overview

The Science & Research section, which was reorganised in 2001, takes care of the topic-focused activities of ÖFSE. Under the new working concept, from 2002 onwards the Science & Research section increased the focus of its operations towards the preparation of studies, analyses, and working papers, policy and strategy advice for public and private players of Austrian development policy and cooperation, targeted publishing, and the provision of information.

An important pillar of the Science & Research section's work is the design of discursive reflection and learning processes relating to its priority issues.

ÖFSE's Science & Research section sees itself as a specialised unit working according to academic criteria and with an orientation towards the practical experience of Austrian players in development policy and development cooperation. It keeps informed about the status quo of the international debate on relevant issues and brings interesting and current topics “to Austria”.

In the course of its reorganisation, the Science & Research section also increased its focus on continuity and the expansion of its existing expertise and experience in development issues and defined the following key topics:

• International development policy and development cooperation
• Austria 's public and private development policy and cooperation (figures, facts, players, trends, principles)
• International development policy and the global economy
• Approaches and strategies for poverty reduction and sustainable development
• Education - research - development

The regular pursuance of relevant international discussions and the sustainable preservation of knowledge and empirical values in the field of Science & Research are carried out by the section's staff in cooperation with the library. Both ÖFSE sections are enriched by this cooperation and consequently also benefit from the resulting quality assurance. In addition, the knowledge collected at ÖFSE becomes public knowledge when it is made available to the interested public in a reasonable manner through the use of the ÖFSE media, the consultation work, and the replies to inquiries.