Message from Director
The Director IDS: Prof. Karuti Kanyinga
The Institute for Development Studies (IDS) appreciates its continuous engagement with clients and collaborators. Our re-designed and enriched website provides comprehensive information on the Institute, its staff, programmes and collaborators. IDS acknowledges the fast-changing world that provides new challenges and subsequent thirst for knowledge to be in tandem with modern times. I hope you will find our redesigned website user-friendly and full of the resources that you need.
The Institute takes pride in being the oldest Institute for Development Studies out of 20 such institutes worldwide. This pride is demonstrated in IDS’ record of having hosted several Nobel Laureates and world-renowned scholars during their early years of growth to excellence. Our great alumni include James Tobin, winner of Nobel Prize in Economics (1981); Joseph Stiglitz, Winner of Nobel Prize in Economics (2000); Michael Todaro, the development economist who authored the Todaro Migration Model; James Coleman, a world-renowned socialist; Jean E. Ensminger and Angelique Haugerud, distinguished anthropologists; Raphael Kaplinsky, an established professor of international development; and Robert Chambers.
The above is a mere sample of hundreds of scholars who have passed through IDS and left indelible footprints in renowned academic circles worldwide. The Institute remains home to prominent scholars who continue to nurture talent in Development Studies and attract research funding, associates and scholars from top academic institutions. In addition to our alumni, scholars and policymakers who have made a difference globally such as Enrique Penalosa of Bogota, Robert Bates and Douglas North have had a chance to interact and present in forums organised by the institute. IDS appreciates such interactions and will continue to pursue an open-door policy to scholars, policymakers and development practitioners.
Our mission is not limited to international interactions. We continue to work closely with public institutions and civil society organisations locally and within the region. These organisations do not only collaborate with us in research and consultancy services but have also become employers to our graduates, great consumers of our research outputs and provide students for our postgraduate programmes. Being a development studies institute, we continuously review our curriculum to incorporate emerging issues in order to remain relevant and resourceful to our constituency.
The Institute has engaged and continues to engage in various research projects locally, regionally and internationally. This is in line with our mission to promote development knowledge and debate and encourage the utilisation of research findings in postgraduate teaching and training and in shaping the growth of development thinking, theory and practice.
The Afrobarometer project, for instance, is a research project that conducts bi-annual surveys that measure public attitudes towards democracy, governance, economy and leadership in over 30 African countries. IDS is responsible for undertaking the Kenya survey and for coordinating countries within the entire Eastern African region. Besides this project, IDS has at any given time several development research projects running, proposals being developed, ongoing report writing, dissemination and publication.
Overall, we are dedicated to the provision of quality services as outlined in our Service Charter. This dedication has propelled IDS to the heights of excellence, culminating in the winning of performance contracting trophy in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in the last three years.
Our endeavour to maintain the momentum for excellence is unrelenting. However, this cannot be achieved singlehandedly. To maintain the tempo of IDS as the premier institute of development studies, we welcome further linkages and collaborations locally, regionally and internationally.
The Institute also welcomes your ideas on how we can make our website more user-friendly and informative.