Dr Hugh Sharma Waddington
BSc MA PhD
Assistant Professor
LSHTM
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom
I am an economist by training with advanced degrees in development economics and environmental health impact evaluation. I specialise in policy research on topics like water, sanitation and hygiene, governance and agriculture using methods like impact evaluation, systematic review and meta-analysis. I set up the Systematic Reviews Programme and London Office of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), based at London International Development Centre. I was elected Co-Chair of the Campbell Collaboration International Development Coordinating Group (2014-19), and continue as an editor with Campbell Systematic Reviews. I was seconded to 3ie's Impact Evaluation Office as Senior Evaluation Specialist in New Delhi (2014-16). Previously, I was employed for two years in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) of the Government of Rwanda (2006-2008). I have also been employed at the World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department (now Independent Evaluation Group) in Washington D.C., the UK National Audit Office, and the Poverty Research Unit at Sussex University. I have consulted or conducted assignments for the Department for International Development, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the International Finance Corporation, Save the Children UK, and Sightsavers. My education includes BSc Economics from the University of York, MA Development Economics from the University of Sussex and PhD Infectious Disease and Public Health Impact Evaluation from LSHTM.
Affiliations
Centres
Teaching
I co-direct London International Development Centre's short course on Programme Evaluation for Development, and am tutor and a Module Organiser on WASH215 Distance Learning. I also lecture on Environment, Health and Sustainable Development MSc Module, and lead seminars on Introduction to Health Economics MSc module.
Research
My main interest is in policy research that makes a difference to people's lives. I have led or contributed to research on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); decentralisation and governance in health and social protection; maternal and child health and nutrition; microcredit schemes; agricultural extension and adult education; and aid effectiveness. What links my research is a focus on the design of quantitative methods of impact evaluation (randomised field trials, quasi-experiments, natural experiments and observational studies), critical appraisal of research (including risk of bias), systematic review and meta-analysis, and the use of theory-based approaches.