STANDD is an inter- and multidisciplinary research centre at McGill University with thematic emphases on the social, technological, and environmental dimensions of international development. With an expanding network of researchers, STANDD includes members from the Department of Anthropology as well as from the Faculties of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, Law, Management, and Medicine and Science, to name a few.
Our mandate is to foster collaborative learning and fieldwork training as well as to support knowledge co-creation through international critical and engaged community-based research. STANDD members are involved in diverse projects that respond to local livelihood needs by confronting challenges to community wellbeing, and engaging in topics relating to: society and technology, the economy of the environment, biodiversity conservation and sustainability, community institutions and social movements, food systems and food sovereignty, domestic economy, land tenure, Indigenous knowledges, and the provision of basic needs for adequate community health, nutrition and education. Moreover, STANDD supports the dissemination of research findings by hosting a public year-round lecture series, and by preparing researchers to engage in international meetings and conferences. Our members generate publications that are accessible to international researchers, local communities, and policy-makers.
With members engaged in innovative projects on multiple continents, STANDD researchers further McGill University’s mandate for academic excellence, diverse knowledge exchanges, and institutional-community partnerships for local capacity-building globally.