About the Sustainable Global Development (SGD) e-Thinktank
Sustainable Global Development (SGD) e-Thinktank is a multi-disciplinary networking and blogging initiative that aims to bridge the knowledge gap that exists between knowledge generation and knowledge usage in the sustainable development field. The SGD e-Thinktank is a virtual thinktank that brings together various players including researchers, thinkers, readers, practitioners, policy makers, civil society, and the public. It seeks to avail and promote access and utilisation of crosscutting and multi-disciplinary information in the following broad sectors: environmental, economic, and social. The e-Thinktank embraces various approaches which include translating (interpreting) the highly technical and quantitative research output into easy to understand information, suitable for public consumption. This initiative is part of what is referred to as academic blogging. The Taylor & Francis Group highlighted that researchers can use academic blogging to talk about their interests, the direction of their research, to share ideas, build their profile, and highlight news or developments that are particularly pertinent to the area they work in.
Thus, Sustainable Global Development
e-Thinktank blog aims to
facilitate information sharing, networking, and strengthening of linkages
between and amongst development players with the overall goal of enhancing
information exchange, social capital and social learning. Creating and
strengthening the community of practice is essential. Without information and
knowledge, achieving sustainable development will remain a pipe dream. Hence,
availing development information to the various stakeholders is a necessary
condition, of which Sustainable Global Development e-Thinktank blog is one
of the answers.
The Sustainable Global Development e-Thinktank blog is a
brainchild of Shakespear Mudombi (PhD), the founder and director of New Paradigm Consulting, a leading
consulting firm in the development sector with interests in Africa
and globally. He is also the founder of the notivational and inspirational blog Motivational Convergency, which seeks to empower individuals to excel to their full potential.
Shakespear Mudombi holds a PhD in Environmental Management from
the University of South Africa, MSc in Agricultural & Applied Economics and BSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of
Zimbabwe. He has experience in research and consultancy in
environmental, agricultural and economic sectors. He has expert knowledge and experience in project planning and
management, monitoring and evaluation, food security mapping, value-chain
analysis and development, gender and socio-economic analysis, livelihood
analysis, climate impacts assessments, monitoring and evaluation, vulnerability
assessments, baseline studies, quantitative data analysis, and science,
technology and innovation (STI).
In terms of research training, he attended the Bergen Summer Research School on Governance to meet global challenges held in 2014 at the University of Bergen in Norway. In 2012-2013, he attended the Southern Africa Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP) - a collaborative
programme between the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), Department of Science & Technology, National Research Foundation, and the University of Free State (South Africa). In
this programme he was in the Multi-Scale Adaptation to Climate Change
and Socio-ecological Sustainability Project. In 2012, he also attended
the GLOBELICS Academy on Innovation and Economic Development held in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil. He is also an active member of the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) and was the first YPARD Country representative for South Africa. He is an Associate Editor of the African Journal of Science,Technology, Innovation and Development (AJSTID).
From 2010-2014, Shakespear worked as a researcher under the DST-NRF SARChI Research Professor (Mammo Muchie) at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation (IERI) of Tshwane University of Technology. Shakespear was a co-investigating researcher in the 2011-2012 START grants for Global Environmental Change Research in Africa researching on
climate change adaptation for rural communities’ dependant on agriculture and tourism in marginal farming areas in Hwange district of Zimbabwe. He was also awarded the Climate Change Innovation Research
grant by the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) – his
research project focused on analysing the contribution of ICTs in
climate change adaptation amongst communal farmers. He has worked as a
consultant for the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture
(CIAT-TSBF, Zimbabwe) in baseline and endline survey on Sub-Saharan
Africa Challenge Program on Conservation Agriculture and Climate Change.
He worked for the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA)
in Zimbabwe in various capacities as a Field officer; Agricultural
economist and Section manager.
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