Jose Antonio Ocampo and Tamsyn Barton, both internationally respected leaders in their fields of international development, have been appointed to the Board of Trustees for IDS.
José Antonio Ocampo is an internationally recognised economist and expert in global economic governance and Latin American development issues, and a former Finance Minister of Colombia. He is currently Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. Alongside this, José Antonio is Chair of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, and author of Resetting the International Monetary (Non)System. He has also held positions at the United Nations.
On joining the IDS Board of Trustees, José Antonio Ocampo, said:
“It is a great honour to join the IDS Board. It is a remarkable institution, which has always been a global reference on development issues, and with which I have had the opportunity to interact throughout my professional life.”
Tamsyn Barton is the Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) – the independent watchdog for UK aid. She brings a wealth of expertise from 25 years’ experience working in international development from academia, the UK aid sector and finance at all levels. Prior to her role at ICAI, Tamsyn served as Director-General, Lending Operations Outside the EU at the European Investment Bank, and was latterly CEO for Bond, the UK membership body for 420 non-profit organisations working in international development. She is also Chair of the South East Asian Arts Academic Programme Board at SOAS.
Commenting on her appointment to the IDS Board of Trustees, Tamsyn Barton, said:
“I’m delighted to be joining the Board at a time when the need for IDS ideas and knowledge is greater than ever, given the challenges for the developing world posed by the pandemic. I also look forward to learning more about IDS research, which I hope can feed into my work at ICAI, ensuring that UK aid programmes are more effective and evidence-based”
IDS is a global leading research and learning institute with a vision for a more equitable and sustainable world, where people everywhere can live their lives free from poverty and injustice. It is ranked first in the world for development studies by the QS University Rankings, together with the University of Sussex, and best international development policy think tank. IDS is based in Brighton, UK, with a global network of research partners and alumni.
Tamsyn and Jose will formally begin their Trustee roles on 1 August, joining a highly experienced and global Board chaired by Deepak Nayyar. They will play an invaluable role in steering IDS through a period of intense global change, particularly in ensuring IDS continues to make contribute to tackling some of the most urgent development challenges including mitigating the far-reaching impacts of Covid-19.
They replace Michael Anderson and Takyiwaah Manuh who have recently stepped down from the IDS Board of Trustees.