Jon Ensor appointed Co-Director of IGDC

In January 2023 Jon was appointed to the role of Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre (IGDC). IGDC is based at the University of York, led by the Departments of Politics, Environment and Geography, and History. Jon is the Centre’s new Co-Director for Environment & Geography. 

The IGDC works with partners across and beyond the University to develop innovative interdisciplinary people-focused solutions to address the urgent and structural challenges of global development. This ‘global’ orientation allows an understanding of change that moves beyond the assumption that development is a process of ‘catching up’ with the 'Global North’.
 
This opens space for exposing the persistent social, economic and environmental injustices in all countries, for investigating the interconnections between experiences of opportunity and marginality in different settings, and for narratives of development that are different to the dominant, Eurocentric model that has driven us into contemporary social and environmental crises.

IGDC’s research is organised around three themes - Social Justice, Global Health and Sustainable Environments - and Jon’s role will include exploring the untapped potential for collaboration between SEI and York’s global development community.

He brings to the role a wealth of experience from work within academia and development practice, for the most part centred on processes that can lead to increasingly equitable human development in relation to disaster risk reduction, environmental change, and the production and governance of technology and infrastructure.