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The Oxford Martin School is a research and policy unit based in the Social Sciences Division of the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. It was founded in June 2005 as the James Martin 21st Century School and is located in the original building of the
Indian Institute The Indian Institute was an institute within the University of Oxford. It was started by Sir Monier Monier-Williams in 1883 to provide training for the Indian Civil Service of the British Raj. The institute's building is located in central Oxfor ...
. It is named after its benefactor, James Martin, author of the books ''The Wired Society'' and ''The Meaning of the 21st Century''. Its Director is Charles Godfray, who took up the post in February 2018. 'Finding solutions to the world's most urgent problems' is the stated mission of the Oxford Martin School.


History

Author James Martin founded the Oxford Martin School in 2005 with the largest benefaction to the University of Oxford in its more than 900-year history. Founding director of the School was
Ian Goldin Ian Andrew Goldin is a South African-born British professor at the University of Oxford in England, and was the founding director of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. He is Professor of Globalisation and Development, holds a ...
who held the post from September 2006 to September 2016. The School and the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Oxford founded the
Future of Humanity Institute The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford investigating big-picture questions about humanity and its prospects. It was founded in 2005 as part of the Faculty of Philosophy and t ...
in 2005. In 2010, the School announced the successful outcome of a $100 million matched funding scheme that saw the number of research programmes in the School more than double.


Research

The School invests in research tackling "the most pressing global challenges and opportunities of the 21st century". It takes a multi-disciplinary approach to issues such as climate change, migration, and the future of humanity. In September 2012, the School launched the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations, an interdisciplinary group looking at global issues such as
cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...
,
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, and political transparency. The Commission, chaired by
Pascal Lamy Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2013 for 8 years. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy ...
, reported in 2013, making fifteen proposals on how to respond to these trends. These included some expansions of existing projects and some new proposals. A report published in 2013 looked at the effect of new technologies on the structure of the labour market, with repetitive jobs being replaced by automation. It predicted that over two decades, 45 percent of all jobs in the United States were at risk of replacement. A report published in early 2016, "Industrial Renewal in the 21st Century: Evidence from US cities", looked at how technology companies such as
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
and
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
affect the wider economy of the United States. It showed that their effect on job creation is small and that they increase disparities in wealth. Two Oxford Martin School research directors were listed among Prospect Magazine's ''World's Top Thinkers'': philosopher
Nick Bostrom Nick Bostrom ( ; sv, Niklas Boström ; born 10 March 1973) is a Swedish-born philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, superintelligence risks, and the rev ...
was listed 15th in 2014 and global development researcher
Max Roser Max Roser (born 1983) is an economist and philosopher who focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality. He is the founder and director of the research publication O ...
was listed 2nd in 2019. The School is home to the 'Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade' which aims to change demand for illegal wildlife products. In 2021, research from Marco Springmann, a senior researcher at the programme on the Future of Food, was published in ''
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...
'' which used data from the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
International Comparison Programme to assess the cost of dietary patterns in 150 countries and found a
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
dietary pattern to be the most affordable. United States journalist Avery Yale Kamila said "the Oxford University study adds high-quality, much-needed data to policy discussions about food costs." Food Navigator journalist Oliver Morrison said "The findings fly in the face of consumer surveys consistently suggesting that most consumers care about sustainability but say they are often unable or unwilling to pay more for 'greener' food and beverage alternatives."


''Our World in Data''

The flagship publication for the School's research is ''
Our World in Data Our World in Data (OWID) is a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality. It is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a re ...
'', which is published jointly with the
Global Change Data Lab Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
. The publication's mission – 'Research and data to make progress against the world's largest problems' – is closely aligned with the School's mission. The publication's research team is based at the School. ''Our World in Data'' is the largest scientific
open-access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
publication based at a university worldwide and widely used in policy institutions.


References


External links


Oxford Martin School website

Oxford Martin School multimedia library
{{Coord, 51.7549, -1.2542, region:GB-OXF_type:edu, display=title Educational institutions established in 2005 Departments of the University of Oxford Research institutes in Oxford Multidisciplinary research institutes 2005 establishments in England