Institute of Development Studies

What Institute of Development Studies does

The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is an independent charity and global research and education institute founded in 1966 and based on the University of Sussex campus in Brighton, United Kingdom. IDS employs 101-250 staff, including more than 70 research staff and 50 postgraduate researchers, organized around thematic clusters covering social and economic justice, climate and environment, governance and conflict, health and food systems, participation, and evidence into use. Its core activity is producing development research — disseminated through the IDS Bulletin (in continuous publication since 1968), the Between the Lines podcast, and international convenings — in partnership with hundreds of organizations globally.

Commercially, IDS runs a hybrid revenue model combining five streams: research grants and advisory fees (from foundations such as Open Society, Wellcome, IDRC, Swiss SDC, and Education Out Loud); postgraduate tuition from eight taught MA/MSc programmes and a PhD delivered in partnership with the University of Sussex (home fees £11,250/year, international £23,500/year for 2026/27); specialist short courses and self-paced online learning for development professionals; bespoke facilitated learning programmes for governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and philanthropic foundations; and publication and donation revenue. It holds no core government funding.

Geographically, IDS serves clients and alumni across more than 150 countries, with explicit regional initiatives in Brazil, China, Ghana, MENA, and Pakistan. Its competitive position rests on the ten consecutive years (2017-2026) holding the #1 global ranking for Development Studies alongside the University of Sussex in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Name

Institute of Development Studies

Legal name

Institute of Development Studies

Website

https://ids.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Institute of Development Studies is an independent UK charity and global research and education institute, founded in 1966 and based at the University of Sussex, Brighton. It delivers postgraduate degrees, professional short courses, bespoke facilitated learning, and development research for governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and philanthropic foundations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: IDS receives funding from research grants and fees from advisory work. Funding is secured from a range of organizations including charitable foundations such as the Open Society Foundation, and public funding bodies.
2. Postgraduate Tuition Fees: Revenue from postgraduate degree programmes. Home students pay £11,250 per year; international students pay £23,500 per year for 2026/27 academic year. Fees for 2025/26 were slightly lower at £11,025 (home) and £22,575 (international).
3. Professional Development Courses: Revenue from specialist short courses and facilitated learning programmes for organizations. Some courses are free while others are paid.
4. Publication Sales: Revenue from publication sales including books, journals, and research reports.
5. Charitable Donations: Charitable donations from individuals and organizations supporting IDS's mission. The organization is an independent charity receiving no core funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

IDS delivers postgraduate taught and research degrees (MA, MSc, PhD) in development studies, complemented by specialist short courses and bespoke facilitated learning programmes for organisations. It also conducts applied research on international development themes including gender, food systems, climate, governance, and inequality, and disseminates outputs through the IDS Bulletin journal, publications catalogue, podcast and public lectures.

Product overview

Institute of Development Studies is a research and education institution offering a portfolio of postgraduate degrees (MA, MSc, PhD), professional development short courses, and facilitated learning programmes for organisations. The core academic offerings include eight postgraduate degrees spanning Development Studies, Food & Development, Gender & Development, Globalisation Business & Development, Governance & Public Policy, Power Participation & Social Change, Climate Change Development & Policy, and Poverty Policy & Development Practice. These are complemented by specialist short courses on topics such as participatory action research, impact evaluation, and digital transformation, as well as bespoke facilitated learning programmes for governments, UN agencies, and NGOs. The institution also publishes the IDS Bulletin academic journal, produces the Between the Lines podcast series, and hosts public lecture series including the IDS Annual Lecture and Sussex Development Lectures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MA Development Studies A one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) postgraduate degree providing analytical and practical skills to address global challenges including inequality, sustainability, and security. Students develop understanding of main debates in development and engage critically with professionals from diverse backgrounds.
• MA Food & Development A postgraduate degree examining food as a cross-cutting development issue concerning hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, environmental sustainability, power, politics, social justice, and cultural identity. Students gain advanced understanding of complex relationships between food and development.
• MA Gender & Development A postgraduate degree providing solid understanding of debates in feminist thinking, linking them to gendered policy and programming. Students develop in-depth knowledge using an intersectional lens on issues such as women's economic and political empowerment, political economy, environment, and feminist mobilisation for social justice.
• MA Globalisation, Business & Development A postgraduate degree examining business operations and their growing relevance to international development. Students gain in-depth understanding of economic power shifts and rapid technological transformation amid global inequalities, and analytical skills needed to understand globalisation processes.
• MA Governance, Development & Public Policy A postgraduate degree providing theoretical and practical understanding of debates on political change and how public authority is created and exercised. Students build critical and analytical skills to develop and implement policies across state and non-state organisations.
• MA Power, Participation & Social Change A postgraduate degree equipping students to analyse challenges of achieving social justice in a rapidly changing and increasingly unequal world. Students build practical and theoretical skills to contribute to effective social change with people and their organisations through participatory methods.
• MSc Climate Change, Development & Policy A postgraduate degree exploring interconnected dimensions of science and technology, economics, politics and policy of climate change. Students gain specialist knowledge of earth system and climate impacts related to water, food and ecosystem services.
• MA Poverty, Policy and Development Practice A postgraduate degree providing interdisciplinary knowledge and cutting-edge skills to engage with research, design, implementation and assessment of national and international efforts to eradicate poverty. Students examine theories on poverty, inequality, vulnerability, and social protection.
• PhD in Development Studies by Research An advanced research degree awarded after minimum three years of study based on completion of original and significant research in Development Studies, assessed through a written thesis of no more than 80,000 words and a viva voce examination.
• Specialist Short Courses for Development Professionals Short courses offered to development professionals including Using Participatory Action Research, Contribution Analysis for Impact Evaluation, Pastoralism and Uncertainty, Pathways to Sustainability, Social Protection Primer, and others covering topics such as monitoring and evaluation, digital transformation, and ICTD research on tax.
• Facilitated Learning Programmes Bespoke learning activities for organisations including governments, UN agencies, philanthropic organisations, and NGOs. Format varies and includes technical training, thematic workshops, seminars, reading weeks, short courses, mentoring, and knowledge network mobilisation.
• Research and Advisory Services Applied development research and advisory work delivered to charitable foundations, public funding bodies, governments and development organisations across themes including digital authoritarianism, heat adaptation, clean energy, education, adolescent health, governance and gender.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates become ministers, high-level officials in development organizations, civil servants, leaders of civil society organizations, and academics at universities worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and notable.

• University of SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDS is based at the University of Sussex campus and delivers all degrees in partnership with Sussex. Students enroll as Sussex students and receive IDS teaching. The two institutions together have been ranked #1 globally in Development Studies for 10 consecutive years in QS World University Rankings. IDS provides research and postgraduate education while Sussex provides administrative infrastructure and accreditation.
• African Digital Rights NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-research partner on digital surveillance research. The IDS and African Digital Rights Network jointly published the report revealing that at least $2 billion has been spent by 11 African governments on Chinese-built AI surveillance technology.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerMA Food and Development students have access to guaranteed self-funded placements with FAO in Rome, specifically supporting the World Food Forum Youth Assembly. This provides practical experience in international food policy.
• Hundreds of Development OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDS works with hundreds of organisations around the world including governments, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and international development agencies to build understanding of issues faced by marginalised communities and devise pathways to more equitable societies.
• IDS Alumni NetworkcoreOthersGlobal alumni network spanning over 150 countries. Alumni include ministers, high-level officials in development organizations, civil servants, leaders of civil society organizations, and academics at universities worldwide.
• Global Partnership for EducationnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDS acts as Global Learning Partner supporting education policy engagement and civil society capacity building.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Overseas Development Institute (ODI): ODI is a UK-based independent think tank on international development, founded in 1960, with comparable size, mission, funder mix (DFID/FCDO, foundations), and policy research focus. It is the closest direct peer to IDS as a non-university development research institution.
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): IIED is a UK- and Kenya-based policy research organisation working on sustainable development; it overlaps with IDS in development research, partnership models with NGOs and governments, and links to University of London — making it a closely comparable independent research peer.
• SOAS University of London: SOAS offers postgraduate degrees in development studies and is a longstanding UK competitor in the QS Development Studies rankings; its programme portfolio, international student base, and London location make it a directly comparable postgraduate education peer.
• University of Oxford – Oxford Department of International Development (ODID): ODID offers MSc and DPhil programmes in international development and is a perennial rival in QS rankings; as a globally top-ranked department at a full university, it competes with IDS/Sussex for the same development studies postgraduate students and faculty.
• London School of Economics – Department of International Development: LSE's International Development department offers MSc programmes and policy-focused research; it is a direct competitor in the UK postgraduate development studies market and a recurring presence in the QS Development Studies rankings alongside IDS.
• University of Cambridge – Centre of Development Studies: Cambridge's Centre of Development Studies offers MPhil programmes and development research; it competes with IDS for postgraduate students and faculty and shares a similar research-led, UK-based, globally recognised profile.
• University of Manchester – Global Development Institute: The Global Development Institute offers MSc programmes and development research; it is a direct UK peer in postgraduate development education and shares funder relationships with UK research councils.

Broad incumbents

• United Nations University (UNU): UNU is the academic and research arm of the United Nations, with global research institutes that overlap with IDS in development research, policy advisory, and postgraduate capacity building — making it a broader incumbent operating at greater scale.
• World Bank Group (including World Bank Institute / Open Learning Campus): The World Bank runs extensive development research, policy advisory, and capacity building programmes through the Open Learning Campus; it overlaps with IDS in serving government and multilateral clients with development learning, but at a far broader institutional scale.
• Brookings Institution: Brookings is a large US-based public policy research organisation with significant work on international development and global economy; it is a broader incumbent that intersects with IDS in policy research but operates at much greater scale and breadth across policy domains.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IDS_UK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IDS_UK
• Facebookfacebook.com/idsuk
• LinkedInin.linkedin.com/school/institute-of-development-studies
• Instagraminstagram.com/ids_uk/?hl=en

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Development Studies