I work as a freelance consultant, and the bulk of my career has focused on project evaluation, research and supporting humanitarian development organisations in designing projects and programmes. I chose this course because I thought it would address my needs and improve my performance, especially during commissioning assignments for NGOs working in conflict areas such as Iraq and Syria. Also, as a large part of my work is to evaluate research and projects, I needed a course that would help me u...
"In a way, he has a vision that is more eclectic, more theoretical than somebody like Helen Clark, who would be more practical and policy-minded. But their concerns are more or less the same: the future of the planet and sustainable development. They simply take different approaches."...
Migration scholars Dr. Marieke van Houte and Prof. Arjen Leerkes authored a report on how different Western European countries deal with the deportability and effective non-deportability of rejected asylum seekers. The report, which was commissioned by the Van Zwol committee appointed by the Dutch government for advice on its return policies, shows that deportability depends on several factors of which host state policy is only one among many others. The authors argue that non-deportability shou...
In my dissertation, I am looking at the link between a popular form of social protection – cash transfers – and child nutrition. Previous research has shown a mixed effect, sometimes positive, sometimes no effect, so I was interested in investigating this issue in more detail. I was also interested in examining how intra-household dynamics could play a role in the impact of cash transfers on child nutrition. I used data from an impact evaluation of a cash transfer programme in Ghana (LEAP 1000) ...
It was a pleasure to present our SMART choices and SMART tools project at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Spring Conference – particularly the development and roll out of our tailor-made toolkits. Following a discussion on the employability of public policy graduates and skillsets required by employers, we were asked to share our open access project with our peers and the public. Access all our SMART toolkits here. Not only was it unique for me to have a full ho...
“What I discovered about myself during the Europe For Citizens conference in Malta is that I actually know something about migration,” said Adam Hussain, a British student on our Master’s programme at UNU-MERIT. “I was able to spread the knowledge that I have acquired to people who do not study the subject. It was a fulfilling experience to move away from theory and to see that my studies have a real-life application.” For his fellow student Julia Pohl, a German-Turkish national, it was he...
With the post-world war international institutions eroded and under threat, a “strong and united Europe” standing alongside the United Nations, has never been more essential, said UN chief António Guterres in Germany on Thursday. The Secretary-General was in the ancient continental capital of Aachen, close to the French border, where he received the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950, for services towards European unification. UNU was represented at the event by senior officials fro...