Dr JO-ANNA RUSSON

Biography	Dr. Jo-Anna Russon is a Senior Research Fellow, based at the School of Education, University of Nottingham, UK. Her research resides within the field of business and development studies focusing on the private sector, UK aid and corporate social responsibility in sub-Saharan Africa, with an interlinked research portfolio on vocational education and community-led skills development.
Research Interests	Jo-Anna previously worked as a Research Fellow in the Responsible and Sustainable Business Lab (RSB Lab) at Nottingham Trent University. Her primary project was the “Values-driven-leadership (VDL) in Africa” programme, working with partner institutions and VDL alumni in Africa on research development, grant capture, and impact-case analysis. Jo-Anna Russon is a PhD graduate from Queens University Belfast, UK. Her research entitled 'Poverty Alleviation: The UK Government-MNC interface in Sub-Saharan Africa' reviewed the UK's Department for International Development’s (DFID) increasing commitment to work with private sector actors to deliver overseas aid. Jo-Anna is continuing her research in this area, with a focus on the boundaries of DFID’s engagement with the private sector and development consultancy firms from a political-economy perspective, drawing on corporate responsibility literature on the business-poverty relationship. Prior to returning to higher education Jo-Anna worked as a counsellor and manager for voluntary sector drug and alcohol services. Here she developed an interest in the relationship between business and society, and the potential for strategic links between voluntary/non-profit organisations and the private sector. As a result, she returned to higher education where she gained both an MSc and PhD in the field of sustainability and corporate responsibility. Throughout her career Jo-Anna has developed a keen interest in theory and practice on how government, academia, not-for-profit actors and local communities can work collaboratively to alleviate poverty, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Biography

Dr. Jo-Anna Russon is a Senior Research Fellow, based at the School of Education, University of Nottingham, UK. Her research resides within the field of business and development studies focusing on the private sector, UK aid and corporate social responsibility in sub-Saharan Africa, with an interlinked research portfolio on vocational education and community-led skills development.

Research Interests

Jo-Anna previously worked as a Research Fellow in the Responsible and Sustainable Business Lab (RSB Lab) at Nottingham Trent University. Her primary project was the “Values-driven-leadership (VDL) in Africa” programme, working with partner institutions and VDL alumni in Africa on research development, grant capture, and impact-case analysis.

Jo-Anna Russon is a PhD graduate from Queens University Belfast, UK. Her research entitled 'Poverty Alleviation: The UK Government-MNC interface in Sub-Saharan Africa' reviewed the UK's Department for International Development’s (DFID) increasing commitment to work with private sector actors to deliver overseas aid. Jo-Anna is continuing her research in this area, with a focus on the boundaries of DFID’s engagement with the private sector and development consultancy firms from a political-economy perspective, drawing on corporate responsibility literature on the business-poverty relationship.

Prior to returning to higher education Jo-Anna worked as a counsellor and manager for voluntary sector drug and alcohol services. Here she developed an interest in the relationship between business and society, and the potential for strategic links between voluntary/non-profit organisations and the private sector. As a result, she returned to higher education where she gained both an MSc and PhD in the field of sustainability and corporate responsibility. Throughout her career Jo-Anna has developed a keen interest in theory and practice on how government, academia, not-for-profit actors and local communities can work collaboratively to alleviate poverty, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.