Biography

I joined the university in 1994 while completing my PhD, and was based in the Centre for Development Studies for 16 years until its closure in 2010 when I moved to the Dept of Political and Cultural Studies. While in CDS, I worked on consultancy assignments for a range of organizations including the Department for International Development, the World Bank and the National Audit Office. Prior to that, I taught at Middlesex University and was a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of the Philippines in Manila. I completed my PhD on Non-Governmental Organisations and Philippine Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London after completing a masters degree in Government at the London School of Economics.

Current Research

I am currently writing a book on civil society in the Philippines based on quantitative and qualitative research methods, and drawing on fieldwork in 2007 and 2009. I have recently recompleted a number of research projects exploring the role of faith-based organizations in international development and the interface between religion and international development.

Selected Recent Publications

• ‘Civil Society, Cross-National Comparisons and the Problem of Statistical Capture’, Journal of International Development, Vol. 22, 2010. DOI: 10.1002/JID.1729 (link)
• ‘Trans-faith Humanitarian Partnerships: The case of Muslim Aid and the United Methodist Committee on Relief’, European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 22 No. 4, 2010, pp. 510-528 (link)
• 'Religion and International Development’ in Geoff Haynes (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics, Routledge, London & New York, 2009, pp. 385-402 (link).
• Gerard Clarke & Michael Jennings (Eds), Development, Civil Society and Faith-Based Organisations: Bridging the Sacred and the Secular, PalgraveMacmillan, Basingstoke & New York, 2008, pp. xx + 279 (link).
• 'Agents of Transformation? Donors, Faith-Based Organisations and International Development’, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 1, February 2007, pp. 77-96 (link).
• 'Faith Matters: Faith-Based Organisations, Civil Society and International Development’, Journal of International Development, Vol. 18 No. 6, August 2006 (link).

Selected research awards, fellowships and prizes

• 2008 European Journal of Development Research prize for best paper at the Development Studies Association annual conference
• 2007 & 2008 British Academy and Association for South-East Asian Studies in the UK (ASEASUK) research grants for research on Philippine civil society
• 2007 Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Policy & Public Affairs, School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University;
• 2006 Commonwealth Foundation research grant, £13,000, for research on Muslim Aid UK. 
• 2005 Department for International Development, £31,000, research on DFID engagement with faith groups and the role of faith in poverty reduction (with CDS colleagues)

PhD Supervision

I welcome enquiries from students interested in pursuing research in any of the areas mentioned above under Specialist Subjects. I am currently supervising students working on governance and state-building in Palestine; Japanese aid policy; and participatory management tools in Ecuador.