Typhoon Haiyan One Year On: Reflections on Disability Research in the Philippines

Dr. David Cobley is a teaching fellow in IDD where he has established a module focused on disability and development.  Previous research has examined economic empowerment strategies for disabled people in Kenya, India and Sierra Leone.  David has worked in the field of disability for 23 years, including setting up a care home for adults … Continue reading “Typhoon Haiyan One Year On: Reflections on Disability Research in the Philippines”

Ebola – where are the governments?

Andrew Nickson is Honorary Reader in Public Management and Latin American Studies in IDD, with 30 years’ experience of teaching, research and consultancy on public administration reform, local governance, decentralization and urban water supply. He has particular interests in Sierra Leone, Nepal and Paraguay, countries where he has had long-term work assignments. The terrible Ebola tragedy … Continue reading “Ebola – where are the governments?”

Forgotten South Sudan tangled in factionalism and failed politics

Jonathan Fisher’s research is focused on the relationship between Western aid donors and developing states. He is particularly interested in how donors construct perceptions of foreign governments and key concepts, and the extent to which these knowledge construction processes are influenced by external actors and bureaucratic structures as well as by policy-makers themselves. He is … Continue reading “Forgotten South Sudan tangled in factionalism and failed politics”

Politics shape services; and services shape politics

Richard Batley is Emeritus Professor at the University of Birmingham’s International Development Department. His research focuses on state/non-state relations in service provision, and on the politics of public services in developing countries. He has researched particularly in Brazil, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Mozambique, and the UK. In governance circles, service delivery is often discussed as if … Continue reading “Politics shape services; and services shape politics”

Public service motivation: Love or money?

Sumedh Rao is a Research Fellow in the GSDRC, working on governance in situations of conflict and fragility, statebuilding and state fragility, political economy analysis, aid architecture, anti-corruption reforms, and civil service reform Ask what motivates workers, and the common response is a list of carrots and sticks. But offer a worker one of these … Continue reading “Public service motivation: Love or money?”

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 1918-2013

 Heather Marquette, Reader in Development Politics at IDD, and David Hudson, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at UCL, are directors of research for the Developmental Leadership Program (DLP).   We were deeply saddened, like much of the rest of the world, to read about the death of Nelson Mandela. When he began his ‘long walk … Continue reading “Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 1918-2013”

India and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

David Cobley is a doctoral student in IDD investigating economic empowerment strategies for people with disabilities in Kenya, India and The Philippines.  David has worked in the field of disability for 23 years, including managing a care home for adults with learning disabilities The 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities marked … Continue reading “India and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”

Statebuilding challenges for the future Timorese government

Nicolas Lemay-Hébert is a Marie Curie Experienced Researcher at the International Development Department, University of Birmingham and research group leader, “State-building, Security and Development,” at the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security, University of Birmingham. He has conducted fieldwork in Timor-Leste (Summer 2008) for the Institutions for Fragile States Program – Princeton University. His recent … Continue reading “Statebuilding challenges for the future Timorese government”

Donors still can’t talk about the c-word

Heather Marquette is Senior Lecturer in Governance in IDD. Her areas of research include comparative politics; political development; African politics; state-building and governance in difficult environments; corruption, good governance and ‘moral politics’; donor approaches to anti-corruption reform; discourses on citizenship; and applied political analysis. She directs IDD’s International Development (Governance and Statebuilding) programme and is … Continue reading “Donors still can’t talk about the c-word”

A future for aid data

Michael Hubbard, Reader in Development Economics, is an economist specialising in public economic and finance management, aid management and international trade. Pranay Sinha is a Research Fellow in aid management and public finance. They are currently collaborating on a research project on aid data funded by DFID through its Future of Aid and Beyond Research … Continue reading “A future for aid data”