Matthew provides high level policy advice to governments and international civil society organisations.
He is a Senior Lecturer in Energy Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex. Matthew has worked for Oxford, Cambridge and Exeter universities, and has been a research associate at the University of Dar es Salaam and also at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. Between 1996 and 2004, he held several senior policy and research posts in international NGOs, including Christian Aid, ActionAid UK and Save the Children-UK, before joining the Institute for Public Policy research, where he worked on energy and climate policy. He was then Head of Climate Change at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex from 2011-13. Matthew has also worked for the UK government’s Department for International Development and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (now BEIS), and has also acted as a consultant for a range of organisations including; the World Bank, UNICEF, Comic Relief, Kivu International, the Design Council and the London Development Agency. He currently sits on the Academic Panel of the UK energy regulator Ofgem.
Matthew has particular experience in Africa, having worked in and on the continent for over 20 years. He is the author of the influential book ‘The State They’re In’ (ITDG Publishing, 2005, 2nd Edn).