Autumn School 2025 | DSA Ireland

DSAI Autumn School 2025

Date: Wednesday, 3rd (online) & Thursday, 4th (in-person) September

Theme: The Elevation of Indigenous Knowledge as an Optimistic Response in the Face of the Global Funding Crisis.

Venue: Maynooth University

On 3 and 4 September 2025, at Maynooth University, DSAI will host an Autumn School on the theme of Indigenous Knowledge and Practice: an optimistic response to the global funding crisis.

The development community at present is profoundly shaken by the cuts to development aid budgets and the negative implications of these cuts for humanitarian organisations, partner agencies and communities in the Global South. These cuts come at a time of growing need in the face of conflict, food insecurity and displacement. Our sector is perhaps struggling to find ways to respond.

This series of crises however may re-open our eyes to 'doing development' in a different way; development that is driven not by funding and donor-led priorities but by indigenous knowledge and practice, encompassing and guided by traditional, place-based knowledge generated by local people over generations. These development systems are deeply intertwined with the unique culture, values and worldviews of indigenous people. Might an increased understanding and engagement with indigenous practices help us to meet contemporary challenges?

The DSAI Autumn School provides a focused 2-day programme of talks, seminars and workshops exploring research methods for development. The event will engage NGOs, policy makers, and academics both as contributors to the programme and as participants. Connecting research, policy and practice in the field of Indigenous knowledge and Practice; the programme will bring together international experts during interactive sessions to enhance the professional development of participants. The Autumn school will use a blended format with 3 September online and 4 September to be held in person in Maynooth. True to the spirit of the theme of the school, we are proposing to adopt a participatory approach, with workshops designed to maximise the sharing of knowledge and

practice. The attendees will work in teams to develop their own research methodology under the guidance of academics and practitioners and will together create proposals for innovative research methods that may be applied in the field.