Maggy Heintz joined UKCDR in January 2022.  She leads UKCDR providing high-level engagement and strategic coordination of the SCOR Board.

Prior to UKCDR, Maggy was at the University of Leicester for 8 years. Most recently Head of Research and Business Development, she was International Research Development Manager for several years working with partners in low- and middle-income countries. In that role, she facilitated, managed, and coordinated large scale multidisciplinary research proposals addressing the UN SDGs.

Prior to this position, she was science attaché in physical sciences and innovation for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in London, and has a research background in Earth Sciences, having conducted research at the Australian National University and the University of Cambridge.

M.Heintz@ukcdr.org.uk

Alice Chadwick El-Ali joined UKCDR as Senior Research and Policy Officer in November 2021. She works closely with the Executive Director and across the UKCDR team to provide additional leadership and critical oversight for the portfolio of work within UKCDR and to support stakeholder engagement.

She is currently leading our work on Equitable Partnerships.

Alice recently completed a doctorate in development studies at the University of Bath exploring the development industry and how it interacts with ideas about employment and citizenship in Sierra Leone. Alice’s experience is in translating research findings into policy and practice through working in partnership with civil society and government stakeholders. She has conducted research and evaluations for international development organisations including VSO and Restless Development. She holds a Research Masters from the University of Bath and a BA from King’s College London.

A.ChadwickEl-Ali@ukcdr.org.uk

Adrian joined UKCDR in July 2017 and is presently the Senior Data Analyst leading the secretariat’s work on data mapping, analysis, and foresight. This is primarily done by analysing research investments to maximise the coherence of funding activity (such as in COVID-19). Adrian also leads UKCDR’s work on climate change and disaster risk resilience.

Previously, Adrian worked on research projects to develop models to finance the higher education of women and adolescent girls in Thailand and Cambodia, and to promote the rights of women and girls in Guatemala. Adrian has also managed a variety of sustainable development projects across Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, while also managing the Dhaka field office from afar. Adrian holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Essex, and an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics.

a.bucher@ukcdr.org.uk

+44 (0) 207 611 8301

Giulia joined UKCDR in June 2022 as a Research & Policy Officer. She is responsible for providing research and policy advice to UKCDR members and key stakeholders on international development issues. Giulia currently leads a project that synthesises lessons learned from ODA research funds, and from the different mechanisms used to deliver development outcomes/impact within the framework of ODA research funds. She also supports UKCDR’s work on safeguarding in international development research and the COVID CIRCLE initiative.

She has several years of experience in social policy research, with a focus on social and economic inequalities on a global scale, working at NGOs, public bodies and in research consulting. Prior to this position, Giulia worked as a Research Assistant in the Home Affairs and Social Policy team at RAND Europe, and in the Research and Statistics unit at the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Giulia holds a BSc and MSc in Economics and Management from Bocconi University in Milan and an MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is fluent in English and Italian.

g.lanfredi@ukcdr.org.uk

Andrea joined UKCDR in April 2022 as a Research & Policy Officer. She is responsible for providing research and policy advice to UKCDR members and key stakeholders on international development issues. Andrea currently leads a project analysing development research impact through the results of REF 2021 case studies. She also supports UKCDR’s work on research capacity strengthening and the COVID CIRCLE initiative.

She has several years of experience in international development, working at NGOs, public bodies and HEIs in knowledge management, partnership building and research. Prior to this position, Andrea worked as a Research Assistant for the Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium and as a South-South Development Officer at Colombia’s Presidential Agency of International Cooperation. Andrea holds a BSc in International Relations from Universidad del Rosario and an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of Sussex.

a.padilla@ukcdr.org.uk

Lucy Lawrenson joined UKCDR in January 2022. She is responsible for promoting UKCDR’s work across all channels. Lucy’s professional interests span global health, climate change, and research practices. She also has a background in account management. 

Lucy has an MSc in Geography and a BA in French and Politics, both from UCL.

L.Lawrenson@ukcdr.org.uk

Chantel is a Data Analyst at UKCDR. As part of the MODARI project, Chantel is working to improve the availability and consistency of data on ODA-funded research and innovation across UK government funders and implementing partners. In addition, Chantel is working on mapping and analysing current UK research investments in climate change and international development.

Previously, Chantel was a Research Assistant on the COVID-19 Research Coordination & Learning (COVID CIRCLE) project. Chantel worked with large data sets, coding and mapping global COVID-19 research projects and conducting analysis to support coordinated funding efforts.

Prior to joining UKCDR in January 2022, Chantel had worked in multiple academic institutions in research, monitoring and evaluation, and data management roles. Chantel has managed multiple large datasets across institutions and is experienced in analysing, interpreting and presenting data for a range of audiences.

Chantel has a BA in Sociology from the University of Durham and an MSc in Sociology from the University of Oxford.

c.jones@ukcdr.org.uk

As Research & Policy Officer at UKCDR, Yaso is responsible for providing research and policy advice to UKCDR member organisations (BEIS, DFID, DHSC, UKRI and Wellcome) and key stakeholders. She joined UKCDR in December 2015 and has over 16 years’ experience in international development. Her areas of expertise span across evidence into policy, research uptake, knowledge mobilisation, partnerships, capacity development and networks.

Yaso leads UKCDR’s work on research capacity strengthening. She chairs the UKCDR Research Capacity Strengthening Group (RCSG) which brings together over 20 funder and practitioner organisations to share, learn, connect and improve practice. She also leads on UKCDR’s responses to parliamentary inquiries and manages relationships with GCRF/UKRI, Wellcome, NERC and ESRC.  She recently coordinated a cross-funder task group on mapping UK links with CGIAR centres and conducted a mapping on ODA AMR research.

Yaso has a BSc in Geography, and spent over eight years at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) working to strengthen the capacity of research institutes, intermediaries, think tanks and NGOs in promoting evidence-informed policy and practice. Her work also took a critical look at the role of knowledge brokers in international development. Prior to this Yaso was Programme Manager for Book Aid International, supporting library development in Africa and Asia.

y.kunaratnam@ukcdr.org.uk