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Professor Anna Mdee

  • Position: Professor in the Politics of Global Development
  • Areas of expertise: water and sanitation governance; politics of development, data and indicators; global development; livelihoods dynamics; local governance; aid; Tanzania; sustainable agriculture; climate change
  • Email: A.L.Mdee@leeds.ac.uk
  • Location: 13.04 Social Sciences Building
  • Website: LinkedIn | Googlescholar

Profile

I am Professor in the Politics of Global Development since 2019, and joined POLIS in 2016 as Associate Professor in International Development.  From Jan 2025 I will be working closely with the African School of Governance in Kigali, Rwanda.

I have previously worked as a Senior Research Fellow with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) working with the Chronic Poverty and Social Development teams. Prior to this I was at the University of Bradford for 13 years, joining as a Research Assistant and becoming a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies. I also took on the roles of Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching and Co-Director of the John & Elnora Ferguson Centre for African Studies (JEFCAS) from 2009-12. From 2013-14 I spent one year as Visiting Professor at Mzumbe University in Tanzania.

Research interests

My research focuses on the politics of global development and development practice: how the aid system works (or doesn’t work), how to improve local service delivery and governance; how to manage natural resources (primarily water) and deliver basic services (particularly water and sanitation), and how to reduce vulnerability through improved livelihoods.

I am an anthropologist and so interested in aid and development as a political and cultural practice. My research tends to take a critical reflective practice approach to unpicking development politics and practice. I have worked primarily on Tanzania (for almost 30 years), but also have experience in Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Tajikistan.

Recent research projects: 

UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub  Established the workstream on policy and governance on this £17.7 million project from 2019-2024 - led by Newcastle University, in partnership with University of Oxford and institutions in Colombia, Ethiopia, India and Malaysia.

UKRI GCRF Scaling up Off-grid Sanitation (SOS) 2020-24 Led the political economy workstream.  This £1.9 million project led by Cranfield University with partners in Haiti, Peru, Kenya and South Africa examined the potential for container-based sanitation (CBS) to extend safely-managed sanitation to residents of informal settlements.  

Inclusive local governance with Mzumbe University (Tanzania) Creating and tracking the evolution of a local governance index for Tanzania- Principal Investigator. Project funded by DFID-ESRC 2014-7 (£311,000) in partnership with Foundation for Civil Society (Tanzania) and INTRAC (UK)

View more information on project webpage. 

 

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

  • 2008 PhD Development Studies, University of Bradford
  • 2001 MA Social Sciences, Open University
  • 1997 BA Social Anthropology, Cambridge University

Professional memberships

  • Senior Fellow- Higher Education Academy

Research groups and institutes

  • Centre for Global Development
  • Centre for African Studies

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>The school welcomes enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>