Growing demand for food, water, energy and land combined with climate change, inequality and weak governance present a challenge to individuals, communities and nations seeking to achieve sustainable development and wellbeing.
The Sustainable Development Research Cluster (SDRC) aims to produce interdisciplinary cutting-edge research that contributes to our understanding of how to improve governance, strengthen institutions and mobilise behaviour to address these challenges.
The SDRC provides a forum for economists, social and behavioural scientists, geographers, environmental scientists and other academics from across Middlesex University to exchange ideas about how to address the challenges of poverty alleviation, economic development, and biodiversity conservation in a resource-constrained world. By engaging in collaborative research that cuts across disciplines and methodologies, the SDRC aims to produce cutting-edge sustainable development research that will have an impact on teaching, academia and beyond.
If you are interested in joining the SDRC or attending one of our regular meetings, please contact sdrc@mdx.ac.uk or t.ogarra@mdx.ac.uk
This British Academy-funded study seeks to evaluate the impact of knowledge co-production processes on the success or failure of Locally Managed Marine Areas ('LMMAs') in delivering social and ecological benefits. The project, led by Middlesex University, is an interdisciplinary collaboration between economists, social scientists and marine biologists from Imperial College London, the Fiji LMMA Network, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of the South Pacific. The project will run until July 2020.
Staff involved: Tanya O'Garra
The Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) is an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project that will see researchers from Middlesex University’s Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research explore alternative business and investment models for sustainability. The research is part of a £6m five-year research grant led by university of Surrey, based on a vision where people can flourish within the ecological constraints of a finite planet. Middlesex Researchers will focus on the roles of social enterprise, circular business models, and green/social investment.
Staff involved: Geraldine Brennan, Fergus Lyon, Robyn Owen and Ian Vickers
Dr. Ericka-Rascon Ramirez is leading a World Bank-funded large-scale randomised control trial that aims to increase parental aspirations, self-efficacy beliefs, and improve learning outcomes of 6-9-year-old children in Northern Nigeria. Working closely with the DIME unit of the World Bank, the project entails two interventions where the first one consists of an educational entertainment and the second a digital app intervention. Both interventions will inform policy makers and development partners about effective behavioural interventions to improve learning outcomes in developing countries.
Staff involved: Ericka Rascon-Ramirez and Tanya O’Garra
Researchers from CEEDR, as part of a cross-university research consortium, have won a grant of close to £450K from the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to investigate the role of creative entrepreneurship and design in micro and small fashion enterprises (MSEs) as a potential driver for a more sustainable fashion industry. The research will analyse existing and novel business models and practices in the fashion sector that foster a balance between environmental, social, cultural and economic considerations. The project aims to identify barriers and points of intervention in order to develop alternative business support mechanisms for sustainability to inform fashion businesses at both small and larger scales.
Staff involved: Andrea Werner, Geraldine Brennan, Fergus Lyon and Ian Vickers
Professor of Behavioural Science
Acting Head of Department for Marketing Branding & Tourism
Professor
Associate Professor of Environmental Governance
Professor of Environmental Science
Director of CEEDR
Corporate and Partner Engagement
Senior Lecturer in Eco-Entrepreneurship
PhD student
Claire Gellard is a PhD student at Middlesex. Her research focuses on cooperative social behaviour, investigating the role of social norms and future orientation to further understand pro-environmental behaviours.
