In 1970 the publication of a radical and controversial document helped shape modern thinking on science and technology for development. It was called The Sussex Manifesto: Science and Technology to Developing Countries during the Second Development Decade.

Forty years on, the worlds of innovation and development have evolved beyond recognition. We live in a highly globalised, interconnected and yet privatised world. We have witnessed unprecedented advances in science and technology, the rise of Asia and ever-shifting patterns of inequality. Many of the old certainties of development and ‘modernisation’ no longer hold true. So what kind of Manifesto is needed for today’s world?

The Sussex-based STEPS Centre and its partners around the world are creating a new manifesto in association with one of the authors of the original, Professor Geoff Oldham. Seeking to bring cutting-edge ideas and some Southern perspectives to current policy, the New Manifesto will recommend new ways of linking science and innovation to development for a more sustainable, equitable and resilient future.