Institute of Development Research

Transformation

Current global crises call for socio-ecological and societal transformation. Beyond technological innovations, we need to fundamentally rethink the way we relate to our ecosystems and to each other.
Dialogue

We bring together actors across sectors, regions and disciplines, in order to achieve a transition towards sustainability.
Research

We create a platform for BOKU scientists and national and international academic and civil society partners, co-designing research and working jointly towards achieving sustainability.
Transformative Learning

Together with students, academic and civil society actors, we use co-learning to understand specific contexts and identify leverage points for change.
Gender and Intersectionality

We apply intersectional and feminist approaches to uncover different dimensions and scales of inequality and discrimination.
Partnerships

We foster strong partnerships in academia and beyond.

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Breaking the Soil Ceiling: Towards a Gender-Transformative CAP

Farmers, policy-makers, academics, and civil society representatives met at BOKU University on May 8, 2025 to discuss opportunities and challenges regarding gender equality in agriculture and to formulate policy recommendations.

Artistic perspectives on a climate-social city

In light of the climate crisis and growing social inequality, the exhibition "climate-social city" presents 15 artistic perspectives on a climate-just society. From April 3 to 30, 2025, the artworks will be displayed at public locations and in shop windows throughout the city center of Linz.

Building solidarities and alliances between degrowth and food sovereignty movements

Various movements worldwide are resisting the hegemony of capitalism and growth-driven economics, which harm both people and the environment while undermining democracy. Michaela Pixová and Christina Plank from the IDR recently published a paper in the Journal of Political Ecology special section on Post-Growth Food Systems, which delves into the potential for alliances between degrowth and food sovereignty movements.

[Translate to English:] © Stefanie Lemke

About us

Working with actors from science, practice, civil society, policy and the private sector we co-create andmobilise scientific knowledge for sustainable development.

We engage in research with partners, among other regions in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe, and facilitate transformation processes towards sustainable food systems as well as sustainable management and governance of natural resources.

IDR integrates competence in development research and global cooperation at BOKU, among others by coordinating the BOKU-Cluster for Development Research. We are active in international networks such as Agrinatura, the AfricaUniNet as well as the Alliance of Sustainable Universities in Austria.

Our approaches are transdisciplinary, participatory, gender-transformative, intersectional, human rights-based and political-ecological.

We work in four closely interlinked thematic areas: