What’s going on with international development?
Two former USAID implementers discuss the present & future of U.S. foreign assistance
Registration required.Speaker
Prof. William Axinn (Interim Director, IPC), Dr. Amy Beck Harris (Lecturer, Ford School), Daniel Ellis (Assistant Director, IPC)Date & time
Location
This is an in-person event for current Ford School students only. This event will not be recorded or livestreamed.
Light lunch will be provided.
Join Prof. William Axinn (Interim Director, IPC), Dr. Amy Beck Harris (Lecturer, Ford School), and Daniel Ellis (Assistant Director, IPC) for a conversation about the current state, and possible future(s), of U.S. foreign assistance.
During this lunchtime session, Harris will start with an overview of the foreign aid chain, including the distinct roles played by donors, implementing organizations, and program beneficiaries. As former international development practitioners, Harris and Ellis will then help students interpret the myriad changes to U.S. foreign assistance, including the impact that these changes have had on the various levels of the foreign aid chain, and discuss the possible future(s) for the development sector.
Axinn will moderate the discussion.
IPC is hosting this session as part of its Aid & Development series. At Aid & Development events, students build practical skills for future international development careers.
Speakers
Prof. William Axinn, Interim Director, IPC, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Axinn is a sociologist and demographer who implements studies of families to investigate the links between population processes and health and well-being. Axinn directs the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS), a 30-year longitudinal comprehensive study of individuals, households, and communities in Nepal. For this recent collaboration in Ukraine, he draws on his work following CVFS families through the time of Nepal’s 8-year armed conflict and its long-term impact on family dynamics, child health, mental health, attitudes and beliefs, and migration, education, community change.
Dr. Amy Beck Harris, Lecturer, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Harris merges experience as a former foreign aid implementation professional working on USAID and World Bank projects with academic expertise in public management, international development, foreign aid contracting, and participatory development. Harris holds a PhD and MS in Public Policy and Management from the University of Washington, an MA in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and a BA in International Studies from Middlebury College.
Daniel Ellis, Assistant Director, IPC
Ellis serves as Assistant Director of the Ford School’s IPC, where he administers the center’s research and experiential learning programs. Prior to his IPC role, Ellis held program management positions in the governance development sector, implementing projects funded by USAID and Global Affairs Canada. As a development practitioner, Ellis supported election observation, legislative transparency, and political party strengthening initiatives, with a regional focus on Latin America & the Caribbean.
