Dr Albert Arhin is a Research Fellow with the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He is an international development and sustainability specialist with over a decade experience in research, training, strategic planning and reviews and project evaluations. His previous roles have included a Research and Policy Manager for Oxfam in Ghana and a Research Officer with the Participatory Development Associates (PDA), Ghana.

Albert holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Cambridge; a master’s degree in environment and development sustainability (University of Leeds); and a bachelor’s degree in development policy planning (KNUST). Albert employs rigorous quantitative and qualitative research methods and multi-disciplinary perspectives including narratives/discourse analysis, political ecology, participatory and livelihood frameworks in his research. His current research interests focus on six cross-cutting themes:

• Climate-change, green economy and low-carbon development: mitigation and adaptation initiatives including REDD+, conservation ideas, climate-smart agriculture, payment for ecosystem services, smart-cities, resilience and green initiatives
• Baseline and impact studies of (poverty reduction) development interventions
• Sustainability in theory and practice:  How ‘global ideas’ on sustainability emerge; the politics of policy translation; policy processes; visions and operationalization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa
• Inequalities, rural and inclusive development: Distribution of benefits and quality of progress on development among different socio-economic groups of people; politics of access, distribution and utilization of essential services and infrastructure (education, water and sanitation, markets, energy, telecommunication); training and capacity building initiatives for rural development
• Rural livelihoods, processes of change and transformation: Where and how people draw their livelihoods; the impacts or implications these have on sustainability; the future of agricultural production (particularly cocoa) in Ghana; policies, institutions and practices for enhancing livelihoods and management of natural resources; development planning; community development initiatives; decentralization; local level institutional development

Aid and sustainability: The changing role and sustainability of the state, private sector, communities and civil society in Lower Middle Income Countries; government-civil society relations; fundraising initiatives for civil society organizations’