The Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM) at the University of Oslo was established in 1990 in response to the Brundtland Report Our Common Future, and was at the time one of the few institutions in Scandinavia conducting interdisciplinary research on development and the environment.
Over the course of 35 years, SUM developed strong research expertise in areas such as development policy, global health, global governance and international politics, rural transformation, energy justice, and sustainable consumption. SUM researchers have worked both nationally and internationally, with regional expertise spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.
SUM has led numerous prestigious international projects, funded by the Research Council of Norway, the European Research Council and NORAD, among others.
As of June 2025, SUM’s staff become part of the Centre for Global Sustainability. They bring with them knowledge, results, and experience in interdisciplinary collaboration that form an important foundation for the new centre.