Institute of Development Studies

The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) delivers world-class research, learning and teaching that transforms the knowledge, action and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally.

Through equitable and sustainable partnerships, we work with governments, philanthropic foundations, non-governmental organisations, academics and civil society to transform approaches to progressive social, political and economic change in ways that ultimately make a difference to people’s lives.

We have helped foster innovative new partnerships that have generated millions of dollars in additional tax revenues in Africa that can be reinvested in countries’ national development. We have worked to provide solutions to environmental problems that build on local people’s knowledge and practices. We have highlighted the role of local communities in bringing an end to deadly epidemics like the Ebola virus.  We have nurtured hundreds of exceptional development leaders and champions including political leaders, country Ambassadors and government officials, civil society leaders and entrepreneurs.

Our reputation for research and international outlook is second to none and reflected in our performance in the latest QS World University Rankings where we are ranked first in the world for development studies, together with the University of Sussex.


Latest reports

Smart city surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI surveillance across 11 countries

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies warns that surveillance is violating citizens' freedoms and their human right to privacy. This report provides the most comprehensive account to date of smart city surveillance in Africa. Expert researchers draw on their contextual experience of their own countries in detailed reports on Algeria,...

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Biometric Digital-ID in Africa: Progress and challenges to date – Ten country case studies

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of digital-ID across Africa. The Biometric Digital-ID in Africa report provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of digital-ID across Africa. It addresses the critical governance challenges of digital identification (digital-ID) systems currently unfolding across the continent....

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Struggles for justice in the energy transition: Voices from the front lines

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies brings together authors from both the global South and the global North. A critical issue of our time is how the world can transition from a development model based on the extraction and use of fossil fuels to one based on cleaner sources of...

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International partnerships for low-cost antimicrobial discovery and development

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies states that a systematic and implementable approach is required at national and cross-national levels. Ten years ago, the O’Neill Review on Antimicrobial Resistance called for a major effort to discover and develop new antimicrobials. It outlined a strategy for achieving this through a combination...

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UK leadership in antimicrobial discovery and development

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies explores UK leadership in antimicrobial discovery and development. The threat of infectious diseases that resist treatment with available antimicrobials is growing. Nearly a decade after the O’Neill Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) called for systemic reform of antimicrobial research and development (R&D), the UK...

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Digital public infrastructure and tax: High stakes, high rewards

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies argues that tax matters for DPI reforms. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) – a set of interoperable digital systems and platforms that support service delivery, data exchange, and the functions of public and private sectors at scale – is expected to revolutionise public services and...

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Growth from below: Poverty reduction beyond social protection in Nigeria

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies discusses poverty reduction beyond social protection in Nigeria. Agriculture and informal economies provide essential livelihoods in Nigeria, but they face challenges such as climate shocks, conflict, low investment, and financial exclusion. Resilience strategies include diversification, microfinance access and entrepreneurial ventures, but policy support is...

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Powering an inclusive energy future: Driving the G20 from commitment to implementation

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at powering an inclusive energy future. As the world accelerates toward a clean energy future, the question is no longer whether the transition will happen, but how equitable, inclusive, and sustainable it will be. Under Brazil’s 2024 presidency, the G20 endorsed a set...

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Democracy contested

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at how people engage with democracy. What has shifted us towards a more autocratic, rather than democratic, world? While there is nothing new about a politically divided citizenry, the current state of democracy strongly calls for an analysis of the diverse motivations of...

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Rapid scoping review: anti-rollback actors and strategies

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies reviews queer and feminist organisations and social movements countering roll back in 14 countries. This rapid scoping review maps out the landscape of rollback politics across four key areas: sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI); sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); gender-based violence...

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The tax era of development

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at taxing smarter for equity, growth, and resilience. At a time of substantial uncertainty for global development, three things are clear. First, aid is retreating substantially, and probably permanently. Second, lower-income countries’ debt servicing costs are spiralling, and their ability to take on...

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Grass-roots innovation for justice in urban food provisioning

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies examines grass-roots innovations in food provisioning in five urban locations. This paper draws on an international research collaboration to examine grass-roots innovations in food provisioning in five urban locations. These include affordable food projects, comprising social supermarkets and a vegetable box delivery scheme, in...

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Connecting, contesting, and consolidating

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies reviews the three Cs for resisting the rollback of women’s rights and LGBTQI+ rights. This briefing is based on a rapid scoping review of anti-rollback actors and activities post-2015, in 14 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the...

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Zakat payments in Pakistan exceed state social protection

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at how much zakat we can estimate is being paid in Pakistan every year – and where the money is going. Every year, hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world pay a proportion of their wealth as zakat, one of the five...

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Tax and gender: why informality matters

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies highlights the significance of informality in understanding gendered tax burdens. Recent policy debates have increasingly focused on the gendered impacts of taxation, yet much of this work is rooted in high-income contexts, overlooking the realities of low- and middle-income countries where most individuals, particularly...

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