Global challenges
The grand agendas for sustainability are major global challenges confronting all countries irrespective of their level of socio-economic development and environmental resilience. Such challenges are glaring in the context of developing and emerging economies in Africa and Asia, which are going through rapid industrialization, but have weak and fragmented formal institutions. Contemporary research attempt to address these sustainability grand challenges such as poverty, sustainable production, consumption, environmental, climate change, health, and responsible innovation, which have been confronted with some varied challenges given the complex issues of problem definition, solution development and practical implementation limitations. These include varied ways in which different regions are seeking to meet sustainable development and enhance their economic development.
Agenda
To overcome the global challenges, the research centre is taking the view that an inter and trans-disciplinary research approach in which the five research themes outlined in Figure are integrated together provides viable pathways to addresses the sustainability and grand challenges facing Africa and Asia. Africa and Asia offer substantial growth opportunities, and at the same time suffer from environmental and sustainable development related issues, thus the centre aims to conduct impactful research in the context of Africa-Asia regions.
Recently, we have also witnessed small and large firms' originating from Africa and Asia and rapidly internationalizing into developed and developing economies, therefore, the focus on these regions offer substantial opportunities to scholars and policy makers interested in understanding sustainable development issues of these regions. The key lessons will be applied across other similar contexts such as Latin America, and even beyond since reverse innovations are trickling down from emerging markets to developed markets.
Themes
- Sustainable enterprise, development and policy
- Internationalisation of firms and entrepreneurship
- Global value chain, environment and climate
- Social wellbeing, digitalisation and economic growth
- Cross sector partnerships, social enterprises, production and consumption