• Change is about people

    It is people who are using technologies. Sustainability transitions occur where values of people resonate with technological opportunities.

  • Research

    We create a platform for BOKU scientists and partners all over the world to work jointly on sustainability challenges.

  • Learning

    Together with our students, we work on real world problems to understand system dynamics and identify leverage points for change.

About us

The Institute for Development Research (IDR) was founded in 2020 at the Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems (DNAS). The overarching goal is to mobilize scientific knowledge for sustainable development, in transdisciplinary collaboration with actors from science, politics, civil society and business. Through participatory research approaches, IDR contributes to a sound understanding of the relationships and roles of actors, institutions and change processes within socio-ecological systems. Together with local actors in the Global South, Central and Eastern Europe, we conduct research and facilitate transformation processes towards sustainable Food Systems and governance of natural resources. We apply gender-transformative, intersectional, human rights-based and political-ecological approaches.

IDR focuses on three overarching thematic areas that are closely interlinked.

Management and Administration

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