Can critique encompass hope and optimism? Reflections for “critical” ICT4D
By Anuradha Ganapathy Reposted from the ICTs for Development blog. I have been thinking about this question since the time I started my PhD nearly 16 months ago. My research is interested in understanding how digital interventions can be re-engineered for positive...
Reflections from Cape Town: A Journey Through Digital Transformation and Inclusion
In January 2025, our Masters students in Management and Information Systems and Digital Development embarked on a field trip to Cape Town. Whilst there, they investigated how organisations of various types are developing digital solutions, and explored local landmarks...
How extracurricular activities enriched our Cape Town field trip experience
In January 2025, our Masters students in Management and Information Systems and Digital Development embarked on a field trip to Cape Town. Whilst there, they investigated how organisations of various types are developing digital solutions, and explored local landmarks...
Reflecting on post-PhD research dissemination
By Epiphania Kimaro Doing my PhD at the Global Development Institute gave me invaluable skills and opportunities, including the post-PhD research dissemination fund award. This award was an opportunity but also a challenge to share my research findings with...
Bridging Theory and Action: Pragmatist-Critical Realism in Development Studies
By Richard Heeks When it comes to tackling real-world problems, researchers often find themselves choosing between two big philosophical approaches: positivism, which focuses on hard facts and objectivity, and constructivism, which highlights how people shape their...
What is the city but the people? New documentary from the Social Homes for Manchester coalition
In late 2024, community reporters from the Social Homes for Manchester coalition began filming with production company On Our Radar to create a documentary exposing the crisis in social rent housing in the city of Manchester and highlighting their role establishing a...
British Academy International Fellowships 2025 open for applications
We are delighted that the British Academy International Fellowships 2025 are now open for applications. The University of Manchester is especially keen to sponsor applicants from the global South. The programme provides support for outstanding early career...
Structural Transformation and Late Development in the 21st Century: Is the Lewis Model Still Relevant?
by Mahtab Uddin, PhD candidate, GDI, University of Manchester In 1954, Arthur Lewis published a paper that set out his famous Dualistic Development Model, arguing that developing economies could foster capitalist growth by employing surplus labour from the subsistence...