Research & Education
Advancing the theory and practice of governance
IGSD seeks to advance the theory and practice of governance for sustainable development – with a special emphasis on the role of law – by supporting basic and applied research, graduate education and related activities in collaboration with leading academic institutions.
Program on Governance for Sustainable Development
IGSD partners with the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management through the Program on Governance for Sustainable Development, a systematic effort of scholarship, research, and other activities with the goal of building understanding of:
- Specific challenges of sustainable development
- The role of law and institutions in causing and confronting these challenges
- Why some responses are more successful than others
- Strategies for (re)designing institutions to address existing and emerging challenges
Located at the University of California, Santa Barbara, one of the United States’ top public research universities, the Program builds understanding of governance from two perspectives:
- It explores issues relating to the development, implementation and effectiveness of different forms of governance (e.g. public versus private, local versus international)
- It explores issue relating to governance in the context of specific issue areas such as climate change, water, or poverty alleviation
IGSDs Directors are co-founders and serve as Directors of the Program and contribute to the development of graduate courses, seminars and trainings, conferences and colloquia and the development of publications and training materials on governance for sustainable development.
Other academic affiliations
IGSD collaborates with the American University’s Washington College of Law on a range of projects. The Institute’s Members also teach at a range of leading universities and programs including:
- The joint Duke University – Graduate Institute of International Affairs’ Program on Global Policy and Governance
- Johns Hopkins University
- Tshingua University, Beijing