Freelance researcher/consultant

1. LINNEA MILLS (PhD)
INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER/CONSULTANT
Linnea.Mills@gmail.com Phone: +44 (0)7530 939985
PROFILE
· Subject expertise: I have expertise in a range of topics related to good governance,
in particular: transparency and accountability, corruption, illicit financial flows, asset
recovery, political finance, development aid, and African politics.
· Project management: For the past nine years, I have conducted policy-focused and
academic research and written reports for various organisations, both in collaboration
with other researchers and as a lead researcher. I have managed long-term research
projects (e.g. my PhD) as well as short-term projects.
· Organisational experiences: I have worked with the following organisations:
OECD, Global Integrity, Transparency and Accountability Initiative, International
Budget Partnership, Publish What You Fund, Center for Global Development
(Europe), BBC Media Action, London School of Economics, and Overseas
Development Institute. Conducting research for different types of organisations has
taught me to write for different audiences.
· Knowledge of research methods: I have practical experience with using various
quantitative and qualitative research methods, including regression analysis, survey
analysis, text analysis, and interviews.
· Theoretical knowledge: I have broad knowledge across the social sciences with a
PhD in Political Science/Political Economy, an MSc and BSc in Economics and an
MSc in Development Studies, and I can efficiently handle large amounts of literature
and information.
· Languages: I speak, apart from English, also Swedish, French and Spanish.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Below is a list of organisations and research projects I have worked with in reverse
chronological order.
Global Integrity, 2014
As the UK’s in-country researcher for the Money, Politics and Transparency project, my job
was to research a set of 50 indicators on political finance in the United Kingdom. The
research methods combined desk-based research of laws, government documents, media news
and reports from civil society, as well as interviews with bureaucrats, academics and
journalists.
Transparency and Accountability Initiative (T/A Initiative), 2013
As a consultant for this donor collaborative, I mostly worked on the launch of the Open
Government Guide (www.opengovguide.com): a one-stop-shop for governments and civil
society on how to get greater transparency on 19 different sectors/issues. I composed the
majority of the 362 country examples and 217 international standards featured in this web
resource. I also conducted research for T/A Initiative’s Research and Learning division on
natural resource governance among other things. See publication here:
http://www.transparency-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Think-Piece.-Clusters-in-
NGR.pdf
OECD Development Directorate, 2012/2013
I researched and drafted parts of an OECD report on illicit financial flows, which focused on
the policies, laws and institutions in place to tackle illicit financial flows in OECD member
states and the effectiveness of these frameworks. I specifically worked on the chapters
concerning international tax evasion and avoidance, adherence to the OECD Anti-Bribery
Convention, international recovery of stolen assets, and the role of bilateral development
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2. agencies in curbing illicit financial flows. The research was conducted through desktop
research, analysis of quantitative data, and survey analysis. See report here:
http://www.oecd.org/corruption/Illicit_Financial_Flows_from_Developing_Countries.pdf. As
a spill-over from the research I did for this report, I also co-authored a StAR/OECD
publication on asset recovery. See report here: http://www.amazon.com/Few-Far-Stolen-
Recovery-Initiative/dp/1464802742.
International Budget Partnership/Open Budget Initiative, 2012
I was commissioned to write a comparative case study analysis on recent policy concerning
budget transparency. I compared the UK Department for International Development, the US
Department of State and the Millennium Challenge Corporation using various data sources,
including interviews at all three institutions. See paper here:
http://internationalbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/Foreign-Assistance-and-Fiscal-
Transparency-Final-Report.pdf
Publish What You Fund, 2012
I prepared an annotated bibliography on aid transparency publications, which contained
research publications from academia and research institutes, international policy organisations
and advocacy actors, as well as a list of transparency-related domestic and international
legislations and policy initiatives. See bibliography here:
http://www.publishwhatyoufund.org/files/Annotated-bibliography-on-aid-transparency.pdf
Center for Global Development, 2011
I was commissioned to write a landscape study on illicit financial flows from developing to
developed countries. The research involved analysing the quantitative literature on illicit
financial flows, the international laws and regulations in place, and the evidence base for
conducting impact analyses of different international policy initiatives.
BBC Media Action, 2011
I wrote an evaluation report of a media capacity building project undertaken by BBC Media
Action in South Sudan. The report was primarily based on the analysis of transcripts from 60
focus group discussions and survey data from 20 journalists in South Sudan. In addition, I
wrote a literature review on maternal health in Somalia.
London School of Economics, 2010-2013
I provided research assistance for Dr Joachim Wehner on several research projects, mainly
with regard to gathering data on government budgets.
London School of Economics, 2010
I conducted research for Dr Nilima Gulrajani for a comparative study of bilateral aid
agencies. My work included conducting a literature review; comparing donor agencies on a
range of effectiveness indicators, and setting up interviews with policy-makers. See paper
here: http://nilimagulrajani.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/gulrajani.pdf
Overseas Development Institute, 2007-2009
I provided research support for governance specialist Dr Alan Hudson on two projects
concerning policy coherence for development. Together with Alan Hudson, I also researched
and wrote case studies on the UK Department of International Development and Swedish
Sida, mapping how accountability of aid is viewed and exercises in the UK and Sweden. In
addition, I did a literature review of accountability stakeholders in international development,
and I contributed to the first empirical analysis of the adherence to the Paris Declaration on
Aid Effectiveness leading up to the Accra summit in 2008.
OECD Development Centre, 2006
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3. I worked with Dr Jeff Dayton-Johnson on the Policy Coherence for Development Project. My
job consisted of assembling, editing and providing feedback on approximately 20 developing
country case studies assessing the impact of OECD countries’ policies regarding aid, trade,
foreign investment and migration.
OECD, MENA Investment Programme, 2005
I worked with Dr Alexander Böhmer on the Middle East and North Africa Initiative on
Governance and Investment for Development. My tasks included producing an inventory of
existing regulations on foreign investment in the MENA region and assisting the policy
manager in writing national investment reform agendas for the MENA countries.
EDUCATION
PhD, 2007- 2012
London School of Economics and Political Science, Government Department
Thesis title: Questionable Assumptions and Unintended Consequences: A Critical Assessment
of the International Donor Community’s Fight against Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa.
http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/467/
- My thesis concerned the topic of corruption in the political context of sub-Saharan Africa. I
empirically assessed, using various quantitative and qualitative research methods, the validity
of popular theoretical propositions on how to fight corruption: through democratisation,
economic liberalisation, and the use of punitive judicial measures.
- As part of my research, I conducted interview-based fieldwork in Rwanda.
- My supervisor was Dr Joachim Wehner and my thesis examiners were Robert Mattes from
University of Cape Town and Jean-Paul Faguet from the LSE.
MSc in Development Studies (Research), Merit, 2006- 2007
London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Development
- The degree consisted of courses in development theory and policy as well as quantitative
analysis.
- Master dissertation title: Slapping the Grabbing Hand?: An Empirical Analysis of Bilateral
Donors’ Response to Corruption in the Developing World. (Quantitative analysis of 22
bilateral aid donors).
MSc in Economics, 1999- 2003
Jönköping International Business School (Sweden)
- The four-year long ‘Programme for International Economics and Political Science’
comprised a bachelor and a master’s degree.
- The programme consisted of courses up to advanced level in micro, macro, and international
economics as well as courses in statistics, econometrics, political science, business law, and
Spanish language training.
- Master dissertation title: The Importance of Research and Development- Estimating the
Return to R&D. (Quantitative analysis).
University exchanges
Montana State University (USA), 2003- 2004
- One year of course work in the Political Science Department.
- Courses included international relations; international human rights; international law;
economic development; comparative public policy, and comparative democracy.
- I received 4.0 in GPA (highest possible grade in every course).
Universidad de Las Palmas (Spain), 2001- 2002
- Erasmus university exchange.
- Courses included advanced public sector economics, game theory, and various courses in
marketing and leadership.
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4. - All courses were taught in Spanish.
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