Publications

UNRISD pursues an active and varied publications programme, which includes in-house and commercially published books, special reports, programme and occasional papers, as well as newsletters on specific events and the Institute’s work in general.

This section provides a catalogue of our publications, and free online access to many of them. We encourage you to subscribe to our free email alerts service to be informed when new publications are posted on this Web site.

Highlights...

March 2021

A New Eco-Social Contract: Vital to Deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Author: Katja Hujo

The 20th century social contract—an implicit bargain between economic imperatives of growth and productivity, and social imperatives of redistribution and social protection—has broken down and cannot sustain the transformative vision of the 2030 Agenda. For the 21st century, UNRISD believes, the contract is in need of a fundamental overhaul. Find out what we have in mind in this new brief.

Transforming Adaptation Planning and Governance in Jakarta, Indonesia

April 2021

Transforming Adaptation Planning and Governance in Jakarta, Indonesia

Author: Dunja Krause

In many developing countries with unplanned urbanization, urban poor people settle along riverbanks, near reservoirs, and in protected areas and conservation reserves. Urban flood adaptation then mostly focuses on providing more space for water, to reduce flood impacts, which leads to space contestation. Findings from the Jakarta case study from the project Transformative Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Cities illustrate the social justice implications of adaptation policies in the context of urban informality, and highlight the pivotal role of inclusive urban planning in reducing future climate risks and enabling transformative adaptation.

Bringing Social Justice into Climate Change Adaptation in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

April 2021

Bringing Social Justice into Climate Change Adaptation in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Author: Dunja Krause

What could transformative adaptation that takes climate change as an opportunity to tackle root causes of poverty, inequality and environmental destruction look like in the case of Ho Chi Minh City? Findings from the project Transformative Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Cities illustrate the social justice implications of adaptation policies in the context of urban informality and resettlement, and identify entry points for transformative change.

January 2021

Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy

Author: Hamish Jenkins, Ilcheong Yi, Samuel Brülisauer, Kameni Chaddha

To successfully promote SSE and realize its potential in the context of sustainable local development, policy makers and practitioners need answers to a number of questions. What makes particular policies and programmes effective for SSE? Will these be feasible and adaptable within their various legal, political and socioeconomic contexts? These Guidelines for Local Governments provide responses, explaining the key elements constituting an enabling policy and institutional environment, or “ecosystem”, for SSE. They offer a toolbox that can be used in the development of policies and institutions for SSE at the subnational level.

The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization for Social Development— Research and Policy Brief

February 2021

The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization for Social Development— Research and Policy Brief

Author: Katja Hujo

At a time when the development community is grappling with the challenge of raising the required investment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to address the socio-economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, countries’ mobilization of their own domestic resources for social development is more important than ever. This Brief summarizes UNRISD research showing that while increased international solidarity is indispensable to help shoulder the financial burden of crisis response and of investment in the socio-ecological transformation required to truly meet the SDGs, expanding fiscal space and capacity in the global South will be key for building a new social contract that is inclusive and sustainable.