POLICY WORK

I have managed national government projects on tech policy & regulation, economic development and data analytics in my current role. Building on my research on measuring digital development, I recently advised Research ICT Africa on the design of their detailed questionnaire on digital technology use to be administered in 10 African countries (funded by the Gates Foundation). At Oxford, I oversaw engagements on national digital economy planning working with national governments and think-tanks/consulting firms in several developing countries as part of Digital Pathways' Digital Economy Toolkit work. I also led more discrete projects on, for example, developing a national fund for tech-enabled firms in Ethiopia and a measurement toolkit for digital skills for the Indonesian government. 

I also have experience with policy/operational work related to:

• environmental sustainability

• national infrastructure development

• urban and regional planning

• employment/labour market issues

• industrial policy and firm location

• private sector development

• FDI promotion/regulation

SELECTED POLICY PAPERS:

• "Determinants of the 4IR in Africa", chapter in UNECA report on "South-South Cooperation for Harnessing Digitalisation for Africa’s Industrialisation" (joint with Elizabeth Stuart and Tebello Qhotsokoane, Oxford) (forthcoming)

• "Spatial Industrial Policy, Special Economic Zones and Cities in South Africa", background paper for the World Bank’s South Africa Urbanisation Review (joint with Thomas Farole, World Bank) (2016)

• "Policy Framework for Foreign Direct Investment Promotion in South Africa: Operations, Effectiveness and Sustainability", SA Institute of International Affairs Occasional Paper 215 (2015) 

•  "Social and Economic Inclusion in Cities", commissioned background paper for the State of the World Cities Report 2012/2013 ‘Prosperity of Cities’, UN-Habitat, Nairobi (joint with Prof. Susan Parnell, UCT)  (2012)

POLICY/OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Consultant at McKinsey & Co

• Consultant Advisor on questionnaire for nationally-representative surveys of digital inclusion in 10 African countries, Research ICT Africa

• Senior Postdoctoral Associate overseeing policy work on national digital economy planning in several countries, University of Oxford

• Consultant Economist for spatial economic analysis of firm behaviour and employment, The World Bank, Bangladesh

• Research Assistant on FDI and regional resilience, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Consultant Analyst on industrial policy and regional planning, The World Bank, South Africa

• Senior Researcher for DFID/IZA project analysing low-income country labour markets, Development Policy Research Unit, Dept. of Economics, Univ. of Cape Town

• Consultant Analyst for several national infrastructure projects related to slum upgrading, rural water and sanitation, disaster reconstruction and tourism, The World Bank, Indonesia (Jakarta)

• Visiting Researcher on DFID-funded project on FDI regulation/promotion in South Africa, South African Institute of International Affairs, Univ. of the Witwatersrand

• Intern for UNDP report on inclusive business development in Africa, Endeva, Berlin

• Co-author for UN-Habitat report on inclusive cities, University of Cape Town

OP-EDs:

• "The case for better FDI in South Africa", South African Institute of International Affairs op-ed (5 May 2015)

• "Is South Africa neglecting the developmental role of other investment interventions?", South African Institute of International Affairs op-ed (31 March 2015)