Biography

Samantha Dodd joined the South African offices of OPM as a consultant in May 2010. She holds a Masters degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics. Prior to joining OPM, she worked in Tanzania as an economist/ODI fellow in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing and for the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). As an ODI fellow she helped set up an M&E framework for the Ministry, conducted research on incorporating a global value chain perspective into the leather sector development strategy and helped develop a methodology for conducting a Technology Needs Assessment for the SME sector. Whilst in Tanzania she prepared monthly reports and several research documents for the Economist Intelligence Unit and conducted research for the International Growth Centre. Since joining OPM, she has worked on a number of projects in South Africa (a study on the inclusion of informal economy workers in the reform of retirement provision systems, an impact assessment of the Child Support Grant and a survey of health facilities), in Tanzania (a mining investment benefits study) and Nigeria (a programme aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector). She has experience of quantitative research (impact assessments) as well as qualitative research (exploring issues of financial inclusion).