Through generous awards from the Journal of Development Studies, the Journal of International Development, Oxford Development Studies, Development in Practice, University of Bath and the DSA, the DSA2025 conference organisers are able to allocate support funds to help with accepted authors’, convenors’, chairs’ and discussants’ attendance to the DSA conference at the University of Bath, 25-27 June 2025.

The funds are for both online and face-to-face delegates. This funding is limited and demand greatly exceeds availability. Please follow application guidelines carefully.

The DSA are convening an online discussion series on aid. The first event, in partnership with the Global Development Institute, focuses on reimagining aid and will take place on 8 April with: Nicola Banks, Divine Fuh, Nick Jepson, Sue Roberts and Bright Simons moderated by Peter Sutoris.

On 29 April, in partnership with the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham, we will continue with a conversation on UK aid under Labour. This discussion will include: Tamsyn Barton, Romilly Greenhill, and Chris Lyon and moderated by David Hudson.

Emeli Hanson, from the Institute for Global Sustainable Development at the University of Sheffield, is the winner for her work on: the Construction of Menstruation as “something you have to hide”: Embodied Experiences of Adolescent Girls in Uganda.

Yoga Prasetyo, Dept. of International Development at the University of Sussex, was highly commended for his work on: Integration-transnationalism nexus in the context of enforced transience: Managing racial harmony and temporary labor migration in Singapore.

The DSA’s Gender and Development Study group is supporting the 2025 University of East Anglia School of Global Development conference on “Debates for a Changing World”, the third in a series of conferences to recognise feminist landmark events at the University of East Anglia.

The conference, scheduled to take place 18-20 June 2025, is currently calling for panels and papers with abstracts due by 5.00 pm GMT, 21 March 2025.

Are you excited about the potential of interdisciplinary working? Are you committed to connecting people from across institutions and interested in using DSA funds to deepen thinking on a specific issue?

Three of DSA’s study groups are seeking convenors / co-convenors:
* Rising Powers
* Decolonising Development
* Business and Development

DSA is interested in speaking to researchers working in aid, aid effectiveness, decolonisation of aid, reparative aid, and localisation to encourage critical discussion in the wake of recent changes to aid.

DSA member, Paul Gilbert from University of Sussex, is part of a team of researchers who have been looking into the use of consultants and contractors in global development.

Duncan Green delivered a lecture at IGDC on the topic of his latest book ‘How Change Happens’. He brought together research from a range of academic disciplines, and drew on first-hand examples from his experience at Oxfam. He also referenced the importance of digital technology in activism, and analysed the implications of some of the darker currents of populism and shrinking civic space for those trying to bring about positive change.

Have you heard about the UK’s new Soft Power Council, and are you curious to hear about what ‘soft power’ means in the context of global development?

The British Council’s latest podcast talks to J.P. Singh from George Mason University and Olympic event manager Bill Morris about the concept of soft power – what it is, how it differs from hard power, and why it’s crucial in today’s interconnected yet fractured world.

A recent British Council research report analyses soft power insights from countries around the world.

The Institute for Global Health and Development at QMU researches long-term solutions to complex health issues at their roots, for example by better understanding global power dynamics and governance structures affecting health systems, access and provision. Researchers hail from epidemiology, medical anthropology, political economy, geography, and beyond, providing a cross-pollination of perspectives that lead to nuanced and holistic approaches to the challenges of global health and development.

Find out more about the Institute in our latest member spotlight.

For roughly a quarter century after the Cold War, the Washington consensus or neoliberalism guided US foreign economic policymaking. Today, that market-oriented consensus is in tatters, as Republicans and Democrats alike have shifted toward government intervention away from free trade.

Will the IMF survive Donald Trump’s presidency? asks Robert H. Wade in a blog post where he examines what American disengagement and growing resentment among emerging market and developing countries mean for the future of the IMF.

Plus work on the US and Europe trade war, papers on decolonizing development studies and more.

In November 2024, the International Development Committee launched an inquiry into the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s approach to achieving Value for Money in its aid programmes.

The University of Cambridge presented evidence and a call for inquiry into the FCDO’s use of contractors and consultants.

The CSGD Annual Report highlights the Centre’s research and activities between October 2023 and November 2024. A recurrent theme throughout their work in the past year is how partnerships and research pay particular attention to new ways for exploring and understanding what works to improve the lives of disadvantaged groups, and what can be learned about resilience from their lived experiences.

Read about the Centre’s growing strategic partnerships across the globe, portfolio of research projects, and features on activities and achievements from the Research Hubs and Early Career Researchers.

The University of Sussex launches the UK’s first Climate Justice undergraduate degree in response to increased demand from 14-18 year olds for climate change education from the social sciences.

The new undergraduate course will equip the next generation with the skills and knowledge required to lead the fight for sustainability and justice.

Updates from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative include:
* a new policy handbook with a webinar on How to Use National MPIs as a Policy Tool: From Metrics to Policy.

* In Uruguay, where 18.9% of the population lives in multidimensional poverty, the government has launched the national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to monitor the country’s progress in eradicating poverty in all its forms.

* How the MPI works in Malaysia.

Governance and Social Development Resource Centre researchers William Avis, Sian Hebert, Iffat Idris, and Sithandiwe Mujuru have published multiple rapid evidence reviews and evidence summaries under the Knowledge for Development and Diplomacy programme ,which is delivered by a consortium of six leading development and diplomacy organisations, and funded by the UK’s FCDO.

This new title by Jeffrey Ashe and Kim Wilson explores the world of immigrant ‘money clubs’ in the US. Learn how groups of migrants and refugees creatively pool resources to first survive, then thrive as they expand their businesses and invest in real estate. In today’s climate of economic difficulty, these smart, community-focused solutions are more important than ever.

Out now in print and e-book format.

* Global Development Institute have 14 postdoctoral fellowships
* Kings College London are seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Gender and Social Development
* Newnham College, Cambridge has a Research Fellowship
* Global Development Institute has a three year post within the Observatory for Forests and Just Transitions
* ODID are seeking a Finance Officer for their Young Lives project
* ODID’s SDG Impact Lab are seeking a Programme Manager
* Quantitative Researcher needed for Choosing Islamic Conservatism at ODID