When Darwin published its Strategic Plan in 2022, the College stated that it was “committed to a sustainable future, and to contributing to solving global challenges.”
Our sustainable ethos is reflected at every level of Darwin life, from the promotion of plant-based meals to the plans to degasify the estate. But our engagement with global challenges has, to date, been harder to quantify. While individual students and Fellows make extraordinary contributions which we are delighted to promote and amplify, a new programme will endeavour to build on this, and expand the College’s collective impact.
We are delighted to welcome Dr Zara Goldstone, who has been appointed to oversee two ambitious projects – the Darwin Dialogues, bringing together researchers and policymakers in discussion leading to demonstrable results; and Small Grants for Big Ideas, providing seed funding in support of projects which promote solutions.
Zara recently completed her PhD in Political Theory at UCL, and combines her position at Darwin with a teaching role at Oxford.
“My PhD was definitely in the area of global challenges,” she says.
“I look at issues of migration, historical injustice, global justice. And I really enjoyed the research, but I wanted to work in a role where I felt I was making more of an impact. I think universities are already uniquely positioned to do that, but it’s sometimes something that academics don’t really think about. So when I saw this position I was really excited by it, because it’s the perfect kind of position where you can take academic insights and make a tangible difference.”
Part of Zara’s responsibility will be to develop the detail of both projects, establishing their format and taking them from concept to reality. The Darwin Dialogues will have a broad reach, involving both College members and representatives of the wider community, sharing ideas and perspectives on a given theme. But the follow-up is as important as what happens on the day.
“We don’t want it to just be a discussion and then everyone moves on with their lives,” says Zara. “We want to be able to potentially produce a White Paper, or some sort of tangible output that can help influence policymakers.”
Small Grants for Big Ideas, meanwhile, will be open to groups of students, Fellows and alumni, who will bid for funding to implement an idea in response to a particular challenge.
In both cases, how ‘Global Challenges’ is defined has deliberately been left fluid.
“I think it can be quite tempting to try to pin down a definition, partly just for practical reasons – if people are applying for seed funding they might want to have a sense of whether what they’re doing fits under the umbrella of global challenges. But for now we’re a little resistant to do that. We want the project to be one where we really listen to people, and there’s especially an emphasis on listening to voices from the global south, where people might have a perspective on what the core challenges are that people from the global north might not even have thought about.”
The projects may still be in their infancy, but Zara’s appointment is a powerful declaration of intent. We look forward to the evolution of this exciting new aspect of Darwin life.
