Staff profiles

Neringa joined GSDRC in 2019 as Manager of the Centre. She is responsible for management of the overall operations of the GSDRC and in particular managing the rapid response helpdesk service. Previously she worked at the Research Support team of the University of Birmingham and was a University Liaison Manager for the Alan Turing Institute. She also has experience of working for Ecorys where she managed international, multi-partner research and consultancy projects. Neringa has a Masters of International Relations and Diplomacy from Vilnius University.

Email: N.Collierbham.ac.uk

William Avis

William joined GSDRC at the University of Birmingham in 2015 from the Overseas Development Institute. He spent four years with ODI in various research roles, most recently with the growth, poverty and inequality team. Among his publications are The data revolution: finding the missing millions and Towards a better life? A cautionary tale of progress in Ahmedabad. William’s research interests include identity and conflict, globalisation and political voice. His PhD examined constructions of Assamese identity in post-independence India (University of Sheffield).

Email: W.R.Avisbham.ac.uk

Rachel Cooper

Rachel is a political scientist with more than ten years of experience in the international development sector. She completed her ESRC-funded PhD at Newcastle University in 2011 where her research examined hydropower development in the lower Mekong, employing a theoretical framework combining political ecology and critical international relations theories to examine the actors and narratives promoting and contesting large mainstream dams. Rachel’s career has focused on water resources development in southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, including working for the Mekong River Commission Secretariat in 2007-2008 and four years as a Fundraising and Communications Officer for a UK NGO working in Zambia and Mozambique. Her research interests include water politics, the politics of large infrastructure development, political ecology, and environment narratives and framing of environmental issues in development.

Email: r.v.cooperbham.ac.uk

Siân Herbert

Siân is a political scientist and international relations graduate of the FLACSO Argentina and University of San Andrés (Masters), and the University of Southampton (BSc Hons). She has extensive experience writing about international development and security policies and practices at the University of Birmingham, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Open Europe. Her recent work has focused on: the politics of aid; development and security policies (especially EU, UK and Australian policy in middle-income countries and in conflict contexts); conflict analysis; state-building; and gender inequality.

Email: S.Herbertbham.ac.uk

 Iffat Idris

Iffat joined GSDRC at the University of Birmingham in 2016, having spent 10 years as an independent consultant for international development organisations, including the UN System and the World Bank. Iffat lived in Pakistan for fourteen years, where her work focused on governance, disaster management, conflict analysis and capacity development. She promotes the right to information as co-chair of the South Asia Transparency Advisory Group.  Iffat holds a PhD in political science from the University of Hull; her thesis on ethnic conflict in Kashmir was published by Oxford University Press.

Email: i.idrisbham.ac.uk

Zenobia Ismail

Zenobia specialises in studying institutions, party politics and elections. She has prior experience as a researcher at the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg, the Afrobarometer research programme based at Idasa, and the Community Agency for Social Enquiry, and also a lecturer at the School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand.

Email: z.ismailbham.ac.uk
See also: University of Birmingham staff profile