Research
ZEF's research activities have been designed along three core areas: economic development and technological change, ecology and the management of natural resources, and political and cultural change. In accordance with these three areas, ZEF has three Research Departments: The Department of Economic and Technological Change focuses on poverty reduction, governance of natural resources and trade and globalization. The main research areas of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management are climate change, water security, desertification, and ecosystems functioning. At the third Department, research is being done of issues of Political and Cultural Change. The major research groups in this Department are on governance and conflict and on culture, knowledge and development. ZEF recognizes that development is rarely constrained by a single problem within a single discipline. It therefore has developed research programs on crosscutting themes of central importance for the developing world. These programs build on the methods and analytical styles of the disciplinary research activities. The research links and integrates knowledge and capacities from two or three of ZEF's departments. Since so many development issues cut across disciplinary fields, these crosscutting research themes form a major part of ZEF's research activities. ZEF's potential for addressing these themes from an integrated perspective represents one of its major competitive advantages. |
The current crosscutting themes and projects comprise, for example, governance of natural resources, governance and conflict, and the management of natural resources and their social dynamics. For these crosscutting research programs knowledge and input of several disciplines is needed. The integration of bodies of knowledge traditionally defined by disciplines is not an easy process, especially if the effort is more than just an additive exercise. ZEF is therefore searching continuously for new theories and methodologies that allow trans-disciplinary integration in development research and that help to overcome problems of interdisciplinary communication.
However, ZEF does not intend to arrive at a situation where all its research activities are developed around cross-cutting themes of a trans-disciplinary nature. There are topics of highest relevance where cross-disciplinarity does not make sense. Thus, the integrated research programs are still on the basis of solid, disciplinary rigorous research experiences, and the three circles are not meant to melt completely one day.
In the process of identifying promising new research, ZEF listens carefully to its partners and receives guidance from its International Advisory Board. To maintain research quality, guiding criteria for ZEF's research are research excellence, strategic relevance, thematic coherence, and efficiency. The Center undergoes an external review process, following the German Science Council guidelines, approximately once every five years.
For more information on ZEF's research strategy please download our strategy paper.
