Professor Heather Marquette

Professor Heather Marquette

International Development Department
Professor of Development Politics

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 2296
Email
h.a.marquette@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@hamarquette
View my research portal
Address
IDD - School of Government
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Heather Marquette  is Professor of Development Politics and is currently seconded part-time to DFID’s Research & Evidence Division as Senior Research Fellow (Governance and Conflict).

Heather’s research - which has been funded by the British Academy/Global Challenges Research Fund, DFID, DFAT and the EU - focuses on corruption and anti-corruption interventions, the politics of aid and, increasingly, serious organised crime. Heather has also been a major voice in evolving debates on ‘thinking and working politically’ and is a founding Steering Committee member of the global Thinking and Working Politically Community of Practice. 

She is an Expert Member of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime’s expert network, a Fellow with the University’s Institute of Global Innovation’s research cluster on Twenty-First Century Transnational Organised Crime and a member of the Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing. From 2013-2017, she was Director of the Developmental Leadership Program, a major research centre and policy initiative funded by the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs & Trade that examines the political processes that underpin development goal, as well as Director of the Governance & Social Development Resources Centre, a multi-donor funded centre that helps to translate research into policy-relevant outputs for greater uptake.

Qualifications

  • PhD: 1998-2002 University of Durham, Department of Politics.
  • MA: 1997-1998 University of Durham, Department of Politics. MA, International Studies.
  • BSc: 1989-1997 Franklin Pierce University, Department of Business Administration. BSc, International Business.

Biography

Corruption & Political Economy Analysis
Transparency & Accountability in Fragile States

Heather joined IDD in 2002. Previously, she lectured in IR, IPE and development in the Department of Politics, University of Durham, where she did her PhD on the World Bank's anti-corruption programme. Prior to this, Heather worked in international trade finance in the United States.

Heather was the Director of Research (and subsequently Director) the Developmental Leadership Program between 2014-18.

Other activities

  • Senior Research Fellow (Governance & Conflict), Research & Evidence Division, Department for International Development (DFID) – part-time secondment (2017-)
  • Expert Network Member, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (2019-)
  • Member, Executive Sessions on the Politics of the Extractives Sector, Columbia University (2018-)
  • Advisor, Tufts University Corruption, Behaviour and Social Norms Research Programme (2019-)
  • Fellow, Institute for Global Innovation, University of Birmingham (Research Cluster: 21st Century Transnational Crime) (2018-)
  • Member, Centre for Crime, Justice & Policing, University of Birmingham (2018-)
  • Steering Committee, Thinking & Working Politically Community of Practice (2013-)
  • Editorial Board Member Journal of Global Ethics, International Journal of Public Administration

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Lopez Lucia, E, Buckley, J, Marquette, H & McCulloch, N 2019, 'Lessons from Nigeria for improved thinking and working politically in the extractives sector', Development Policy Review, vol. 37, no. S1, pp. O16-O32. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12441

Peiffer, C, Marquette, H, Armytage, R & Budhram, T 2019, 'The surprising case of police bribery reduction in South Africa', Crime, Law and Social Change, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 587-606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09843-8

Marquette, H & Peiffer, C 2019, 'Thinking politically about corruption as problem-solving: a reply to Persson, Rothstein and Teorell', Governance.

Dasandi, N, Laws, E, Marquette, H & Robinson, M 2019, 'What does the evidence tell us about ‘thinking and working politically’ in development assistance?', Politics and Governance, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 155-168. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v7i2.1904

Marquette, H & Peiffer, C 2018, 'Grappling with the “real politics” of systemic corruption: theoretical debates versus ‘real world’ functions ', Governance, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 499-514. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12311

Fisher, J & Marquette, H 2016, ''Empowered patient' or 'Doctor knows best'? Political economy analysis and ownership', Development in Practice, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2016.1119249

Commissioned report

Peiffer, C, Marquette, H, Armytage, R & Budhram, T 2018, The surprising case of police bribery reduction in South Africa. 57 edn, Developmental Leadership Program, University of Birmingham. <http://www.dlprog.org/publications/the-surprising-case-of-police-bribery-reduction-in-south-africa.php>

Working paper

Hudson, D, Mcloughlin, C, Marquette, H & Roche, C 2018 'Inside the black box of political will: 10 years of findings from the Developmental Leadership Program' Developmental Leadership Program, University of Birmingham, Birmingham. <http://publications.dlprog.org/DLPsynthesis.pdf>

Marquette, H & Peiffer, C 2018 ''Islands of integrity'? Reductions in bribery in Uganda and South Africa and lessons for anti-corruption policy and practice' Developmental Leadership Program, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, pp. 1-15. <http://publications.dlprog.org/RP58.pdf>

Laws, E & Marquette, H 2018 'Thinking and working politically: reviewing the evidence on the integration of politics into development practice over the past decade' Thinking & Working Politically Community of Practice, Birmingham. <https://twpcommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Thinking-and-working-politically-reviewing-the-evidence.pdf>

Peiffer, C, Armytage, R & Marquette, H 2018 'Uganda's health sector as a 'hidden' positive outlier in bribery reduction' Developmental Leadership Program, University of Birmingham. <http://publications.dlprog.org/RP56.pdf>

Heywood, P, Marquette, H, Peiffer, C & Zuniga, N 2017 'Integrity and Integrity Management in Public Life' European Union. <http://anticorrp.eu/publications/integrity-and-integrity-management-in-public-life/>

Marquette, H, Lopez Lucia, E, Buckley, J & McCulloch, N 2017 'Thinking and working politically: Lessons from FOSTER in Nigeria' Developmental Leadership Program, no. DLP Research Paper 48, Developmental Leadership Program, University of Birmingham, pp. 1-28. <http://www.dlprog.org/publications/thinking-and-working-politically-lessons-from-foster-in-nigeria.php>

Hudson, D, Marquette, H & Waldock, S 2016 'Everyday Political Analysis' Developmental Leadership Program, University of Birmingham, Birmingham. <http://www.dlprog.org/publications/everyday-political-analysis.php>

Marquette, H, Dasandi, N & Robinson, M 2016 'Thinking and Working Politically: From theory building to building an evidence base' Developmental Leadership Program, vol. DLP Research Paper 37, University of Birmingham. <http://publications.dlprog.org/TWPev.pdf>

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Corruption, state-building and good governance in developing countries; aid and aid policy; religion and corruption; political development; donor agencies' approaches to anti-corruption reform

Alternative contact number available for this expert: contact the press office

Expertise

Governance, Development and Foreign Policy

Professor Heather Marquette has advised governments and policy organisations around the world since 1999. This includes, for example, the UK’s Department for International Development (where Heather is currently seconded part-time), as well as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, the National Crime Agency, the Stabilisation Unit, the Cabinet Office and several embassies/DFID country offices. Outside the UK, this includes the World Bank, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, United Nations Development Programme, European Commission, OECD Development Assistance Committee, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Global Integrity, Open Government Partnership, Transparency International, the World Wildlife Fund and many others.

In 2018, Heather was nominated for the University of Birmingham Founders’ Award for Policy Advancement and was award the School of Government Prize for Policy Advancement.

Since 2007, she has led several large, policy-relevant research projects and programmes totally over £9 million.

Her areas of expertise include corruption, anti-corruption, aid policy, development, organised crime, illicit financial flows and evidence-into-policy.