Abstract

Talk will be followed by drinks reception in the Alison Richard Building.

The Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR) has launched a practitioner seminar series, partnering with expert speakers from key organisations to delve into the gritty realities of what working in field like human rights and international development really involves.

To help us with organisation, please register your interest by emailing: aal33@cam.ac.uk.

Tom Ling is Head of Impact, Innovation and Evidence at Save the Children where his responsibilities include ensuring that evaluations contribute to policy and change in the challenging environment of International Development. He joined Save the Children in March 2012. He studied Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University and completed a PhD in Government at Essex University. Prior to Save the Children, Tom spent eight years at RAND Europe, where he was Director for Evaluation and Performance Audit following four years as Senior Research Fellow at the National Audit Office in the UK. Before that he taught and researched in various Universities. He has over twenty years of experience in researching on and leading research projects and has worked on and led evaluation projects with the European Commission, UK Government departments, the National Audit Office, the Health Foundation in the UK and many others. He has published widely on evaluation, accountability and related topics. He recently co-edited Performance Audit: Contributing to Accountability in Democratic Government, following his Performance Audit Handbook and The Evidence Book, a critical examination of the use of evidence in public policy and service delivery. His roles outside Save the Children include a professorship (Emeritus) at Anglia Ruskin University, and an honorary senior visiting research fellowship, University of Cambridge.

The sphere of work known variously as the ‘Third Sector’, ‘Development and Humanitarian Aid’ or simply – doing good in tough places – is notoriously impenetrable, and frustratingly difficult to navigate for the uninitiated. For somebody hoping to pursue a career within this field, the range of agencies and institutions, initiatives and centres is at the very least bewildering. Most areas intersect, and organisations work with an array of crosscutting issues and contexts. Yet what at first glance can appear to be a morass of very similar organisations doing generally related things, is in fact often sharply delineated, with different sectors requiring surprisingly different competencies and operating under quite specific mandates. Working as an international human rights advocate would demand a different skill set and working environment from a project officer of a first phase emergency response – and both would have relatively different routes to entry. And a Master’s degree isn’t always the best option. Cambridge University educates and trains many of the best young minds in the country and provides a critical insight into the issues surrounding international politics, security, development and humanitarianism. But with little clarity around what is involved in working in this sector, attempting to translate this theoretical knowledge into a meaningful start to a career can be a minefield. With this in mind, the CGHR series will allow students to listen and speak to a selection of high-level experts working in these fields, and address key issues and questions. There will be four one-and-a-half hour seminars throughout Lent 2013, designed to equip students with an in-depth and critical look at what each area involves; the type of work carried out, contingent challenges and essential competencies. The first hour will introduce the speaker, chaired by a discussant from CGHR , and will open up to the audience in the second hour to provide the opportunity for students to engage with the topics discussed.