University of Oxford TIDE Centre
The Technology and Industrialisation for Development (TIDE) Centre explores the complex relationships between trade, investment, technology, industrialisation, and innovation in the context of development.
Founded in 2008 by Professor Xiaolan Fu as a multidisciplinary research hub within the Oxford Department of International Development, the Centre brings together scholars and practitioners who view technology and industrialisation as essential drivers of sustainable development. It builds on the pioneering work of influential development economists — Frances Stewart, Sanjaya Lall, Barbara Harriss-White, Adrian Wood, and Valpy FitzGerald — who, since the 1970s, have championed the transformative power of technology and industrialisation in an era when the development agenda was largely focused on food security, poverty reduction, and aid.
Today, the Centre’s mission is more critical than ever. As disparities in technological capabilities widen and a new global industrialisation race accelerates — particularly in the shift to a low-carbon economy — advancing knowledge on innovation and industrial policy is essential for achieving local prosperity and genuine, inclusive sustainability.