Paper short abstract:

The decolonization of academe is growing. But what does this mean for the institutional architecture teaching and researching development studies?We analyze institutions in the North and South to understand what do these say about themselves and how do they present themselves within decolonization.

Paper long abstract:

Moves to decolonize the academe are growing in strength and vigour. Much of the focus is, on the courses, modules and teaching and research agendas that give academic disciplines their professional calling. In this paper we take a different, complimentary approach: what does 'decolonization' mean for the institutional architecture that teaches and researches development studies? How is this architecture, and moves to decolonization within the discipline that it demonstrates, being challenged by developments in funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

Development Studies has grown and evolved across several disciplines nurtured by critical mass of research placed within higher education and research institutes. Found largely in the Global North, these institutions are focused in providing education, research and training programs that ultimately address the challenges raised by the SDG goals and aim to improve the living conditions of the underprivileged peoples in in the Global South. In the first instance we ask what do these organizations say about themselves and their own work? How do they represent themselves within a context of decolonization? We do so using two samples of institutions across the North and South. Second, we examine GCRF spending strategies placed adopted by UK Universities as a requirement by their funding councils in order to receive bespoke GCRF funding to support research activity in their Universities. Here we focus on Higher Education Institutions in the UK which do not have recognized development studies institutions to ask what difference does development studies make to broader institutional thinking.