Nilima is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development and Public Finance team at ODI. She has over 20 years of experience researching bilateral aid organisation and reform, global development architecture, new development actors including Southern providers and corporate philanthropy, and development effectiveness.

Before joining ODI, Nilima was an Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics where she taught public management and global development. She has also previously worked as an international economist within the International Trade and Finance Group at the Canadian Ministry of Finance, the World Bank and the International Development Research Centre. She has Board-level experience at CanWaCH and Integrity Action, and is a seasoned senior consultant and evaluator to international organisations, philanthropic foundations and national governments. She is also currently a Visiting Fellow at King’s College Department of International Development and an Associate at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

She has published widely at the intersection of public management, development and global governance in leading peer-reviewed journals, and regularly responds to international media enquiries and requests for expert testimony on trends in global development. Nilima obtained her BA in Economics from McGill University and her PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge.