# 2411
Yesterday I received an email from Julia Day, communications officer for STEPS Centre, an organization that describes itself as follows:
Who we are
The STEPS Centre is a new interdisciplinary global research and policy engagement hub, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. We aim to develop a new approach to understanding, action and communication on sustainability and development.
By acknowledging the interactions between social, technological and environmental factors in diverse local settings we aim to create more sustainable, socially just and favourable conditions for the poor.
Uniting development studies with science and technology studies, we seek to address two vital global challenges:
- how to link environmental sustainability with better livelihoods and health for poor people
- how to make science and technology work to reduce poverty and increase social justice.
Based at the Institute of Development Studies and SPRU Science and Technology Policy Research in the UK, we have partners in China, India, Kenya and Argentina.
Julia wrote to let me know that the STEPS Centre is addressing, among other issues, the problems of pandemic influenza and directed me to a policy paper written by Professor Ian Scoones And Paul Forster of the ESRC STEPS Centre at the Institute of Development Studies.
The report - The International Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: Science, Policy and Politics (PDF 2mb)– is available on their Avian Flu portal page.
I'm adding the STEPS Centre to my links sidebar, and look forward to delving deeper into this new resource.
