Grieve Chelwa, Chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Political Economy, has been appointed to the Circle of Academic Advisors of the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition (FDCC), an international initiative working to rethink development cooperation and financing.

 

The Coalition brings together policymakers, economists, and development leaders to examine how international cooperation can better support sustainable and country-led development. It is co-chaired by Yemi Osinbajo, former Vice President of Nigeria and Professor of Law, and Arancha González Laya, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain.

 

Its work is guided by a group of commissioners drawn from senior policy, finance, and development circles, including David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary; Joaquim Levy, former Minister of Finance of Brazil and former Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group; and Tamara Hasan Abed, Managing Director of BRAC Enterprises, among others.

 

Chelwa joins the Coalition’s Circle of Academic Advisors, a distinguished group of scholars and policy experts who contribute to shaping its research agenda and broadening its intellectual network across disciplines and regions. Members include Nancy Birdsall, founding President of the Center for Global Development; Vera Songwe, former Undersecretary General of the UN & Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa; and Stefan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford, among others.

 

In this role, Chelwa will contribute to the development and review of the Coalition’s research outputs, with a focus on approaches that place national priorities at the center of development policy and practice.

 

Chelwa’s research focuses on political economy and its implications for African economic development. His work has appeared in leading academic journals and international media, and he currently serves on the Papal Commission on the Debt and Development Crisis. He was also named among The Africa Report’s “10 African Scholars to Watch in 2025.”

 

This appointment reflects ongoing faculty engagement in global policy conversations on development, finance, and economic futures.