Biography

Richard Williams is a Development Economist with a particular interest in financial sector development, political economy analysis, aid policy, fragile-states and public financial management. Richard is currently working as an associate with OPM and the University of Bath on a two-year action research project analysing financial sector policy development. In addition, Richard supports OPM’s Economic Policy Programme across a range of financial sector projects. He completed the Boulder Institute of Microfinance training course in 2011. Prior to joining OPM, Richard worked as an external consultant for the European Community, evaluating the Solomon Islands' public financial management systems in preparation for a new budget support programme. As an ODI Fellow, Richard spent two years working as a government economist in the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, where he established a new economic unit focusing on aid policy, a number of new budget support and sector programmes and led policy advice to senior levels of government and liaised with other stakeholders to negotiate and implement a macroeconomic IMF lending programme. Previously, he worked on a number of community-led projects in sub-Saharan Africa.