It is with deep regret and sadness that we share the news of the death of Professor Geoff Oldham, who passed away on Sunday 1 October 2017 at the age of 88.
Geoff’s work on science and technology policy and developing countries is unparalleled. Among his extraordinary achievements was the co-founding, with Chris Freeman, of the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex in 1966.
Geoff was also responsible for a deep collaboration between SPRU and the Institute of Development Studies, the institutions which co-host the STEPS Centre. His projects included the influential Sussex Manifesto on Science and Technology for Developing Countries during the Second Development Decade of the UN (1970), which helped to transform thinking on science and technology for development. Later, Geoff collaborated with the STEPS Centre on the New Manifesto published in 2010, which aimed to apply these ideas to the present day.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIExwI8gJE4[/embedyt]In remembering Geoff, colleagues have reflected not only on his groundbreaking work but on his vision, his deep belief in working with genuine symmetrical partnerships, and his generosity, warmth and kindness.
For more reflections on his life and work, see the articles on the SPRU website and the IDS website below.