Jo BEALL

Jo Beall was at the DPU during the 1990s. Thereafter she worked at the London School of Economics where she directed the Development Studies Institute (DESTIN) 2004-2007. She went on to become Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Cape Town 2009-2011, where she Chaired the Board of Africa Centre for Cities, and Director of Education and Society at the British Council 2011-2019. In this role she convened an international conference on cities and universities. She was a principal researcher in the Crisis States Research Centre (CSRC) at the LSE (2000-2010), responsible for the themes of Cities and Conflict, and Cities and State Fragility. Involvement in other research projects include Rubbish, Resources and Residues: Solid Waste Management in Pakistan and Ethiopia (2010-2022) and Governing Infrastructure Interfaces (2018–2020), both funded by British Academy and Global Challenges Research Fund; the Leadership and Elite Coalitions Research Programme (LECRP) funded by AusAid and World Bank (2008–2010); and two research consortia led by Birmingham University on Urban Development: Governance, Partnership and Poverty (1997-2000), and Understanding Solid Waste Management Systems in South Asia funded by DFID (1994-1996).

She has conducted urban research and advisory work in Afghanistan for the World Bank (2004-05) and European Union (2005-06), has assisted UN-Habitat in the writing of their gender policy and action plan (1995-97), and was author of the OECD’s 1995 report Women in the City: Housing, Services, and the Urban Environment. She was the Gender Expert on Southern Africa for the European Union (1997-1999). She has led a number of evaluation teams, including the external evaluation of IUDD City Community Challenge Fund Pilot Programmes in Uganda and Zambia for Department for International Development (DFID) (2001-02). Also for DFID she was an external advisor to the human rights and governance programme, Manusher Jonno, in Bangladesh (2002-04), wrote a background paper towards the Department’s policy paper on social exclusion (2004) and participated in the writing of the DFID Guidance Manual on Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes (1998).

Jo is author of many books, book chapters and journal articles. Recent editorial, authored and co-authored books include Cities and Development (Routledge 2009), Urbanization and Development in Asia: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (OUP 2012); Urbanization and Development: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (OUP 2010); Funding Local Governance: Small Grants for Democracy and Development (IT Publications 2005); and Uniting a Divided City: Governance and Social Exclusion in Johannesburg (Earthscan 2002). Relevant collections include Cities and Conflict in Fragile States (Urban Studies 2013); Policy Arena on the Discourse of Terrorism, Security and Development (Journal of International Development 2006); Fragile Democracy: State and Society in Democratic South Africa (Journal of Southern African Studies 2005); Urban Governance, Voice and Poverty in the Developing World (Earthscan 2004); and A City for All, Valuing Difference and Working with Diversity (Zed Books 1997).

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