European Development Co-operation to 2020 [EDC2020]

"I understand this is the first time that the Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities programme supports a project dedicated to the study of development policy. I am grateful that you insist upon the policymaking contribution of your research since this is the main ambition set for our policy in the Treaties. Given the complex issues that you raise, such as energy security and climate change and policy development in Africa, it is of the utmost importance that the social scientists make a contribution and help the policymakers think more adequately of the context and impact of their action."

Mr Zoran Stancic, Deputy Director General DG Research
on behalf of José Manuel Silva Rodríguez, Director General DG Research

Project background

In Europe's relations with developing countries new and interconnected issues of global nature are emerging. These include new actors in international development, Europe's energy security and climate change. All these discussions take place in times of wide-ranging global challenges, and at a time, when questions of European identity loom large in national debates.

It is crucial that decisions and policies on emerging matters are based on good research and sound evidence. Moreover, the public debate needs to be informed by research voices. European Development Co-operation to 2020 therefore aims at improving EU policy makers' and other societal actors' shared understanding of emerging challenges facing EU development policy and external action. The three-year project is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Union and organised around three major topics

1. New actors in international co-operation
2. Energy security, democracy and political development
3. European development policy and climate change

Read more about the research topics.

Project partners

The EDC2020 project combines both research and communication aspects. Its aim is to encourage close collaboration between researchers and policy makers and therefore it enhances the co-operation with reputable European development research institutes

Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE), Madrid, Spain
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, Germany
Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, UK
Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, UK

The Society for International Development (SID), The Hague, Netherlands is a dissemination partner in order to reach practitioners directly through various policy briefings and workshops. The project is coordinated by the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), Bonn, Germany.

EDC2020 is funded by FP7 under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities theme