Press Release: DIE becomes the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)

Bonn, 23 June 2022. Established in 1964 as the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) gGmbh, the Institute became the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) on 23 June 2022. This name change sees one of the world’s leading research institutions in the field of development policy and development research giving expression to its increasingly international profile and explicit focus on sustainable development processes.

The new name reflects its evolution as a research institute and think tank. The Institute had developed a new research vision in recent years, geared to the global common good, and realigned the structure and strategy of its research, advisory and training activities.

IDOS’ research staff work to find answers to global questions affecting our future. These include: the climate-stabilising redesign of economic and social systems; international climate, biodiversity, water and ocean governance; the examination of institutional landscapes and external policy-making instruments at German, European and international level, and transregional cooperation platforms for shaping a sustainable and peaceful future grounded in democratic values.

“Changing our name from the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik to the German Institute of Development and Sustainability reflects this and emphasises that development and sustainability go hand in hand, require a transregionally networked research approach and are the responsibility of all policy fields,” says IDOS Director, Professor Dr Anna-Katharina Hornidge.

The chosen acronym IDOS, pronounced eîdos, derives from political philosophy, denoting “idea” as per Plato and “form” according to Aristotle.

“The acronym IDOS underlines the kind of research we do: empirically-based and theory-led, conducted as part of ongoing, transregional dialogues with policy-makers and practitioners, thus actively contributing to shaping everyday reality. Our research, advice and postgraduate education work is sound, addressing the global challenges with the required creativity and thoroughness, and helps to shape reality. This is the scientific excellence we practice,” adds Anna-Katharina Hornidge.

The international readability of “German Institute of Development and Sustainability – IDOS” is further befitting the increasingly global focus and networking activities of the Institute. The Institute will forego a German name and acronym in future.

Svenja Schulze, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), had the following to say about IDOS’ role: “Good development cooperation must be undergirded and supported by academic research, something the German Institute of Development and Sustainability has been engaged in for many years. In the current global environment especially, we need the expertise of the Institute in order to find long-term solutions to the challenges of our times.”

Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, Minister of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, commented on the renaming of the Institute: “IDOS is one of the world’s leading think tanks and research institutions examining issues of global development and sustainability policy. Its new name now emphasises its expertise even more clearly. Based in Bonn, the Institute has strong ties with North Rhine-Westphalia and represents an internationally recognised interface between research and practice. It will continue to make key contributions through its high-level research work to the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft, North Rhine-Westphalia’s research association, of which it is a founder member. I wish the Institute every success in this endeavour.”

You can download the new IDOS logo here

For interview requests or questions on the name change, please contact:

Tanja Vogel
Head of Communications
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
presse@idos-research.de
+49 (0)228 94927-264

 

About the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)

The German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) is one of the world’s leading research institutions and think tanks for global sustainable development. IDOS bridges the gap between theory and practice, and collaborates with research, civil-society, political and private-sector institutions from around the world in effective international networks.

Established in 1964 as the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), the Institute was renamed the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in 2022. It conducts independent applied research to the highest standards of excellence and delivers scientific policy advice with a view to shaping a sustainable future.

IDOS’ research activities are organised into four programmes and three cross-cutting projects. Through this work, the Institute contributes to finding answers to global questions affecting our future. These include: the sustainable redesign of economic and social systems and international climate, biodiversity, water and ocean governance; the role of transnational and multi-, tri- and bilateral cooperation formats and institutional landscapes; the protection and promotion of democracy, peace and social cohesion, and the part played by the research community and transregional knowledge partnerships in furthering the global common good.

IDOS provides politically independent advisory services based on sound research. These services are aimed at public institutions and non-governmental organisations in Germany and at European and international level. IDOS works at cross-border and transdisciplinary level and within networks to pool global discourses in the field of international policy and cooperation for sustainable development, draft policy-related concepts and create shared knowledge for tackling global challenges.

The Institute runs a structured doctoral programme to develop early-career researchers. As a non-university institution, IDOS works with a range of universities in Germany and internationally. The Institute also trains managers for international cooperation. The nine-month Postgraduate Training Programme at IDOS equips graduates to take on demanding tasks in the field of development policy. The Managing Global Governance programme is an innovative platform providing state and non-governmental stakeholders from emerging economies and Europe with the opportunity to receive training and engage in knowledge partnerships and policy dialogue. The BMZ African-German Leadership Academy is an innovative training and dialogue programme geared to early-career researchers from African partner countries.

IDOS has some 200 staff members, two thirds of whom work as researchers. The Institute is headed up by Prof Dr Anna-Katharina Hornidge. IDOS is a member of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft.

www.idos-research.de