Institute of Development Studies

Biography

Dr Diana Conyers is a social scientist with nearly 40 years' experience of development work, most of it based overseas. Throughout her career she has combined practical work (including government employment, applied research and consultancy) with teaching and writing, in the belief that these two types of activity are mutually supportive. She joined IDS in January 2005. Diana is engaged primarily in teaching and is Programme Convenor of the MA Governance and Development. She is currently exploring ways of providing IDS students with practical fieldwork experience in the local community.

Selected Projects and Recent Work

• Academic Partnership in Support of Teaching Development Aid Curriculum in Russia

Thematic Expertise

Aid; Governance; Democracy.

Geographic Expertise

Sub Saharan Africa; Papua New Guinea; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

Selected Publications »»

• Conyers, D. (2011) 'Where Next? The Implications of Recent Events in North Africa and the Middle East for Zimbabwe', The Thinker 28:32-35, South Africa:
• Conyers, D. (2009) 'Deepening Democracy in the UK: Rhetoric and Reality', IDS Research Summary of IDS Working Paper 314, Brighton: IDS
• Conyers, D. (2008) 'Deepening Democracy in the UK: Rhetoric and Reality', IDS Working Paper 314, Brighton: IDS
• Conyers, D. (2008) 'The role of aid in the MDG localisation process (bilingual publication, Spanish title: 'El papel de la cooperación en la concreción local de los ODM')', Research Papers Alboan 9, Bilbao: Alboan
• Conyers, D. (2007) 'Decentralisation and Service Delivery: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa', IDS Bulletin 38.1:18-32, Brighton: IDS
• Conyers, D. (2006) 'Decentralisation: The Latest Fashion in Development Administration?' in Otenyo, E. and Lind, N. (eds), Comparative Public Administration: the Essential Readings, Elsevier
• Conyers, D. and Mellors, R. (2005) 'Aid Ineffectiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Problem of Donor Capacity', IDS Bulletin 36.3:83-89, Brighton: IDS
• Conyers, D. and Cumanzala, F. (2004) 'Community Empowerment and Democracy in Zimbabwe: a Case Study from Binga District', Social Policy and Administration 38.4:383-98
• Conyers, D. (2003) 'Decentralisation in Zimbabwe: a local perspective', Public Administration and Development 3.23:115-24
• Conyers, D. (2002) 'Whose Elephants are They? Decentralisation of Control over Wildlife Management through the CAMPFIRE Program in Binga District, Zimbabwe', Environmental Governance in Africa Working Paper 4, Washington DC: World Resources Institute
• Conyers, D. and Hills, P. (1984) An Introduction to Development Planning in the Third World, Chichester: Wiley
• Conyers, D. (1982) An Introduction to Social Planning in the Third World, Chichester: Wiley