KEF: Commission for Development Studies

The “Commission for Development Studies” (KEF) at the OeAD-GmbH bridges scientific issues and development policy objectives. The main idea is the rooting of the development policy approach in the field of science and research.

This goal is put into practice by supporting cooperative research projects with partners in developing countries and by providing advice to scientific institutions and funding agencies. The KEF also serves as a contact and intermediary point for organisations in the fields of science, economy and development cooperation in Austria and abroad and sees proactive information activities and linking of institutions as its essential task.

So far the KEF has put 78 projects in 29 African, Asian and Latin American countries into practice. The priorities of these are environment, agriculture and forestry, health, water and social science questions. University and scientific institutions in Austria work together as partners with scientific institutions in the partner countries (least and less developed countries). The cooperations are characterised by mutual respect towards different cultural contexts and knowledge approaches.

The KEF also organises various forums with the partners of the “South” to discuss about the research work and to participate actively in the development policy discourse: roundtables, workshops, discussions, weblogs, newsletters, a quarterly focus on a specific topic on the homepage, online surveys and events – also in the cooperation countries.

www.kef-online.at