Fostering Sustainability Through Research and Education? The Transformative Role of Switzerland’s Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)

Abstract

As environmental challenges and social inequalities continue to mount, the current decade has acquired unprecedented importance. The urgency of addressing unsustainable development and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG) is greater than ever. This chapter examines the contributions of Switzerland’s Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) towards realizing a sustainable world, highlighting selected research and educational projects from CDE’s past and current initiatives. Emphasizing CDE’s commitment to actionable knowledge, inclusiveness, and systems thinking—as expressed in its theory of change—the chapter shows how transformative science is put to work. This includes producing knowledge that not only contributes to global sustainability debates, but also benefits specific marginalized communities and ecosystems on the ground. Over the years, CDE has learned that its sustainability contributions are most effective when rooted in specific contexts and carried out with trusted local partners. Its recommendations for a future research agenda include continuing refinement of methodologies to support transdisciplinarity and concerted expansion of efforts to decolonize academia.