IDS Annual Report

Annual Report 2012global knowledge for global change

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 1 05/09/2012 11:38

2

IDS is a leading global charity for research, teaching and information on international development. Founded in 1966, IDS enjoys an international reputation based on the quality of our work and our commitment to applying academic skills to real-world challenges. Our theory of change is at the heart of what we do. We think that knowledge should be generated by sound methodology and in partnership with other development and non-development actors.

IDS hosts six dynamic research teams, several popular postgraduate programmes and short courses, and a family of world-class knowledge services. The Institute is home to approximately 100 researchers, 40 knowledge services staff, 65 professional staff and about 200 students at any one time. But the IDS community extends far beyond, encompassing an extensive network of over 250 partners, 1,600 alumni and hundreds of former staff across the development community worldwide.

This report presents selected highlights from 2011-12; highlights that we feel represent the diverse ways we are working towards achieving our strategy. You can find more achievements, as well as information about each of the IDS teams, in the online annual report www.ids.ac.uk/annualreport2012

about ids

2

our strategic aimsThis marks the second year of our five-year strategy towards meeting our vision of a world in which poverty does not exist. In this Annual Report we present our progress over the past year towards each of our four strategic aims.

building new relationshipsWe will build new relationships with people and organisations outside the aid industry who are influential in shaping global change.

linking different perspectivesWe will link different perspectives so that many people can contribute their knowledge to research that is more grounded and relevant.

being present where it countsWe will be present where it counts to persuade people who make decisions about development to imagine and choose the right options.

being fit for purposeWe will build our institute to be fit for purpose to ensure that our culture, resources, systems and structures deliver on our first three aims.

how to use this report

Front cover image: Ami Vitale / Panos

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 2 05/09/2012 11:39

IDS Annual Report 2012 3

In April 2011, we hosted a key international conference at which around 170 people discussed the controversial issue of ‘land grabbing,’ the global rush to acquire agricultural land in developing countries, particularly in Africa. Hosted by the Future Agricultures Consortium and organised by the Land Deal Politics Initiative, the event was attended by leading researchers and key policy makers. Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, gave the keynote speech. Fresh evidence revealed at the conference highlighted the extent of the global land grabbing issue, with over 120 case studies showing the incredibly diverse contexts in which land deals are taking place, who wins and who loses. There is no simple story about global land deals, but the conference made a significant contribution to highlighting the issue and linking research to policy so that governments and communities can be better prepared to negotiate land deals in a way that supports equitable development. Empirical data and an in-depth evaluation will be presented at a follow-up conference in October 2012.

Knowledge Technology and Society Team

Participation, Power and Social Change Team

Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team

Building upon our work on the global financial crisis, we have continued to examine how the food, fuel and financial shocks affected poor people and how people negotiated coping strategies in developing contexts. In the last year we released a new book, co-edited with the World Bank, on our research, and six new study countries are joining the original four, in our partnership with Oxfam’s GROW campaign. The project has layered participatory, qualitative, quantitative and visual data to give a grounded perspective on what global economic change means for local social realities. Our learning about how people live with food price volatility was shared with UK policy makers at a parliamentary event in London around the time of the book launch. Our research and policy engagement continues to support and promote smarter social protection responses and has led to a significant new project on Food Riots and Food Rights commencing July 2012.

In 2011 VPR was delivering work on nutrition and food security even as these issues rose on the global development agenda. VPR led research to develop the Hunger Reduction Commitment Index (HRCI), the first measure of its kind to reveal governments’ and donors’ levels of political commitment to reducing hunger. The Index supports civil society efforts to give hunger reduction a higher priority on political agendas. It has served as a tool for civil society organisations, including partners Save the Children UK, ActionAid, Oxfam India and Trocaire, to hold governments to account. In addition to national governments, the Index has also been used to show commitments to hunger justice across states in India. HRCI has contributed to an expanding body of work on nutrition and food security at IDS, which is playing a leading role in two new research consortiums: Transform Nutrition and Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia.

debating theglobal land grab

food price volatility

hunger reduction commitment index

Over the past year, IDS has been present in key debates and policy spheres that are shaping national and international policies and practice, and building future development agendas.

OuR vISIOn IS A wORlD In whIch pOveRty DOeS nOt exISt, SOcIAl juStIce pRevAIlS AnD ecOnOmIc gROwth IS fOcuSeD On ImpROvIng humAn wellbeIng. we belIeve thAt ReSeARch knOwleDge cAn DRIve the chAnge thAt muSt hAppen In ORDeR fOR thIS vISIOn tO be ReAlISeD.


IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 3 05/09/2012 11:39

4

director’s view

This year’s annual report shows the many ways that building alliances has brought new players into development research and made our work more relevant to real-world challenges. The Bellagio Initiative, a collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, brought the philanthropic and development communities into an insightful dialogue. The discussions and analysis revealed a critical role for foundations and philanthropists, who can pursue game changing innovations that might be missed by the conventional development sector. By constructing knowledge in partnership, we achieve results that are relevant to local realities. We worked with Ghana’s

Community Radio Network to help their listeners face the challenges of climate change and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce to understand their economic reform. We conducted research with Uganda’s Revenue Authority to make taxation improve the relationship between government and citizens. With Mexico’s National Commission for Natural Protected Areas, we strengthened communities’ ability to provoke action based on their perspectives on climate change. In each case, we engaged with practitioners and researchers to make knowledge and research relevant to social and political realities. Ultimately this allows partners and stakeholders to move confidently from evidence to action. One of the key strengths of IDS is our position between the world of academic research and that of think tanks. We constantly pursue novel research solutions that can be acted upon by decision-makers and communities. At the same time, we analyse the processes through which decisions are made. Our reputation for innovative, in-depth knowledge supports the formation of new alliances and provides us and our partners with frequent opportunities to influence policy.

Part of our commitment to impactful research means understanding the often complicated ways evidence leads to policy and action. Our approach is well demonstrated by our partnerships with Oxfam International and Oxfam India on food justice. Our growing nutrition portfolio of work is pioneering stakeholder panels in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Afghanistan – identifying key decision-makers and shapers that we want our research to influence and then tracking them over a number of years to see how they use evidence and research, including our own.

Working with others is not always easy. Building and maintaining relationships takes a great deal of time and effort. But partnerships can unlock enormous transformative potential across society. We focus on partnerships because we are committed to research that makes a difference. I hope this annual report will inspire you to join us to try to change our world for the better.

lawrence haddadIDS Director

At IDS, we are convinced that working in partnerships is central to turning research into action and making a positive impact on people’s lives. partnerships bring new perspectives, new skills and new approaches to our work. they also lead to knowledge that is more rounded, more grounded and more actionable.

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 4 05/09/2012 11:39


alumni network

short courses

8 ma programmes

phd programme

climate change

knowledge, technology and society

globalisation

governance

participation, power and

social change

vulnerability and poverty reduction

impact and learning

knowledge services

central comms

teachingresearch

communication12keldis communities

online network grew to over

12,000 members

25cited 25 times in african human development report 2012

106worked with

106 new partner organisations

37students in ids ma programmes from

37 countries

53media coverage in 53 countries

idsin 2012

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 5 05/09/2012 11:39

6

building new relationships

Aub

rey

wad

e /

pan

os

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 6 05/09/2012 11:39


Last year, Professorial Fellow Richard Crook held high-level policy discussions with key stakeholders in the Ghanaian judicial service and legal community, drawing on research on the state justice system undertaken with the Centre for Democratic Development, Accra, and funded by the Department for International Development/Irish Aid ‘Africa Power and Politics’ consortium. The main issues were how to build on the popularity of the Magistrate’s Courts and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice to expand their delivery of more legitimate and accessible forms of ‘alternative dispute resolution’ at the local level. Policymakers in Ghana’s judicial service responded positively to many of the recommendations emerging from the research, demonstrating the importance of going beyond donor and Northern agencies to engage with strategic stakeholders in African countries.

Governance Team

Globalisation Team

Influencing and Engagement

Over the last year, we have hosted a series of seminars on business and development, to explore the role of the private sector in enhancing development and reducing poverty. The seminars have brought together experts from a wide range of backgrounds, including large and small businesses, NGOs, private foundations and research institutes. This has enabled us to develop new links with organisations such as Anglo American, Global Witness and Forum for the Future. In convening these seminars, we have enabled diverse perspectives to contribute to current policy debates. For example, we had timely seminars on how businesses influence, and are influenced by, climate policy in the run-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The seminar series has also helped us develop our research agenda and support IDS students on the MA in Globalisation and Development.

IDS and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund joined forces to call upon NGOs, academics, social movements, UN agencies, governments and others to advocate for the prioritisation of equity and social justice in development agendas. In September 2011, IDS convened a high-level consultation that brought together 27 participants from the United Nations, the governments of India, Brazil and the UK, international NGOs and academia. Participants examined evidence of rising inequalities and discussed learning from countries that have successfully reduced inequality. The consultation report concluded that the reduction of inequalities needed to be a central part of development agendas. The event led to the formation of a new network of organisations committed to advocating on these issues and conducting further research.

engaging ghana’s judicial service

convening the business and development seminar series

building momentum to tackle inequality

In the past year, we have reached out to philanthropic organisations, government ministries, businesses and security experts. by building networks, creating spaces for debate and sharing knowledge, we have worked towards a better linked-up development community.

www.ids.ac.uk/annualreport2012-relationships

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 7 05/09/2012 11:39

8

linking different perspectives

pet

teri

k w

igge

rs /

pan

os

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 8 05/09/2012 11:39


The Climate Change Team is working in local, national and international partnerships to help bring the voices of communities impacted by climate change into dialogue with policymakers, researchers and other communities facing similar challenges. Our work with the Ghana Community Radio Network provided broadcasters with new skills to investigate how climate change is affecting their communities. We also supported broadcasters to lobby district decision-makers for action in order to address underlying social inequalities.

We are now scaling up this action, providing support to broadcasters in Madhya Pradesh, India and developing partnerships with the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters to support broadcasters worldwide. We have also produced a guide on using community radio in adaptation to climate change on behalf of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Nairobi Work Programme. This guide will help more people put these approaches into practice.

Climate Change Team

IDS Knowledge Services

Influencing and Engagement

We have continued to open up access to knowledge over the past year, developing an open Application Programming Interface (API). The open API enables access to over 32,000 development research summaries and documents from Eldis, the global development research platform, and from BRIDGE, the gender research and information service. Licensed through Creative Commons, these data are now open for anyone to contextualise, repurpose, combine or integrate with other datasets to create or improve their websites .

The API was launched in August 2011, with support from partners in East Africa, Europe and South Asia. Since then, we have produced plug-ins for widely used open-source content management systems, and we have offered small technical grants for developers and organisations to create their own applications using our data. Successful projects include a widget, suitable for most websites (iLabAfrica – Strathmore University, Kenya), and an agricultural research and news application for tablets (Mona School of Business, Jamaica). Our innovative work with Southern partners increases the reach and relevance of development research, which we hope will lead to a greater impact.

Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bellagio Initiative brought together thought leaders from the development, philanthropy, policy and business sectors and from civil society. Through a series of global dialogues and a two-week summit, the Initiative produced recommendations for strengthening collaboration between philanthropists and those working in development.

IDS established partnerships with The Guardian’s Global Development website and The Broker and led a social media campaign promoting the global consultation. The Bellagio website became a key resource for all those interested in the future of philanthropy in development and the Bellagio Twitter community quickly grew to over 1,000 followers. There was online engagement with the Initiative in countries across the world, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, and it was covered in a diverse set of media outlets. The Bellagio Initiative had a strong influence on a UK parliamentary inquiry into the role of private foundations in development and on a United Nations consultation on the role of philanthropy in international development cooperation.

supporting community broadcasters

working with developers to open access to our content

the bellagio initiative

IDS has connected people to create knowledge that makes a difference in the contexts where we work. we have helped new voices enter debates and opened up access to locally-relevant knowledge.

www.ids.ac.uk/annualreport2012-perspectives

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 9 05/09/2012 11:39

10

present whereit counts

geo

rge

Oso

di /

pan

os

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 10 05/09/2012 11:39


In April 2011, we hosted an international conference at which around 170 people discussed the controversial issue of ‘land grabbing,’ the global rush to acquire agricultural land in developing countries, particularly in Africa. Hosted by the Future Agricultures Consortium and organised by the Land Deal Politics Initiative, the event was attended by leading researchers and key policymakers. Olivier de Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, gave the keynote speech. Fresh evidence revealed at the conference highlighted the extent of the global land grabbing issue, with over 120 case studies showing the incredibly diverse contexts in which land deals are taking place, who wins and who loses. There is no simple story about global land deals, but the conference made a significant contribution to highlighting the issue and linking research to policy so that governments and communities can be better prepared to negotiate land deals in a way that supports equitable development. Empirical data and an in-depth evaluation will be presented at a follow-up conference in October 2012.

Knowledge Technology and Society Team

Participation, Power and Social Change Team

Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team

Building upon our work on the global financial crisis, we have continued to examine how the food, fuel and financial shocks affected poor people and how people negotiated coping strategies in developing contexts. In the last year we released a new book, Living Through Crises, co-edited with the World Bank, on our research: and six new study countries are joining the original four, in our partnership with Oxfam’s GROW campaign. The project has layered participatory, qualitative, quantitative and visual data to give a grounded perspective on what global economic change means for local social realities. Our learning about how people live with food price volatility was shared with UK policy makers at a parliamentary event in London around the time of the book launch. Our research and policy engagement continues to support and promote smarter social protection responses and has led to a significant new project on Food Riots and Food Rights which commenced in July 2012.

In 2011 The Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team was delivering work on nutrition and food security even as these issues rose on the global development agenda. The Team led research to develop the Hunger Reduction Commitment Index (HRCI), the first measure of its kind to reveal governments’ and donors’ levels of political commitment to reducing hunger. The Index supports civil society efforts to give hunger reduction a higher priority on political agendas. It has served as a tool for civil society organisations, including partners Save the Children UK, ActionAid, Oxfam India and Trocaire, to hold governments to account. In addition to national governments, the Index has also been used to show commitments to hunger justice across states in India. HRCI has contributed to an expanding body of work on nutrition and food security at IDS, which is playing a leading role in two new research consortiums: Transform Nutrition and Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia.

debating theglobal land grab

food price volatility

hunger reduction commitment index

Over the past year, IDS has been present in key debates and policy spheres that are shaping national and international policies and practice, and building future development agendas.

www.ids.ac.uk/annualreport2012-present

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 11 05/09/2012 11:39

12

being fit for purpose

Atu

l lok

e/ p

anos

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 12 05/09/2012 11:39


In 2011–12, the Impact and Learning Team and the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) undertook path-breaking research to help optimise the impact of research communications on key actors in the development sector. We used an experimental design to test the impacts of three policy briefings that communicate 3ie research on a systematic review of agriculture and nutrition. This is the first time the effectiveness of policy briefs has been examined using this approach. The outcomes of the research were published as an open-source research report, and the findings were analysed in the Impact and Learning blog and in an edition of the IDS Bulletin, ‘New Roles for Communication in Development?’.

Impact and Learning Team

Teaching

Drawing from a teaching review in 2011, we responded to student feedback by building the capacity of IDS to provide high-quality teaching and learning in our MA programmes. We hosted three workshops that allowed IDS staff to strengthen their skills in core areas: facilitating group learning, giving good feedback and learning from peer observation. More than 30 members of staff participated in the workshops. Our MA programmes are being accredited by the European Association of Development Studies, which will enhance the profile of our teaching, and will position IDS to support Southern partners in seeking accreditation. IDS is also developing a number of short courses targeted at development professionals from across the world. We have been approved as a Short Course Provider by the British Accreditation Council, which testifies to the high quality of learning at IDS and will allow us to enhance global learning by helping international students to acquire visas for the UK.

Dr richarD Morgan, Director of Policy, Unicef

IDS shines a light of understanding on the major development challenges of our time and how they should be addressed. In the last year, UNCIEF has worked with IDS on projects that are helping to shape a post 2015 development agenda. We have worked together to advocate for global investment in child nutrition, deepen understanding of inequalities, promote good practice in social protection systems that reach the poorest and most vulnerable and analyse how community monitoring systems can help empower people. Our work together builds on the outstanding expertise of IDS and our many years of cooperation for global development.

exPeriMenting with research coMMUnications

BUilDing the caPacity for teaching at iDs

We have examined our practices, improved the way we work and learnt from experience to become better able to pursue our vision. Over the past year, we have looked closely at how we are having an impact and prepared for a shifting future.

www.ids.ac.uk/annualreport2012-fit

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 13 07/09/2012 12:06

14

ids income 2011/12#

£18m

£16m

£14m

£12m

£10m

£8m

£6m

£4m

£2m

2011

/12

2010

/11

200

9/10

200

8/0

9

200

7/8

0

trading/other 2.6% teaching 9.2%

knowledge services 18.9%

research 69.3% research 51.8%knowledge services 15.1%

centralsupport† 12.5%

professionalsupport* 11.4%

teaching 6.9%trading 2.3%

income 2011/12 expenditure 2011/12

† Central support includes research administration, depreciation and library services.

* Professional support includes Central Communications, Directorate, Facilities, Finance, Human Resources and IT.#Excludes teaching and trading income.

financial review of the year

£13.4m

£15.9m£16.8m £16.7m £16.8m

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 14 05/09/2012 11:39


top donorsOur top five donors and the % of IDS income they contributed this year

Payments to international partners this year by continent

international collaboration transfers

north america12.7%

central andsouth america1.2%

africa26.9%

europe49.4%

asia9.6%

trustees’ statementThe summary financial information on these pages contains data from the management accounts of the Institute of Development Studies for the year ended 31 March 2012 and provides an overview of the income and expenditure of the year.

The full financial statements have been audited by Buzzacott LLP, registered auditors, and received an unqualified opinion. For further information the full audited financial statements, containing the Trustees’ and Auditors’ reports, should be consulted. Copies of these can be obtained from the Institute of Development Studies Finance Department and via the link below: www.ids.ac.uk/finances2011-12

All financial statements for prior years have been submitted to both the Charity Commission and the Registrar of Companies; those for 2011/12 will be submitted during the year 2012 within the relevant statutory deadlines.

elizabeth maddisonCompany SecretaryJuly 2012

43.0%uk department for international development

economic and social research council

bill and melinda gates foundation

european union

rockefeller foundation

7.7%

6.3%

5.8%

5.6%

Back cover images: George Osodi / Panos, Atul Loke / Panos, Martin Roemers / Panos, Petterik Wiggers / Panos, Aubrey Wade / Panos, Sven Torfinn / Panos, Lucy Tyler / IDS, Mark Henley / Panos, Marc Berenson / IDS, Ami Vitale / Panos, Nyani Quarmyne / NQ Photography, Abbie Trayler-Smith / Panos, Arabella Cecil / Panos, Sven Torfinn / Panos, Graeme Williams / Panos, Alvaro Valverde / IDS

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 15 05/09/2012 11:39

www.ids.ac.uk/annualreport2012© Institute of Development Studies 2012-07-19 Charitable Company Number 877338 Limited by Guarantee and Registered in England Charity Registration Number 306371

institute of Development studies Brighton BN1 9RE, UK+44 (0)1273 [email protected]

IDS_AR_Repro2.indd 16 07/09/2012 12:06

Documents

IDS Annual Report