Introduction
Taiwanese Association for Development Studies, TADS
Development studies, initially focusing on national economic growth, have gradually shifted to sustainability of individuals, communities, civic participation, equality, and global governance in recent years, emphasizing that development must meet the needs of the people and coexist with nature. To realize the sustainability, it is crucial to acquire experience from the predecessors, as well as to integrate the current resource network into practice. Therefore, as an association for development studies, we hope to find a sustainable path by connecting scholars from various research fields.
Development research is one of the most critical topics in the wave of globalization. As a communication platform for researchers, Taiwanese Association for Development Studies (TADS) was established in 2013 at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of National Chengchi University and became Taiwan’s first academic association on a national scale for development research. Doctor Jenn-Hwan Wang (the former Vice-President of National Chengchi University (NCCU) and the Chair Professor of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies) was elected as the founding Chairman. From 2009 to the present (2021), the Annual Conference on Development Studies (ACDS) has been held every year to facilitate exchange and corporation among researchers. Such wide and diverse composition has made Taiwanese Association for Development Studies (TADS) a leading academic community in Taiwan.
During the tenure of Chairman Wang, he not only succeeded in making development studies recognized by the Ministry of Education of Taiwan as a separate detailed study category of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Standard Classification of Subjects (中華民國學科標準分類) in September 2017. He also published Taiwan's first book on development research—Development Studies and Contemporary Taiwan Society (發展研究與當代臺灣社會). Since 2017, the former Chairman Ching-Ping Tang and the current Chairman Shiuh-Shen Chien have continued to conduct in-depth discussions on development studies-related issues through the annual conference, actively establishing an international network and increasing the influence of the Taiwanese academic community in the international development research field.
Before the establishment of the association, the first Annual Conference on Development Studies had been launched in 2009 by the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, NCCU. Over the years, 12 Annual Conferences on Development Studies have been organized by Graduate Institute of Building and Planning of National Taiwan University, the Department of Social and Policy Sciences of YUANZE University, the Graduate Institute of National Development of National Taiwan University, the College of Indigenous Studies of National Donghwa University, Department of Geography of National Taiwan University, the Graduate Institute of Future Studies of Tamkang University, the Department of Future Studies and LOHAS Industry of Foguang University, and the Graduate Institute of National Development Studies of National Taiwan University. Over a hundred academic papers have been published in the annual conferences, accumulating numerous local development research results and forming a sizable emerging academic community.
The Taiwanese Association for Development Studies and its annual conference, as an interdisciplinary academic exchange platform, will proceed to inspire the domestic academic community to explore development issues that need urgent international attention, to share research results, and to propose solutions. It is hoped that the continuous enthusiastic participation could promote the development research community and contribute to sustainable development in theory and practice.
