Lídia Cabral is a social scientist with 18 years’ experience in international development. She is a Fellow at IDS, and worked previously at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). She also worked as a civil servant with the Mozambican government and as a consultant with the Department for International Development (DFID), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the World Bank. Her work focuses on the politics of public policy and aid in agriculture, especially in Africa. Her latest research looks at South–South cooperation, with an emphasis on how Brazil’s domestic policies have shaped cooperation practices abroad.
Paulo Esteves holds a PhD in Political Science. He is an Associate Professor at the Institute of International Relations-Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (IRI/PUC-Rio), Director of the BRICS Policy Center, and Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies, Germany. He was a Visiting Fellow at Brown University, Providence, the University of Copenhagen, and Rice University, Houston. He has published articles and book chapters on international development, emerging powers, and the BRICS. His research focuses on development cooperation and South–South cooperation. He is a founding member of the Brazilian Association of International Relations of which he was president (2011–14).
Geovana Zoccal Gomes is a researcher at the International Cooperation for Development Research Group, BRICS Policy Center. She is a PhD candidate at the Institute of International Relations-Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (IRI/PUC-Rio), and has a master’s degree in International Relations (IRI/PUC-Rio). Previously, she was a Visiting Fellow at IDS. She taught International Cooperation for Development Professional Practice as part of her PhD (2014–17). Her main research topics are international cooperation for development, with an emphasis on the new alternatives presented by the global South, as South–South cooperation or as the new multilateral development banks.
Jing Gu is Director of the Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development at IDS. She has an interdisciplinary background in law, economics, and international development, and has extensive experience in governance, business, and sustainable development. She carries out academic research, training, and consultancy on governance and sustainable development for international organisations and national governments. She is a senior advisor to the China International Development Research Network, and a member of the international editorial board of Third World Quarterly. She has published widely on the BRICS in international development, China, and emerging powers, China’s international development role, China–Africa relations, and South–South cooperation.
Akio Hosono is Senior Research Adviser at the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI). He holds a doctorate in Economics from the University of Tokyo. He served as Vice-President at Tsukuba University in Tsukuba Science City, Japanese Ambassador to El Salvador, Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Professor at the Research Institute of Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, and Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC). He became a Senior Advisor at JICA in 2007, and served as Director of JICA-RI from 2011–13.
Naohiro Kitano is Director of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI). In 1983, he joined the former Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, Japan (OECF). Prior to his current assignment, he served as Associate Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University; Director General, Development Assistance Department II, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC); Director General, East and Central Asia and the Caucasus Department, JICA; and Deputy Director, JICA Research Institute. He graduated from the Civil Engineering department, Waseda University and holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University.
Samuel Leistner is an economist specialising in green finance and industrial development. He currently works as a consultant for the science and innovation policy consultancy Technopolis Group. As a consultant, he works on projects for the UK government concerning industrial policy and the circular economy. Furthermore, he is involved in several projects for the European Commission and the European Investment Bank in the field of sustainable energy policy and infrastructure finance. His latest academic research is about green energy finance and mobilising capital to close the sustainable infrastructure gap. His research contributed to the report Financing for Development: Progress and Prospects 2018 (UN, 2018).
Xiaoyun Li is a Distinguished Professor in Development Studies and Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Development Studies of China Agricultural University, Beijing. He works in the fields of poverty, international development, and African development. Currently, he chairs the Network of Southern Think Tanks (NeST) and the China International Development Research Network. He also holds different advisory positions in China and abroad.
Wang Ping is a Lecturer at Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou, China. She obtained her PhD in political science from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China. Her various articles in Chinese, English, and Japanese include ‘A Study of Japan’s Aid Policy in the Post-Cold War Era’ (doctoral dissertation, 2010) and ‘The Chinese View: Reflection of the Long-Term Experiences of Aid Receiving and Giving’, in Yasutami Shimomura and Hideo Ohashi (eds), A Study of China’s Foreign Aid: An Asian Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
Neil Renwick is Professor of Global Security, Coventry University, specialising in development, human security, and international relations. He is a Senior Associate Member of St Antony’s College, Oxford and is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, and Associate of the British Academy of Social Sciences. He has advised organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and T/G20. He is currently contributing to the Fudan University BRICS research project. He is a regular contributor to the international media.
Jin Sato is a Professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo, and a Visiting Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Jin has authored three books on development, foreign aid, and natural resources. He has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Comparative Studies in Society and History, World Development, Journal of Development Studies, Development and Change, and Sustainability Science. He won the 10th Japan Academy Medal in the field of humanities and social sciences, and the 21st Okita Memorial Prize on International Development Research. He holds an MPP from Harvard University and a PhD from the University of Tokyo.
Hiroaki Shiga has been a practitioner and researcher in development cooperation since 1991. His career includes positions in the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, Ministry of Finance of Japan, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Currently he is a Senior Research Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI), where he has published articles and book chapters on emerging donors. He graduated from the University of Tokyo (Bachelor of Law), and the School of International and Public Affairs and the Averell Harriman Institute, Columbia University (Master of International Affairs). He is a PhD candidate at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo.
Yasutami Shimomura is Professor Emeritus at Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan. He served as Dean of the Graduate School of Environmental Management at Hosei University, and was a Board Member at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). He also served as the regional representative of the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan, in India, Indonesia, and Thailand. He has an MBA (1970) from Columbia University, USA. His publications include Japan’s Development Assistance (co-edited, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), A Study of China’s Foreign Aid (co-edited, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), and Aid as Handmaiden for the Development of Institutions (co-edited, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).