Our mission is to create capacities for change and so promote the quality of food, the living environment and living conditions within (international) society.

We share this mission with the Social Sciences Department of Wageningen University and LEI research institute, with which we form the Social Sciences Group.

The Centre for Development Innovation facilitates innovation, brokers knowledge and develops capacities with a focus on food systems, rural development, agri-business and the management of natural resources. Our work links Wageningen UR’s knowledge and expertise with processes of society-wide learning and innovation.

Our strategy

Our core expertise is innovation processes and capacity development for change. We combine this with expertise from across Wageningen UR’s five Sciences Groups to offer knowledge services that link technical content with processes of innovation, learning and change.

In the search for solutions to poverty, hunger, climate change and environmental degradation, ‘business as usual’ is not an option. A sustainable and equitable future demands markets with a triple bottom line that balance the needs of People, Planet and Profit. Linking technological and institutional innovation becomes critical. Such innovation calls for citizens, governments, businesses, NGOs and the scientific community to work together in new ways.

In an increasingly complex world, ‘development innovation’ means being strategic and creative in tackling these challenges of development. Building on Wageningen UR’s long history of international work, we engage actively in global networks of organizations and professionals working on sustainable development.