The Development Studies Association (DSA) is the UK's learned society which exists to advance global development as a field of study, research and action. The current president of the DSA is Sara White, Professor of International Development and Wellbeing at the University of Bath.

About the report

The report, published in October 2019, is titled 'Towards More Equitable Interdisciplinary Development Research: Five Key Messages'. The proposals are based on a series of workshops which took place between October 2018 and April 2019. The series was co-convened by the DSA and Development Research Centres across the United Kingdom, and co-funded by the DSA and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

The five key messages delivered by the report tackle some of the biggest issues facing development research today. This includes the need to rethink where and how research is produced between the global South and global North. Also, the need to think outside the confines of traditional academic research to be able to offer practical solutions to real life problems.

Professor Sarah White, who compiled the report, said:

The workshops were a great opportunity to bring together researchers from North and South and across academic disciplines to reflect on experience and discuss how we can work together in fairer and more effective ways. I hope people will find the report useful as they develop new projects and partnerships, and that it will help to promote research that makes a real difference, and is grounded in mutual respect amongst researchers, and between them and the communities in which studies take place.