Mark Weston, Policy Consultant
61a West Borough, Wimborne, Dorset, UK, BH21 1LX
Telephone: +44 1202 849993
E-mail: mark@riverpath.com

• Policy consultant specialising in international development. Experienced writer, researcher and strategic consultant. Interests include public health, HIV/AIDS, demography, education and corporate social responsibility. Works closely with Harvard School of Public Health and UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and is a long-term Associate with UK policy consultancy River Path Associates.

Focus

• Strong analytical skills; effective problem-solving abilities; clear, concise writing; thorough yet fast delivery.
• Track record of successful collaboration with high-profile public and private sector organisations, including Harvard School of Public Health, World Economic Forum, UK Government, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, LSE, UNAIDS, Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies (South Africa), Asian Development Bank, Vodafone UK and Toyota.
• Strong publications record in the development field.
• International experience, with fieldwork in India, South Africa and Ghana.
• Close links with David Bloom (Professor of Economics and Demography at the Harvard School of Public Health) and UK knowledge consultancy River Path Associates.

Services offered

• Strategic consultancy: Reviews of policies and programmes; design and facilitation of conferences and workshops.
• Research: Design and execution of action-oriented research projects; analysis of quantitative and qualitative data; concise reporting of research outputs; top-level briefings.
• Writing: Think pieces on international development; conference rapporteuring; copy writing for brochures, leaflets, websites; copy-editing; speech writing; Powerpoint presentations.

Selected Recent Projects

Strategic Consultancy

Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies (South Africa): Advising Africa’s largest Demographic Surveillance System on ways to develop links with South Africa’s policy community. Evaluation of existing links; recommendations for future action; compilation of stakeholder briefings based on analysis of the Africa Centre’s demographic surveillance and HIV/AIDS data. Resulted in the Centre employing a full-time policy liaison officer.

Data Analysis and Reporting

Business and HIV/AIDS: A Healthier Partnership?, World Economic Forum/UNAIDS: Report of a survey asking over 10,000 business leaders from 117 countries about their perceptions of and responses to HIV/AIDS. Presented at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, January 2006. The Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum described the report as “an extraordinary document” and predicted that its recommendations for private and public sector action would have a strong impact on businesses.

Original Research

The Value of Vaccination: Paper, co-written with Professors David Bloom and David Canning of the Harvard School of Public Health, exploring the economic value of vaccination in terms of improved learning ability in children and increased productivity in the workplace. Published in World Economics, July-September 2005, and reviewed in the Economist, 14 October 2005.

Writing

Girls’ Education in Developing Countries: Mind the Gap: Think piece written as background briefing for US documentary series, ‘Wide Angle’, shown on PBS network. Recommends that donors, governments and civil society focus on training women teachers and changing attitudes to girls’ schooling.

 

Previously

• Research Associate, River Path Associates (2000-2002): Research, event facilitation and report writing for UK-based knowledge consultancy. Clients included United Nations Development Programme, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, British Council and T-Mobile.
• Brand and Communications Researcher, Hall & Partners UK (1999-2000): Quantitative market research for clients including Toyota, adidas, Sony and Visa; advising clients on brand strategies.
• English Language Teacher, Spain, Turkey and UK (1994-1998)
• Voluntary Occupational Therapist, CMC College and Hospital, Vellore, India (1997)

Languages

• Fluent Spanish, functional French and Turkish.

Publications as named author

Peer-reviewed journal articles

'Gender empowerment and health: What is it? How does it work?' with Anke Ehrhardt, Sharif Sawires, Teri McGovern and Dean Peacock, AIDS: 51, Suppl. 3, July 2009

'Male circumcision and HIV prevention: Looking to the future' with Ronald Brooks, Mark Etzel, Lee Klosinski, Arleen Leibowitz, Sharif Sawires, Greg Szekeres and Tom Coates, AIDS and Behavior, Vol. 13, No. 1, February 2009

'Wealth, health, HIV and the economics of hope' with Tony Barnett, AIDS, Vol. 22, Suppl. 2, August 2008

'HIV/AIDS: A Growing Concern to Business' with David Bloom, Lakshmi Reddy Bloom, Paul De Lay, Fiona Paua and Richard Samans, World Economics, Vol. 8, No. 4, October-December 2007

'Business and AIDS: Sectoral Challenges and Opportunities' with Gavin Churchyard, David Mametja, James McIntyre, Fazel Randera, AIDS, Vol. 21, Suppl. 3, July 2007

‘The Value of Vaccination’ with David Bloom and David Canning, World Economics, Vol. 6, No. 3, July–September 2005

‘Governance Matters: The role of Governance in Asian Economic Development’ with David Bloom and David Steven, World Economics, Vol. 5, No. 4, December 2004

Book chapters

‘Continental Drift: globalization, liberalization and sustainable human development in Sub-Saharan Africa’, with David Bloom, in Solving the Riddle of Globalization and Development. Routledge, UK. 2008

‘Liberalization, economic growth and sustainable human development in Asia: learning from the miracle workers’, with David Bloom, in Solving the Riddle of Globalization and Development. Routledge, UK. 2008

‘The Three Spheres – Experiences from Latin America, Africa and Asia’, in Solving the Riddle of Globalization and Development. Routledge, UK. 2008

‘Asia’s Economies and the Challenge of HIV/AIDS’, Asian Development Bank monograph, 2004

Newspaper and magazine articles

'The New Scramble for Africa' EMEA Finance, May 2009

'West Africa's new resource curse' EMEA Finance, February 2009

'Broken windows and HIV: a different approach' OPED, Mail & Guardian, South Africa, 1 December 2006

'Breathing new life into basic solutions' OPED, Business Day, South Africa, 15 November 2006

'How the west's health fads kill the poor' OPED, Business Day South Africa and Accra Daily Mail, Ghana, 3 July 2006

‘Safe Sex Sucks’ OPED, Mail & Guardian, South Africa, 1 August 2005

‘Governance: Playing by a Simple Set of Rules’ with David Bloom and David Steven, South China Morning Post, October 2 2003

‘Governance in Asia: underpinning competitiveness in a global economy’ with David Bloom and David Steven, Project Syndicate OPED, appeared in multiple newspapers throughout the world, in 5 languages, May 2003

Reports

'Not Immune: UK Vaccination Policy in a Changing World,' 2020health, March 2009

'Tackling Tuberculosis: The Business Response', World Economic Forum, April 2008, Geneva

'Business and Malaria: A Neglected Threat?' World Economic Forum, August 2006, Geneva

'Business and HIV/AIDS: A Healthier Partnership?' World Economic Forum, January 2006, Geneva

‘Business and HIV/AIDS in Asia: Pushing Back the Tide’, World Economic Forum, August 2005, Geneva

‘Commitment and Action? A Global Review of the Business Response to HIV/AIDS 2004-2005’, World Economic Forum, January 2005, Geneva

‘Business and HIV/AIDS: Who Me? A Global Review of the Business Response to HIV/AIDS 2003-2004’, World Economic Forum, December 2003, Geneva

‘Girls’ education in developing countries: Mind the gap’, WIDE ANGLE homepage (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/school/index.html), September 2003.

Publications – editorial

Refereed journal articles

‘The Health and Poverty of Nations: From Theory to Practice’, David Bloom and David Canning, Journal of Human Development, March 2003, Vol. 4, No. 1, 47-71

‘Why Developing Countries Should Not Neglect Liberal Education’, David Bloom, Henry Rosovsky, Liberal Education, Vol. 89, no. 1, winter 2003, 16-23

‘The Unfinished Revolution: Universal Basic and Secondary Education’, David Bloom, Joel Cohen, Daedalus, Summer 2002, 84-95

Books

‘Sexuality, Gender and Rights: Exploring Theory and Practice in South and Southeast Asia’, Geetanjali Misra and Radhika Chandiramani (eds.) Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2005

‘Economic Perspectives on Injecting Drug Use’, David Bloom, Ajay Mahal and Brendan O’Flaherty. In Michael Grossman and Bjorn Lundburg (eds.) Frontiers in Health Economics, Elsevier Science Publishers, 2005, Vol. 16: 381-405

‘Beyond Private Gain: The Public Benefits of Higher Education’, David Bloom, Matthew Hartley and Henry Rosovsky, in James J. F. Forest and Philip Altbach, eds., International Handbook of Higher Education, Volume I, forthcoming 2005

‘Raising the Pressure: Globalization and the Need for Higher Education Reform’, David Bloom in Glen A. Jones, Patricia L. McCarney, and Michael L. Skolnik, eds., Creating Knowledge, Strengthening Nations: The Changing Role of Higher Education, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005, 21-41

‘The Demography of Aging in Japan and the United States’, David Bloom, A. K. Nandakumar and Manjiri Bhawalkar, in Gail B. Hedges, ed., Aging and Health: Environment, Work and Behavior, Harvard University Printing and Publication, 2003

‘Jamaica: globalisation, liberalization and sustainable human development’, David Bloom, Ajay Mahal, Damien King, Fiorina Mugione, Aldrie Henry-Lee, Dillon Alleyne and Philip Castillo. Paper prepared for the UNCTAD/UNDP Programme on Globalisation, Liberalization and Sustainable Human Development, 2001

Reports

‘The Health and Wealth of Africa’ with David Bloom, background paper for 53rd Session of the World Health Organisation Regional Committee of Ministers of Health in Africa, September 2003

‘Reaching the Summit’, UK Government brochure for World Summit on Sustainable Development, August 2002

‘From Peril to Promise: How Higher Education can Deliver’, report of British Council/World Bank higher education seminar, Bath, UK, March 2002

‘AIDS and Economics’, David Bloom, Ajay Mahal and Jaypee Sevilla, paper prepared for Working Group 1 of the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, November 2001

‘Health, Wealth, AIDS and Poverty’, David Bloom and Jaypee Sevilla, Asian Development Bank, September 2001

‘Health, Wealth, AIDS and Poverty: the case of Cambodia’, David Bloom, Jaypee Sevilla, and River Path Associates, Asian Development Bank, September 2001

‘HIV/AIDS and the Private Sector: a literature review’, David Bloom, Ajay Mahal and River Path Associates, AmFAR, June 2001

 

(The world, measured by space, wealth and population)