The DSA Study Groups have been buzzing with renewed energy in 2025, with new convenors, exciting collaborations, and events that bring critical global development issues into focus. “Member engagement through DSA Study Groups is vital to the strength and relevance of the DSA” said DSA President Uma Kambhampati. “It is through these networks that we see deep reflection, collaboration, and innovation – all of which are essential to advancing our shared mission of critical and inclusive development studies.”

Across our network, several groups have welcomed fresh leadership.  The Decolonising Development, Business and Development, Digital Technologies, Data and Development  Rising Powers, Environment and Climate Change, Scotland and Women and Development groups have all appointed new convenors, ensuring continuity and creativity within their research communities.

We’d like to say thank you to some long running leaders and those who have been instrumental in getting new groups off the ground. Tuesday Gichuki has been instrumental in starting and convening the Global South study group since 2022 and will be ending his term in late 2025. Michael Tribe and Mozammel Huq  have been co-convening the active Scotland study group for at least 20 years. We are also grateful to Richard Heeks who has also been actively leading the Digital Technologies, Data and Development study group for 33 years! 

At Council level, Ibrahim Natil now represents Study Groups and has brought convenors together to encourage collaboration, discuss funding opportunities, and explore new ways to host bilingual and hybrid events making sure DSA spaces are more accessible and globally connected than ever before.

The Women and Development Study Group refreshed its identity to Gender and Development, adopting a new name through an inclusive consultation process, and led a dynamic annual meeting at the University of East Anglia this June. The group is also in the process of co-editing a second special issue for the Development in Practice Journal based on their panels at the DSA 2024 Conference. 

The NGOs in Development group secured funding to host a speaker from Palestine for their DSA2025 panel on rebuilding higher education in Gaza, publishing work on localisation and social justice and taking part in the GDI Students for Palestine conference in Manchester.  

The Political Economy and Political Ecology of Land, Labour and Food continue their Land, Labour and Food webinars; host two panels co-convened at the African Studies Association in Atlanta and the International Conference of Agrarian Change in India. They ended the year with a three-day workshop, as part of the PhD Political Economy of Development Group exploring ‘Is Development still possible?’ and ‘(Re-)establishing Political Economy in Development Studies’

The Politics and Political Economy study group continues to nurture PhD-led initiatives through the Political Economy of Development PhD Group, where doctoral researchers working on Political Economy questions in Development Studies meet once a month online.  The group organised a panel on the intersections of Development and Dependency to end the year. 

Religion and Development organised a panel on arts-based methods for the study of religions and development at the conference in 2025. The group convenors are currently preparing a collectively authored paper on the topic. We are also looking forward to our roundtable/panel at the 2026 conference, which focuses on critical junctures in religions and development research and practice. We have also been working on a special issue emerging from our 2023 roundtable on LGBT+ communities, faith actors and development, which is expected to be published in 2026 in ‘Development in Practice’. So far, three articles have been published.

The Digital Technologies, Data and Development group’s earlier conference panels have already led to international collaborations and publications in the last year including a Routledge edited book on China’s digital expansion in the global South.

The Scotland Study Group also hosted its annual conference which encouraged attendance from ECRs. Read Jenni Argent’s report of presenting for the first time here. 

The Multidimensional Poverty and Poverty Dynamics Study Group continue to build on their successful dual role as a DSA Study Group and EADI Working Group, hosting panel sessions at both the EADI conference in Antwerp and the DSA conference in Dublin in 2026.

Environment and Climate Change Study Group had its first group meeting on Wednesday, 25th, as part of the DAS 2025, after new conveners Ajmal Khan A.T. and ann-elise lewallen took charge of the study group. This meeting was primarily focused on the plan of action, and how to make the group more active and way forward.  For the DSA 2025, the Environment and Climate Change study group hosted a panel titled “Justice in crisis: Climate and Ecological Crisis and Justice”. This panel examined the justice issues associated with the climate and ecological crisis and the global efforts to address them. The panel ran for two days, comprising four sessions, with 14 papers contributed by early-career scholars from the Global South. The study group has a panel “Transformative alternatives: Indigenous imaginaries to climate justice and planetary sustainability” accepted for the DSA 2026. 

DSA2025 saw a number of Study Groups convene panels and host meetings in Bath, and we hope the 2026 conference at UCD will continue to be a vital hub of interdisciplinary energy and engagement. We look forward to seeing even more groups join this momentum – organising, collaborating, and helping shape the future of development studies.