| Senter for utvikling og miljø | |
| Abbreviation | SUM |
|---|---|
| Type | Research institute |
| Location | |
Parent organization | University of Oslo |
| Website | www |
Centre for Development and the Environment (Norwegian: Senter for utvikling og miljø, SUM) is a research center at the University of Oslo. The overarching goal of SUM is to conduct interdisciplinary research, teaching, and dissemination on development and environmental issues, with a particular focus on the interconnections between development and the environment.[1] SUM is organized as a center without faculty affiliation, directly under the university board. The center was established on January 1, 1990, at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Science and the Norwegian Research Council for General Sciences (NAVF). The initiative came in the wake of the active role Norway played in the World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, 1987, where the Brundtland Report was launched.
In the aftermath of the Brundtland Report, a research center was established at each of the Norwegian core universities. Today, only SUM remains. SUM was established by merging three previously independent entities: the Council for Natural and Environmental Sciences (RNM), the Program for Development Research (PUFO), and the Center for International Development Studies (SIU). In 2000, the Program for Research and Investigation for a Sustainable Society (ProSus) was incorporated into SUM. The legacy of the Brundtland Report is deeply rooted in SUM's mandate for interdisciplinary research and education on global development and environmental issues. Today, approximately 50 employees are associated with the center.
SUM will have a central role in the university's new interdisciplinary initiative on sustainability, the Center for Global Sustainability. The new center will be established as a unit under the university board with the goal of strengthening and facilitating interdisciplinary research, education, and dissemination on sustainability. The center is intended to be a meeting hub for researchers, students, external partners, and guests. As of May 2025, the new center will be established virtually, with SUM at the forefront and in collaboration with several other initiatives and units at the university. By the end of 2027, the center will be physically established and move into what will become the Sustainability House on the Blindern campus.[2]