Clare Cummings
Politics and Governance Programme
Overseas Development Institute
203 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 3327 7292 / Email: / Nationality: British
Profile
Main areas of expertise include:
· Political economy analysis of service delivery (health, water and sanitation)
· Public sector and institutional reform
· Analysis and evaluation of NGO and donor governance interventions
· Local governance in developing and developed countries, with a focus on urbanisation
Country experience includes: India, Mexico, Nigeria, and Burundi.
Languages: English (native), Spanish (fluent), French (fluent), Dutch (basic)
Qualifications
2005-2009 / BA Modern Foreign Languages- French and Spanish (2.1), University of Durham
Posts held
Work across the programme on public sector reform, political economy of public service delivery, urbanisation, and political settlements. Undertaking political economy analysis, desk-based and field research, literature review and policy briefings. Particular focus on how development interventions can practically become more politically astute.
Sept 2012-June 2014 / Research Consultant, Centre for Local Economic Strategies
Conducted primary and secondary research, project evaluations, impact assessment and policy analysis on issues related to social and economic development, with a particular focus on health. Included cost-benefit analysis, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, public events and training, and GIS software.
August 2012 -April 2012 / Researcher, Dutch Consortium for Rehabilitation (CARE Burundi and HealthNet TPO), (Internship)
Conducted a study of NGO programmes working on the governance of water services and local healthcare in rural Burundi. Research involved three months fieldwork, participatory research methods and focused on governance accountability, community-based organisations and inclusion of the poorest.
Select publications include:
· Cummings, C. (forthcoming) Fostering Innovation and Entrepreneurialism in Public Sector Reform.
· Chambers, V., Cummings, C. and Nixon, H. (2015) State Partnership for Accountability, Responsiveness and Capability; Study of the SPARC approach to governance reform, London: ODI.
· Chambers, V. and Cummings, C. with Booth, D. (2015) ‘Improving the Odds for Progress in Nigeria’, Briefing Paper, London: ODI
· Wild, L., Booth, D., Cummings, C., Foresti, M. and Wales, J. (2015) ‘Adapting Development: Improving services to the poor’, London: ODI.
· Domingo, P. and Cummings, C. (2015) “Women’s participation in post-conflict and transition politics and governance” in State of Affairs in Women, Peace, and Security, Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law, 1325+/ Dutch NAP Partnership
· O’Neil, T. and Cummings, C. (2015) ‘Do digital information and communications technologies increase the voice and influence of women and girls?’ A rapid review of the evidence. London: ODI
· Jones, H., Cummings, C. and Nixon, H. (2014) Services in the City: Governance and Political Economy in Urban Service Delivery, Discussion paper, London: ODI.
· Chambers, V. and Cummings, C. (2014) Building Momentum: Women’s Empowerment in Tunisia, London: ODI.
· Cummings, C. (2012) Accountability, Equity and Accessibility of Local Governance and Basic Services [online], CARE Netherlands.
Recent projects include:
· Providing training and support in political economy analysis to country teams in Mali, Niger, and Bolivia who are developing accountability programmes related to national level Family Planning 2020 agreements (on-going).
· Data analysis contributing to a flagship report on the politics of public service delivery and a new approach to supporting public sector reform. Presents findings from cross-national research commissioned by DFID.
· Rapid review of evidence on women’s use of ICTs to increase their voice and influence. Case study contributed to a larger study for DFID on the drivers of women’s social, economic, and political empowerment.
· Cross-institute literature review on the impact of urbanisation on development, with specific reference to the development efforts of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Personally responsible for analysis of the impact of urbanisation on conflict and security, and governance considerations.
· Inception evaluation for the National Institute for Multi-party Democracy, examining the impact of internal changes to the organisation on its organisational effectiveness and the outcomes of its work.
· Study of a DFID-funded governance reform programme; State Partnership for Accountability, Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC) in Nigeria. The study reviews the approach the programme has taken to governance reform, comparing SPARC to other public sector reform programmes and latest ideas from literature.
· Literature review of women’s participation in post-conflict and transition politics and governance to inform a conference on the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women’s role in conflict resolution
· Desk study into political economy constraints of delivering public services in developing urban centres, focusing on healthcare, water, transport, and solid waste management services.
· Statistical analysis of baseline survey data for the SWIFT consortium which is working to ensure sustainable access to safe water and sanitation and encourage the adoption of basic hygiene practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kenya.
· Study on the historical development of progress on women’s empowerment in Tunisia, case study contributing to larger research into the drivers of progress in development in a number of areas.
Research prior to ODI includes:
· Field research studying NGO governance interventions supporting the provision of local healthcare and water services in rural Burundi. .
· Literature review into the potential for a place-based approach to reducing health inequities, focused on the socio-economic determinants of public health and the role of governance in improving public health.
· Development of a framework of indicators comparing measures of economic growth to measures of poverty reduction and ways in which local government can use growth to tackle poverty.