As cities have grown rapidly in recent decades, the extent and effects of urban development challenges such as urban poverty and inequality have increased. These challenges are wicked: the problems and solutions are widely debated among a wide range of conflicting actors, without clear solutions at hand.
“IHS will become an increasingly impact-driven organisation.”
At the same time, the number and intensity of disasters and uncertainty increases, as witnessed by COVID-19, armed conflict and natural disasters. These have increased extreme poverty and set back progress made on other SDGs as well. Cities are struggling to cope, whereby those cities that face the most wicked problems are likely to have the least capacity to address these. In this context, our mission to create liveable and just, as well as socially, economically and environmentally sustainable cities, remains as relevant as ever. By being committed to and entrepreneurial in our mission, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of urban problems and to building capacities to tackle them. This enables us to contribute to meeting the SDGs.
We develop our new strategy in challenging times. Challenging, because cities are subject to problems of incredible complexity that require new transdisciplinary knowledge and governance approaches. Challenging, because IHS operates in a politically and financially volatile context, putting our traditional sources of funding under stress. Despite the challenges we face, we are even more committed to actively engaging with our international partners, local communities, funders and extensive network of alumni and urban professionals to create inclusive impact.
For us, impact is characterised by measurable, meaningful, and transformative outcomes of our work across our education, research, and advisory pillars, aimed at catalysing sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban development.
Impact is individual (micro), organisational (meso) and systemic (macro) levels. Individual—reflected in the growth and empowerment of our staff, researchers, and urban professionals. Organisational—demonstrated through capacity building, research contributions, influence on urban policies and practices, community engagement, collaborative networks, and recognition. Systemic—evidenced by policy changes, improved livelihoods, and equitable development outcomes in cities globally, particularly in LMICs.
