Amba Tadaa / International development
Governance, institutions and political economy
Governance work in the portfolio examines how mandates, incentives and power relationships affect implementation. It spans public-administration reform, development-cooperation systems, fiscal decentralisation and participation, combining institutional evidence with practical recommendations for accountability, coordination and organisational change.
Scope of experience
The assignments consider both formal institutional design and how systems operate in practice. Public-administration work in Afghanistan, Somalia and Myanmar connects capacity with staffing, procedures and learning. Education-sector analysis in Yemen examines the systems linking resources with services. Development-cooperation assignments in South Sudan and Ethiopia address fragmented responsibilities and partner priorities. Nepal’s assessments connect fiscal and administrative arrangements with the experience of federalism. Participation research in energy transitions adds questions of legitimacy and distribution. These settings support repeated experience in institutional analysis, while each retains its own sector focus and responsibility structure. The consistent analytical question is how policy intentions encounter organisational incentives, capacities and implementation constraints.
Institutions behind service delivery
Yemen’s education assessment examined mandates, finance, procurement, staffing and logistics to develop a change strategy and training response. Somalia’s Capacity Injection assignment addressed organisational structures and staffing requirements. Myanmar’s LEAP work connected administrative tools with a Community of Practice. These examples link organisational diagnosis to practical instruments for capacity development rather than treating reform as a list of formal structures.
Coordination and accountability across organisations
South Sudan’s Sector Working Group review proposed a revised architecture aligned with national planning and Nexus cooperation. Ethiopia’s Development Partners Group work connected Busan principles with institutional incentives, a revised working-group structure and an action plan. The Ethiopia proposal received government and DPG endorsement, a specific decision-stage result distinct from evidence of subsequent implementation.
Fiscal relationships, participation and reform sequencing
Nepal’s provincial assessment and later national baseline examined responsibilities, transfers and accountability across government levels. Research in Nigeria and South Africa addressed how participation influences energy-transition choices and justice. These assignments connect formal rules with perceptions, behaviour and power, and translate findings into sequenced recommendations or practical guidance appropriate to the institutional setting.
In practice
Selected assignments
South Yemen
Institutional capacity and education-sector reform in Yemen
An assessment of South Yemen’s Ministry of Education examined how institutional arrangements affected education-resource management and service delivery. Political economy and organisational analysis connected mandates, accountability and fiduciary systems with a sequenced change strategy, training design and performance benchmarks.
Explore assignmentSouth Sudan
Reforming South Sudan’s sector working groups
An assessment of South Sudan’s Sector Working Group system examined how coordination could better support national ownership and joint programming. Government and donor consultation informed a revised architecture, rollout strategy and terms of reference connecting development priorities with clearer responsibilities and accountability.
Explore assignmentEthiopia
Development cooperation and policy dialogue in Ethiopia
Work for UNDP and Ethiopia’s Development Partners Group examined the institutions behind development cooperation. Comparative research and consultations connected the Busan principles with a revised Sector Working Group structure, accountability proposals and a practical action plan for government–partner dialogue.
Explore assignmentNepal
Provincial institutional and fiscal capacity under Nepal’s federal transition
An assessment of Nepal’s seven provincial governments examined the institutional and fiscal foundations of federalism. Governance and financial data, perception surveys and provincial fieldwork connected staffing, mandates and accountability with fiscal autonomy, expenditure responsibilities and implementation constraints.
Explore assignmentNigeria · South Africa
Participation and political economy in just energy transitions
Research for UNDP’s Global Policy Centre for Governance examined how civil-society participation shapes just energy transitions. Evidence from Nigeria and South Africa connected institutional decision-making with procedural and distributional justice, leading to research findings and practical guidance on participation and accountability.
Explore assignmentNepal
A national baseline for federalism and local governance in Nepal
Nepal’s federalism baseline connected national survey evidence and fiscal analysis with the realities of provincial and local government. The work examined political, administrative and financial relationships and established indicators for tracking institutional performance, accountability and the implementation of decentralised governance.
Explore assignmentReports & publications
UNDP / 2025
How Can Participation Deliver Just Energy Transitions? (opens publisher website in a new tab)
Participation and political economy in the transition to cleaner energy systems.
UNDP Nepal / 2026
Nepal: The State of Federalism Report 2025 (opens publisher website in a new tab)
A baseline on provincial and local governance under Nepal’s federal system.