Curriculum Vitae Hamish A. D. Nixon Research Fellow, Politics and Governance Overseas Development Institute 203 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ, UK Tel: +44 (0)207 922 0380 Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399 Nationality: British/Canadian Email: h.nixon@odi.org.uk Linkedin: uk.linkedin.com/in/hamishnixon/ KEY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE Over ten years as a governance specialist working at the intersection of decentralization and subnational governance, peacebuilding, democratization and statebuilding. Varied long-term field research and policy experience in fragile states covering subnational governance and decentralization; aid effectiveness, state-building and public financial management; service-delivery in fragile and conflict-affected contexts; election supervision and monitoring; community-driven reconstruction. Excellent teamwork, capacity development and communication skills: member of cross-sectoral and multinational teams delivering policy and technical support, research projects, curricula, and organizational strategy; writer and teacher on political institutions and theory, peace and conflict, and decentralization. QUALIFICATIONS 2012 Diploma in Public Financial Management Centre for Financial and Management Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2005 Doctor of Philosophy, Politics and International Relations St. Antony s College, University of Oxford 1996 Bachelor of Arts, Political Science Stanford University CAREER 2014 Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute Develop and lead development policy research and implementation work spanning governance, decentralization, public financial management, service-delivery, community-driven development. 2011-14 Consultant in public sector governance, conflict and decentralization World Bank Providing local governance technical support to Myanmar National Community Driven Development Program (NCDD) World Bank Leading Public Expenditure and Institutional Review of Basic Education in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
The Asia Foundation-Myanmar Development Resource Institute Designing and leading research on subnational governance in Burma/Myanmar World Bank Timor Leste Health Sector Public Expenditure Management Resource Tracking study Vahu Development Institute/Chiang Mai University Teaching local governance to Burmese officials, party and ethnic leaders Hague Academy for Local Governance/Barcelona International Peace Resource Center, Barcelona, Spain Teaching capacity-building and local service-delivery units of Peacebuilding, decentralization and local government course 2010-2012 Project Coordinator, Peace Research Institute of Oslo/United States Institute of Peace Design, manage and lead large scale joint research initiative to clarify key domestic issues and options to move Afghanistan towards durable peace, including producing two lead publications and managing the production of several others. 2008-2010 Subnational Governance and Service Delivery Specialist, World Bank Strategic and technical policy and programme assistance to World Bank, Government of Afghanistan, and donors including decentralized service delivery, inter-governmental fiscal relations, and communitydriven development/national Solidarity Programme. 2005-2008 Governance Researcher, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Designed, managed and implemented research programs on subnational governance, aid effectiveness and statebuilding. 2004-2005 Research Fellow, International Conflict Management, Kingston University Curriculum development, teaching and graduate student supervision for MA in International Conflict Management. 2008-2010 Election Supervisor and Observer, EU, UN, OSCE Election work in Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Palestinian Territories, El Salvador, Indonesia, Russia and Afghanistan. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Peer Reviewed Journal Articles July 2009. Brendan Whitty and Hamish Nixon. The Impact of Counter-Terrorism Objectives on Democratization and Statebuilding in Afghanistan. Taiwan Journal of Democracy 5, 1 (International democracy promotion special issue). February 2007. Hamish Nixon and Richard Ponzio. Building Democracy in Afghanistan: The Statebuilding Agenda and International Engagement, International Peacekeeping, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Afghanistan special issue).
Books, Reports and Chapters June 2014. Hamish Nixon and Cindy Joelene. Fiscal Decentralization in Myanmar: Towards a Roadmap for Reform. Yangon: Myanmar Development Resource Institute Centre for Social and Economic Development/Asia Foundation September 2013. Hamish Nixon, Cindy Joelene, Kyipyar Chitsaw, Thet Aung Lynn, and Matthew Arnold. State and Region Governments in Myanmar. Yangon: Myanmar Development Resource Institute Centre for Social and Economic Development/Asia Foundation. 2013. Hamish Nixon and Caroline Hartzell. Beyond Power-Sharing: Institutional Options for an Afghan Peace Process. In Getting It Right In Afghanistan. Scott Smith, Moeed Yusuf and Colin Cookman eds.. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace. 2013. Afghan Perspectives on Achieving Durable Peace. In Getting It Right In Afghanistan. Smith, Yusuf and Cookman eds.. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press. 2011. The Dual Face of Subnational Governance in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan s Security Sector Governance Challenges. DCAF Afghanistan Working Group. Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. April 2008. Subnational Statebuilding in Afghanistan. Synthesis Paper. Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. February 2008. The Changing Face of Local Governance? Community Development Councils in Afghanistan. Working Paper. Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. 2007. Sarah Lister and Hamish Nixon. The Place of the Province in Afghanistan s Subnational Governance. In Rebuilding Afghanistan. Robert Rotberg ed. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. 2007. Some Considerations on Local Democracy and Traditional Societies. In Scratching the Surface: Democracy, Traditions, Gender. Lahore: Heinrich Böll Foundation. April 2007. Aiding the State? International Assistance and the Statebuilding Paradox in Afghanistan. Briefing Paper. Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. January 2007. International Assistance and Governance in Afghanistan. Kabul/Berlin: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit/Heinrich Böll Foundation. May 2006. Sarah Lister and Hamish Nixon. Provincial Governance in Afghanistan: From Confusion to Vision? Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, Briefing Paper. 2002. Public Participation in Citizen Security. In Citizen Security in El Salvador. San Salvador: University of Central America. (English and Spanish).
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS AND LECTURES 11 November 2013. Keynote. Fiscal Decentralization. Decentralization Conference for the Younger Generation. Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. 23 October 2013. Panelist. State and Region Governments in Myanmar. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC. 6 April 2013. Fundamentals of Decentralization. The Role of Regional Parliaments in Myanmar s Successful Decentralization and Development. Mawlamyine, Myanmar. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. 29 November 2011. Panelist. Designing an Afghan Peace Process in Comparative Perspective. United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC. 18 February 2011. Panelist. Making Peace in Afghanistan: the Missing Political Strategy. United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC. 15 November 2010. Panelist. Talks with the Taliban? Peace Research Institute Oslo. 12 November 2010. Panelist. Subnational and Local Governance. Swedish Committee for Afghanistan/European Network of NGOs for Afghanistan Annual Conference. Polstjärnan Conference Hall, Stockholm. 28 August 2009. Keynote. Bridging the Gap between Applied Social Research and Policy-making in Afghanistan. Eureka Evaluation and Research Annual Conference, Serena Hotel, Kabul. 26 February 2009. How do you govern Afghanistan? Subnational governance in history and practice. Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. 3 December 2007. Panellist. Security and Governance in Afghanistan. International Peace Academy (Institute)/Heinrich Böll Foundation. New York. 30 November 2007. Keynote. International Assistance and Governance in Afghanistan. Policy Forum. Oxfam/Heinrich Böll Foundation. Washington, DC. 1 December 2006. Panellist. Donor Harmonisation: Coordination, Coherence and Complementarity. Development Policy Forum on Weak Governance and Fragile States: A Development Policy Challenge, Bonn. 28 November 2006. Keynote. International Assistance and Governance in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Five Years On. Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin. 1 May 2006. Keynote. Local Structures and Decision-Making. Traditional Societies and Democracy Conference. Heinrich Böll Foundation, Kabul. 27 Feb. 2004. Democratization under UN Supervision. Nuffield Democratization Seminar. University of Oxford. LANGUAGE SKILLS English (native)
Spanish (professional) French (proficient) Farsi/Dari (basic)