes in development studies could include a stronger component relating to climate change so that it becomes as legitimate a building block as other components. Challenges related to inter- or trans-disciplinarity will also be discussed, given that a change in study programmes implies greater familiarity with disciplines outside the traditional frame of ‘social sciences’ (such natural sciences, or sustainability studies). As usual, the workshop will consist of a mix of presentations...

We will be happy to present a programme on selected challenges in development research: Safety and security for researchers in difficult settings; influencing research funding policies; and academic freedom. The EADI Directors’ Meeting will once more connect research institutes for more effective co-operation by sharing ideas, identifying common problems, discussing new trends. The key is networking. In Europe, there is no better occasion for institute directors to meet, exchange and discuss.

By Adinda Ceelen | EADI/ISS Blog Series

Research impact has become a strategic priority for many research institutes around the world, with an increasing focus on “bridging the gap” between research and society and positioning research in a way that ensures the knowledge it produces can contribute to bringing about change. Development researchers often find themselves straddling two worlds: the academic sector on the one hand, and the development sector on the other. But is there a moral imperative for development researchers to bridge these two realms by acting as advocates in ‘the real world’? If so, how can they best share knowledge in ways that contribute to solidarity, peace, and social justice?

By Linda Johnson and Rodrigo Mena | EADI/ISS Blog Series

A quick glance at who is out collecting data in ‘the field’, including in remote and sometimes hazardous environments, is enough to make our point clear: the main executors of in-situ research (also known as fieldwork research) are local researchers and research assistants, sometimes together with junior or PhD researchers from research institutions in the Global North. These groups are being systematically and disproportionately exposed to safety and security issues linked to field research.

By Jonas Bauhof

Access to electricity is still a major problem

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 770 million people lacked access to electricity in 2019 – set aside sustainable energy sources. Three-quarters of these people – around 575 million – are living in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). While the numbers declined over the past decade, the Covid-19 pandemic has reversed the trend. SSA has been hit hard economically and for the first time since 2013, the number of people with access to electricity is predicted to have decreased in 2020.