Lines of Research
Two fundamental lines of research
Our research is structured around two very broad lines of questioning.The first has to do with the role of public and voluntary regulation of markets:
Our aim here is to demystify private sector involvement in development projects, and to understand what are the roles and limitations of businesses as agents of development.
The second is to explore private and social enterprise development:
Our objective is to assess the possibilities of improved access to markets and entrepreneurship as mechanisms of development.
Cutting across these two questions is the core issue of what is the role of organized civil society, and in particular NGOs, in these market processes. On the one hand, NGOs monitor and exert pressure on established businesses, and serve as key catalysts in the development of enterprises. On the other hand, the very role and agenda of NGOs is shaped by their complicated interaction with businesses, donor agencies and local contexts. How are these dual pressures shaping the role of NGOs in developing and industrialized countries?
What we do: research themes as questions
The current and recent PhD projects presented here are organized according to the two broad lines of research described above.
