Business Skills - Research Expertise - Political economy

Working as an economist, Scott has over 30 years of experience in Infrastructure policy, economic and financial analysis and in development in the Asia-Pacific region. He has researched and written on a wide range of subjects, including the role of institutions in shaping policy implementation in Fiji and the Pacific, climate change and disaster risk and building and funding resilient infrastructure. He has a PhD from the University of Queensland that was completed in 2011. \\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nIn the two decades he has worked extensively on Australian and Asia-Pacific infrastructure reform and policy, incorporating resilience into development and improving access to, and management of, development finance. He has extensive experience at capacity building and support, for example, he worked with SIDS and LDC delegations at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties negotiations providing technical advice on negotiations on issues dealing with Finance. In 2020, he provided advice on the Solomon Islands COVID-19 response in relation to new infrastructure projects and the development of an associated financing mechanism. He has supported the development of Gender and Social Inclusion in climate finance assessments in the Pacific and issues relating to persons with disability in climate and infrastructure assessments in the Asia-Pacific. \\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nHe has experience with working with a range of partners and their modalities of engagement, such as. the Green Climate Fund, European Development Fund (the design and governance for a €29 million energy and water infrastructure programme and another €10.5 million resilience programme in 2018/19), and a US$10 million regional programme of the Climate Investment Fund through the development of the Pacific component of the Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (with the ADB and World Bank) in 2014. He has worked closely with a wide range of partners including the Pacific Community, ASEAN, SPREP, DFAT, EU, NZAID, the ADB and World Bank. He has wide experience at working on risk informed development and its application to blue and green growth approaches to sustainability.