Global Development Institute podcast

Following the launch of the Sustainable Forest Transitions project at Manchester Museum on the 6th March 2024, we bring you a new episode featuring the event's opening remarks and the incredible panel discussion that took place.In this episode, you will hear from Kieran Dodds, Polyanna da Conceição Bispo, Felipe Melo, Adithya Pradeep and Rose Pritchard, with host and project lead Johan Oldekop guiding the discussion. If you want to follow the project or learn more, you can do so here.  Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

Oliver Bakewell, Impact Director at GDI, discusses migration practices along the Ethiopia-Sudan border with Kiya Gezahegne, an ethnographic researcher from the University of Addis Ababa. Kiya and Oliver have worked together on multiple projects exploring local migration realities and policy effects.  In this episode, they draw interesting observations by setting Ethiopian and European contexts side by side.  Have a listen to their conversation to learn more! About Kiya Gezahegne:Kiya Gezahegne is an experienced feminist researcher and lecturer based at the Department of Social Anthropology, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. She has been involved in ethnographic research for over eight years on a range of migration related areas including experiences of Ethiopian migrants to and from the Middle East, migration management and livelihoods at the Ethiopia-Sudan border, interlinkages between migration and poverty in Ethiopia, as well as understanding migration and the labour market in Addis Ababa among others.  Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, PhD researcher Sandy Nofyanza kicks off a new series of podcasts linked to the GDI's Sustainable Forest Transitions project. Sandy chats to Dr Sreeja Jaiswal, Humboldt Foundation’s International Climate Protection Postdoc Fellow at the University of Heidelberg, about challenges associated with forest restoration efforts and debates surrounding mitigation measures such as carbon offsets. Music I Use: Bensound.com/free-music-for-videosLicense code: QVPSSG18TYB4DVRS Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, Francisco V. Ayala discusses his new book, Cash Transfers for Poverty Reduction: An International Operational Guide (Routledge, 2023), co-authored with GDI’s David Lawson. The book offers the first systematic discussion of the design and implementation of cash transfer programmes, including practical guidance for students and key stakeholders who are – or will be – responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating such programmes. Francisco is an international social protection consultant and President of Ayala Consulting Corporation/SOPROEN. David Lawson is Senior Lecturer in Development Economics and Public Policy at the Global Development Institute.  Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

Selim Iyidirli hosts a conversation around One World Together and its model for Global Citizenship with Jon Alexander, author of Citizens: How the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us, and Nicola Banks and Chibwe Masabo Henry, Co-Founders and Chief Stewards of One World Together. Have a listen, and then come and join their wave of change!More about Jon AlexanderJon Alexander began his career with success in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. Citizens: How the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

The division of the world into ‘developing’ and ‘developed’ countries has grown increasingly problematic in the past decades. Nonetheless, it remains embedded in legal documents, foreign policy discourse, and colloquial use. In this lecture, Dr Deborah explores this complexity by unpacking the different ways in which the ‘developing’ label is used in the international system, arguing that understanding the complexity around its use requires a rigorous analysis of the label’s diverse meanings and consequences.Deborah Barros Leal Farias is a Brazilian-born Senior Lecturer at UNSW Sydney's School of Social Sciences, where she teaches Politics and International Relations. She has a multidisciplinary background: PhD in Political Science from UBC (Canada), as well as an MA in International Relations, a bachelor degree in Economy and another in Law, all from Brazilian institutions. Her current main areas of interest involve hierarchy in global governance, particularly the interaction of non-great powers in international organizations, and Brazilian politics. Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

This episode comes from the African Cities Research Centre, based at the Global Development Institute. Urban reform coalitions can play a critical role in building inclusive, sustainable and productive cities. Made up of diverse stakeholders who collaborate to achieve common goals, these coalitions can work to strengthen relationships between disadvantaged groups and influential state/non-state actors. This collective action can be powerful in challenging socioeconomic inequality and enabling marginalised groups to capitalise on political opportunities for inclusive reform.So where do researchers come in?This podcast episode is a recording from a webinar ACRC held in September 2023 to discuss the role that academics, action researchers and professionals can play in fostering the formation and functioning of urban reform coalitions. In doing so, they wanted to give special focus to how knowledge and evidence can catalyse urban reform coalitions.Chaired by ACRC research associate, Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael, the webinar comprised presentations from three panellists, who talked about their experiences of working with urban reform coalitions and shared valuable lessons learned, followed by a question-and-answer session.Shalini Sinha is the urban Asia lead and home-based work sector specialist at Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO). She discusses the “I, Too, am Delhi” campaign, including the importance of having multi-sectoral partnerships and an intersectional perspective, along with the need to “demystify the technical”.Catherine Sutherland is an associate professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She shares her experiences and lessons from co-producing knowledge with disadvantaged groups in the Palmiet Catchment Rehabilitation Project, aimed at building flood resilience in Durban, South Africa.Paul Mukwaya is coordinator at the Urban Action Lab and ACRC's city lead for Kampala. He talks about his experiences as part of the Just City and Informality Working Group, led by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Uganda.Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael is a research associate at the African Cities Research Consortium, supporting research across the crosscutting themes of finance, gender and climate change. Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

The latest episode of our podcast brings together Sam Hickey, President of the Development Studies Association UK, Heloise Weber, President of the Development Studies Association Australia and special guest Winnie Mitullah from IDS, University of Nairobi. The three discuss the relevance of development studies in the current climate. Sam Hickey is President of the Development Studies Association UK. He is Head of the Global Development Institute, Professor of Politics and Development and Deputy CEO of the African Cities Research Consortium. His research examines the links between politics and development, including issues of state capacity and elite commitment, natural resource governance, social exclusion and adverse incorporation, citizenship participation and NGOs and the politics of social protection and social justice.Heloise Weber is President of the Development Studies Association Australia. She is Senior Lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland, Australia.  Her research addresses how knowledge-production and representation shape and justify framings of 'development' at a macro-political level, and what this means for peopleWinnie Mitullah is a Research Professor of Development Studies at the Institute for Development Studies, The University of Nairobi (IDS) and UNESCO UNITWIN Chair. She has researched and consulted in the areas of governance, in particular in the area of provision and management of urban services and the role of stakeholders in development. Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode Elisa Gambino is joined by Kathy Dodworth. They discuss Kathy’s new book, Legitimation as Political Practice, her transition from working at an NGO to academia and the idea of the non-stateDr Kathy Dodworth is a Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Centre for African Studies. Her current fellowship critically re-examines contemporary community health work in Kenya. She recently published her book Legitimation as Political Practice: Crafting Everyday Authority in Tanzania, which combines ethnographic fieldwork with theoretical innovation, reworking legitimacy as a collection of practices.More about Kathy DodworthLegitimation as Political Practice: Crafting Everyday Authority in TanzaniaKathy Dodworth Follow Kathy on TwitterDr Elisa Gambino joined GDI in 2023 as Lecturer in Global Development, with a focus on Global Political Economy. In January 2024, she will begin a three-year Hallsworth Political Economy Fellowship titled “African hubs, Chinese trade, and global circulation,” which focuses on the networks of Chinese companies and entrepreneurs increasingly engaged in cross-border exchanges in West Africa.More about Elisa GambinoElisa Gambino Follow Elisa on Twitter  Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

People in South Sudan have experienced decades of forced displacement and cross-border mobility, resulting in families split across the country and neighbouring Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. According to the United Nations as of 2021, more than four million South Sudanese citizens were displaced either internally or internationally.Samuel Hall in collaboration with Research and Evidence Facility (REF) explored the experiences of displacement, return, and reintegration among South Sudanese refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). This podcast, based on the report released by Samuel Hall and REF, explores the experiences of displacement, return and reintegration among South Sudanese refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons. Through their stories, expert insights and our analysis, we understand key systemic and discuss potential durable solutions for sustainable reintegration.With thanks to, Chris Siracuse, Devyani Nighoskar, Tanya Kathuria, Nassim Majidi and Joseph Malish. Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

 In this episode Tanja Müller talks to Lisa Ann Richey about her career and her recent book, Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development. Lisa Ann Richey is Professor of Globalisation and Development Studies at the Department of Management, Society and Communication Copenhagen Business School. Her research looks at values and international politics of humanitarianism. More about Lisa Ann Richey Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of DevelopmentLisa Ann Richey Follow Lisa on Twitter Tanja Müller is Professor of Political Sociology at the Global Development Institute. Tanja has recently completed a research project on the potential role of the business sector in refugee integration andhumanitarian response. She is currently the Principal Investigator of an ESRC-funded project on transnational lived citizenship and political belonging in the Horn of Africa. She is also developing a new cooperation with Prof Adriana Kemp from Tel Aviv University on inscribing mobile lives into urban peripheries. More about Tanja Müller Tanja Müller  Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode Tom Goodfellow and Pritish Behuria discuss Tom's career and his new book, Politics and the Urban Frontier: Transformation and Divergence in Late Urbanizing East Africa.Despite the rise of global technocratic ideals of city-making, cities around the world are not merging into indistinguishable duplicates of one another. In fact, as the world urbanizes, urban formations remain diverse in their socioeconomic and spatial characteristics, with varying potential to foster economic development and social justice. In his book, Tom Goodfellow argues that these differences are primarily rooted in politics, and if we continue to view cities as economic and technological projects to be managed rather than terrains of political bargaining and contestation, the quest for better urban futures is doomed to fail. Dominant critical approaches to urban development tend to explain difference with reference to the variegated impacts of neoliberal regulatory institutions. This, however, neglects the multiple ways in which the wider politics of capital accumulation and distribution drive divergent forms of transformation in different urban places.Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Studies & International Development at the University of Sheffield.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change.More about Tom GoodfellowPolitics and the Urban Frontier: Transformation and Divergence in Late Urbanizing East Africa.Tom GoodfellowFollow Tom on TwitterPritish Behuria is Senior Lecturer in Politics, Governance & Development at the Global Development Institute. His research operates at the intersection of development studies, comparative politics and international political economy. He is a political economist, taking an interdisciplinary approach to studying the challenges associated with late development under 21st Century Globalisation.More about Pritish BehuriaPritish BehuriaFollow Pritish on Twitter Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

This episode comes from the African Cities Research Consortium podcast.Diana Mitlin talks to Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael about her new paper on how reform coalitions can contribute to inclusive equitable urban change in the global South, her experiences of working with coalitions in Africa and Asia, the future of the urban reform agenda in African cities, and an upcoming conference being organised by ACRC.Diana Mitlin is CEO of the African Cities Research Consortium and professor of global urbanism at The University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute.Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael is a postdoctoral research fellow at the African Cities Research Consortium, supporting research across the crosscutting themes of finance, gender and climate change.The African Cities Research Consortium is a major six-year investment by FCDO to fund new, operationally-relevant research to address intractable development challenges in African cities. Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

This episode comes from the African Cities Research Consortium podcast. “It’s not our data as SDI, it’s not ACRC data, it’s not their data. It’s the community’s data. So you have to have that understanding that, at the end of the day, it has to benefit the community.”In this episode, Miriam Maina talks to Charity Mumbi and Jane Wairutu from SDI-Kenya about community-led mapping and data collection, participatory planning processes, and the role of research in inclusive urban transformation.Charity Mumbi is an urban and regional planner and a project officer at SDI-Kenya, supporting community-led planning, research and data management activities.Jane Wairutu is a sociologist and programme manager at SDI-Kenya, working closely with data and project implementation teams.Miriam Maina is from Nairobi and is a postdoctoral research fellow at the African Cities Research Consortium, working on the housing domain.The African Cities Research Consortium is a major six-year investment by FCDO to fund new, operationally-relevant research to address intractable development challenges in African cities. Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In the latest Global Development Institute podcast Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner in charge of infrastructure, energy and ICT, talks to Seth Schindler about energy security and infrastructural development in Africa.Ahead of COP27 in Egypt, they reflect on Africa’s energy “evolution” in relation to climate change, why integration is key to bridging the continent’s infrastructure gap, the impact of rising interest rates on foreign and local investment, and the regional innovation and cooperation that has emerged in response to multiple crises, including Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.Amani Abou-Zeid is the twice-elected African Union Commissioner in charge of infrastructure, energy and ICT, and is also chair of African Cities Research Consortium's advisory group, which is based at GDI. She holds a PhD in social and economic development from the Global Development Institute at The University of Manchester.Seth Schindler is senior lecturer in urban development and transformation at The University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute and co-research director of the African Cities Research Consortium.Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

Development studies often focuses on the negative: constraints, challenges, negative impacts, etc. But what if we could use new digital datasets to identify positive deviants: outlier individuals, households, districts and others that outperform their peers in achievement of development goals?In this episode, Basma Albanna and Richard Heeks discuss the “Data-Powered Positive Deviance” (DPPD) programme. The programme built on an original idea by GDI researcher, Basma Albanna, that was fleshed out in a paper co-authored with Richard Heeks, GDI’s Professor of Digital Development. It argued that traditional methods of identifying positive deviants relied on costly and time-consuming primary data-gathering from the field. Instead, it might be possible to identify outliers in the growing number of digital datasets already available.Basma Albanna studied for her PhD at the Global Development Institute. She is now a lecturer at Ain Shams University and a Consultant for the GIZ Data LabMore about Basma Albanna:Basma AlbannaFollow Basma on TwitterRichard Heeks is Professor of Digital Development in the Global Development Institute, part of the School of Environment, Education and Development.  He is Director of the Centre for Digital Development.More about Richard Heeks:Richard HeeksFollow Richard on TwitterMore about the“Data-Powered Positive Deviance programmeFind out more about DPPD Read the paper: Data-powered positive deviance: Combining traditional and non-traditional data to identify and characterise development-related outperformers Data Powered Positive Deviance blogData Powered Positive Deviance handbook Contact the Data Powered Positive Deviance team   Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In this episode, Stefano Ponte talks to Aarti Krishnan about his research into sustainability, the wine and seafood value chains in South Africa and his recent book Business, Power and Sustainability in a World of Global Value ChainsDr Stefano Ponte is a Professor of International Political Economy at Copenhagen Business School. His research looks at transnational economic and environmental governance, with a focus on overlaps and tensions between private authority and public regulation. Dr Aarti Krishnan is a Hallsworth Research Fellow at the Global Development Institute More about Stefano Ponte:Stefano PonteContested Sustainability: The Political Ecology of Conservation and Development Partnerships in TanzaniaBusiness, Power and Sustainability in a World of Global Value ChainsFollow Stefano on TwitterMore about Aarti KrishnanAarti Krishnan Read Aarti’s recent article on Multichain strategies and economic upgrading in global value chains: Evidence from Kenyan horticultureIntro music Anna Banana by Eaters Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In the second of our Shifting South series, Stephanie Barrientos talks to Margareet Visser and Maggie Opondo. They reflect on the project and their research into horticultural value chains. Shifting South investigated:the rise of South-South trade through regional and domestic marketswhat this means for decent work – especially women in precarious jobsand looked at specific commodities and value chains in the horticulture and garment sectors in South Africa, Lesotho and Kenya.PanelProf. Stephanie Barrientos, Global Development Institute, The University of ManchesterDr Maggie Opondo, The Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, The University of NairobiMargareet Visser, Institute of Development and Labour Law, University of Cape TownRead a transcript of the podcastIntro music Anna Banana by Eaters Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In the first of our Shifting South series, Stephanie Barrientos talks to Khalid Nadvi and Shane Godfrey. They reflect on the project and their research into regional garment value chains, and decent work in Southern Africa.Shifting South investigated:the rise of South-South trade through regional and domestic marketswhat this means for decent work – especially women in precarious jobsand looked at specific commodities and value chains in the horticulture and garment sectors in South Africa, Lesotho and Kenya.PanelProf. Stephanie Barrientos, Global Development Institute, The University of ManchesterDr Shane Godfrey, Institute of Development and Labour Law, University of Cape TownProf. Khalid Nadvi, Global Development Institute, The University of ManchesterRead a transcript of the podcastIntro music Anna Banana by Eaters Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

In the latest episode of the GDI podcast, Professor Stefan Dercon talks to Dr Sophie van Huellen. They discuss Stefan's new book, "Gambling on Development: why some countries win and others lose", his recent departure from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and his advice to academics wanting to work with civil servants and policymakers.Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy at Oxford University. Between 2011 and 2017, he was Chief Economist of the Department of International Development (DFID), and from 20200- 2022, he was the Development Policy Advisor to successive Foreign Secretaries at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.Sophie van Huellen is a Lecturer in Development Economics at the Global Development Institute.Transcript and more informationIntro music Anna Banana by Eaters Find out more about the Global Development Institute: Website Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Newsletter Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters