This review of a decade's worth of impact charts IIED’s development from its founding in 1971 to its emergence as an influential centre for research, information and advocacy on environment and development.
It shows how, under Barbara Ward’s leadership, IIED argued environmental protection had to address poverty, inequality and basic human needs. The institute developed a distinctive approach that combined research with advocacy, using international symposiums, books and media briefings to influence major UN conferences and connect academic evidence with political decision-making.
This publication reviews IIED’s early programmes on marine and polar resources, energy, human settlements and the environmental performance of development agencies. It also describes the creation of Earthscan as an independent information service and IIED’s growing network of collaborating institutions, particularly in the global South.
Together, these activities established an organisational model based on interdisciplinary research, international partnership, independent scrutiny of governments and institutions, direct engagement with decision-makers and wider public communication through the media.
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Available at https://www.iied.org/22752iied