Past Programmes and Projects

The Oxford Martin School provides fixed term funding for innovative, future-oriented projects, either through starting up a new Institute or through developing a specific academic programme of research. An indication of the level of success of a project comes at its completion, when either it evolves and spins off to different kinds of collaborative efforts or it begins to receive outside funding, reducing its dependence on the Oxford Martin School's funds. The Institutes and Programmes below are no longer direct members of the School but remain affiliated through joint initiatives and related projects.

icon for Environmental Change Institute

Environmental Change Institute

The Environmental Change Institute is an interdisciplinary research and teaching unit working to answer questions about how and why the environment is changing and how responses can be developed through public policy, private enterprise and social initiatives. The Institute analyses and designs cross-sectoral solutions to environmental risk including climate change, land and ecosystem degradation.

From 2005-2008, funding from the Oxford Martin School directly supported a programme on climate policy.

The ECI also hosts the Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests (OCTF), which is a research collaboration established in 2008 and a member of the Oxford Martin School. 

icon for e-Horizons Project

e-Horizons Project

The e-Horizons project was established at James Martin 21st Century School from 2005-2009. The Project was a joint collaboration between the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Oxford e-Research Centre (OeRC), and included a multidisciplinary network of engineers, computer scientists and social scientists at Oxford and other world centres of e-science research. The Project aimed to identify and explore the potentially most significant ICT-related breakthroughs in the sciences, humanities and other disciplines and how these might shape the future of communication in our increasingly networked society. It closed in 2009 with the publication of a book entitled: World Wide Research: Reshaping the Sciences and Humanities. This explores the intersection of research with new opportunities offered by developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

icon for World Education Institute

World Education Institute

The World Education Institute was established with the launch of the Oxford Martin School in 2005. Under the leadership of co-Directors, Dr Angus Hawkins and Dr Tom Benson, the Institute aimed to develop and coordinate research activities across the Oxford Martin School, and to coordinate education and outreach activities for the leaders from the across the global public, business and voluntary sectors.

In 2007, the Institute was closed down in Oxford, and the concept evolved to develop the World Leadership Corps, a programme for recruiting, training and deplying volunteers in developing countries, with the aim of preparing future leaders for the challenges in the 21st century.  Dr Angus Hawkins continues related work as Director of International Programmes in Oxford's Department for Continuing Education.

icon for Policy Foresight Programme

Policy Foresight Programme

The Policy Foresight Programme, led by Sir Crispin Tickell, was hosted by the School from 2008-2010. The Programme's purpose was to help bridge the gap between science and policy, through hosting small, focused seminars with leading participants from business, industry, government, academia and civil society. Seminar topics were on issues of science, technology, and the environment and aimed to identify leverage points in current policy that could have significant long-term benefits for civilization.

Reports from these seminars are available in our publications pages.