Curriculum Vitae

Arnaldo Pellini (PhD)

Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JD UK

Main Tel: +44 (0)207 922 0300 Fax: +44 (0)207 922 0399 Email: a.pellini@odi.org.uk
Direct Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0411

Nationality: German / Italian DOB: 10 August 1967

Qualifications
2007 PhD Education and Development
Thesis: ‘Decentralisation policy in Cambodia: implications for community
participation in the education sector’ Available here
1997 MPhil Economic Development
Thesis: ‘Food Supply and Population Growth: a Complex Relationship’
1993 BA Economics

Membership of professional bodies

Research Centre on Migration, Transnationalism and Development (DeMi) at the University
of Tampere (Finland): member of the Scientific Committee.

Languages
Oral Written
Italian Mother tongue Mother tongue
English Fluent Fluent
Spanish Fluent Good
German Good Fair
French Basics Basics
Khmer Basics -

Key experience and assignments

Economist specialised in social development, local governance, and education with ten
years of field experience at national and local level in Asian countries.
• in depth experience with decentralisation reforms, participatory local governance, and
civil society mobilisation in rural areas
• good knowledge and practical experience about the links between research-based
evidence and policy development
• planned and facilitated numerous trainings and workshops on project management,
social development, and participatory local governance
• experienced in results based programme and project management. PRINCE2 and MSP
APM qualified.

Professional Experience
June 2008 - ODI (Overseas Development Institute) (UK)
Present
Research Fellow
• Support the assessment, planning and implementation of
capacity development activities on the link between research
based evidence and policy development for researchers, civil
servants, NGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies.
Jan. 2007 UNDP (VIETNAM)
May 2008
UNV Specialist (Jan-Nov 2007) and UNDP Consultant (Dec 2007-May
2008) in Research Management and Policy Advocacy at the
“Assistance to the 20 Years Review of Doi Moi in Vietnam” Project,
Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) Ha Noi.
• Assist in the finalization of the ongoing research agenda Doi Moi
in Vietnam since 1986.
• Assist the capacity development agenda on research
management by supporting the adoption of project and
programme management methods based on PRINCE2 (Projects
in Control Environment 2) and MSP (Managing Successful
Programmes).
• Support the planning and preparation of activities to strengthen
national capacity in evidence-based policy advocacy.

Jul. 2001 GTZ / DED (CAMBODIA)

Mar. 2005
Advisor for Civil Society and Local Governance in the GTZ Rural
Development Programme, Kampong Thom.
Technical assistance, on-the-job training, and coordination of
capacity building activities for line agencies staff, local NGOs, the
community based organizations including school associations to
enhance civil society participation in local governance:
• Implementation of Village Network approach to link existing
community based organisations (including school associations)
with Commune Councils: 190 villages, ca. 950 village network
members trained.
• Support the management skills and active participation in
local governance processes of traditional pagoda associations:
90 associations representing ca. 6.000 households.
• Provide advice to government counterparts, local NGOs,
community based organisations for the development of training
courses and instructional materials for community capacity
building.
• Undertake quantitative and qualitative research to
disseminate the experiences and lessons’ learned in Kampong
Thom province to the national level.

Sep. 1998 Uniservices Ltd. - The University of Jyväskylä (FINLAND)

May 2001
Project coordinator: project acquisition and project proposals
preparation with European and Finnish consortia in basic and primary
education, vocational education, and socio-economic development
for EU, ADB, and Finnish Government. Additional tasks: development
of company business, marketing, and networking.
Oct. 1994 Gammsystem srl (ITALY)
Sep. 1996
Founder and administrative manager: business plan preparation,
management of internal administration, cash flow and reporting.
Company business: database software programming, realisation of
Web pages, sale of PCs and accessories, recycling of disposable
printing material.

Short Term Assignments

2008 PACT Cambodia / USAid
Cambodia Duration: 27 days
Consultant for Mid-Term Review of the Local Administration and
Reform (LAAR) Program. The role has been to conduct an
assessment and evaluation of LAAR on what strategies and activities
undertaken thus far have helped or hindered the program’s ability to
meet strategic objectives and program goals.
Vietnam Embassy of Finland in Ha Noi (Vietnam)
Duration: 1 day
Workshop on Research Planning and Evidence-Based Policy
Advocacy to support the research on the implantation of the Anti-
corruption Law in Vietnam by the Community Support Development
Studies (CECODES).
2005 GTZ Rural Development Programme and GTZ Administrative Reform
and Decentralisation Project
Cambodia
Duration: 55 days
Research, analysis, and documentation of different approaches of
community mobilisation and civil society interaction with Commune
Councils.
Outputs: presentation of findings at national level of different forms of
community based organisations’ participation with Commune
Councils; assessment of opportunities and constraints for greater
delegation of planning and management of community
development projects to the village level.
DANIDA Natural Resources and Environment Programme
Duration: 3 weeks
Plan content and format of a CD-Rom on Commune NRM and
Livelihoods with information regarding local development and
natural resource management projects implemented in Cambodia.

2000 GTZ Food for Work Programme

Nepal Duration: 6 months
Provide assistance during field assessments, food security profiling,
and target group oriented planning of Food-for-Work activities in
selected districts of Nepal. Methodology applied during fieldwork:
 Participatory Rural Appraisal, focus group discussions, data
preparation for GIS, cost-benefit analysis.

1998 University of the Basque Country - Institute of Studies on Development

and International Economics (Bilbao)
Spain
Duration: 4 months
Tutoring in the training course on project planning and project cycle
with Logical Framework Analysis, project appraisal with cost benefit
analysis, tender preparation for EU. AECI (Spain), and Basque
Government.
Research and collection of material for a thematic dictionary on
development and co-operation. Study on the impact of trade
liberalisation of primary commodities in developing countries.

Teaching and Training

2006 University of Jyväskylä – Dept. of Social Sciences and Philosophy
Finland Lecture on main themes and issues in economic development for
Master course in International Development and Cooperation (4 hrs)

2000 University of Jyväskylä – Faculty of Economics

Finland Lecturing on Economic Systems of Developing Countries (20 hrs).

Economic development theories, Population growth and migration
theory, trade policies, agriculture and food supply.
University of Jyväskylä – Continuing Education Centre
Lecturing on development cooperation (10 hrs). Extent of poverty,
development and economic growth, human development theories.
University of Jyväskylä – Multicultural Centre
Lecturing on Project Cycle Management and Project Planning (10 hrs)
Polytechnic of Jyväskylä
Project Planning with Logical Framework Analysis and Project Planning
with Logical Framework Analysis (10 hrs)
KEPA-Service Centre for Development Cooperation (Helsinki)
Project Planning with Logical Framework Approach (10 hrs)

Publications
Pellini, A. (2008). The Complexity of Decentralisation, Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. (Germany).
Pellini A. (2008). “Participatory local governance in Cambodia”, The Broker. Connecting
Worlds of Knowledge, Issue 9, July. (online journal)
Pellini A. (2007). Decentralisation Policy in Cambodia Exploring Community Participation
in the Education Sector, Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 1235, Tampere: Tampere
University Press.
Pellini, A. and Ayres, D. (2007). “Community Participation in Local Governance in
Cambodia: Learning from the Village Networks Approach”, Development in Practice,
Vol. 17, N. 3, June.

Pellini, A. (2007). “Decentralization and Community Participation: School Clusters in

Cambodia”, in Holger Daun (Ed.) Globalized Governance and Grassroots Participation in
School Decentralization, Springer/Kluwer, The Netherlands.

Pellini, A. (2006). “Community Support to Schools: Exploring the Characteristics of

Traditional Forms of Social Capital in Cambodia”, Perspectives in Education, Vol. 22, N. 3,
July, pp. 155-163.

Ayres, D., Pellini, A. and Perez-Leroux, A. (2006). “Promoting Participatory Local

Governance through Village Networks in Kampong Thom and Kampot: a Case Study”, in
Sourcebook on Asian Civil Society Organisations Best Practices in Enhancing the
Sustainability of Rural Poor Organizations, Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and
Agricultural Development, Manila.

Pellini, A. (2005). “Households’ Support to Cambodian School and the Reform of

Education: Searching for the Balance Between Free Education for All and Community
Participation”, a Book Review of Mark Bray & Seng Bunly, Balancing the Books.
Household Financing of Basic Education in Cambodia. Hong Kong: Comparative
Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong; in Perspectives in Education,
Vol. 21, N. 4, October 2005, pp. 247-249.

Pellini, A. (2005) ‘Traditional Forms of Social Capital in Cambodia and the Linkage with
Local Development Processes’, Cambodia Development Review, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 8-11.

Pellini, A. (2005). “Decentralisation of Education in Cambodia: Searching for Spaces of

Participation between Traditions and Modernity,” Compare, Vol. 35, No. 2, May, pp. 205-
216.

Pellini, A. (2004). “Traditional Pagoda Associations and the Emergence of Civil Society in
Cambodia”, Cambodian Development Review, Vol. 8, Issue 3, July – September, pp. 5-8.

References on request

Updated 09/08