Ellen Hagerman has nearly 10 years of experience working on regional economic development issues including trade, infrastructure, food security and governance. She has worked for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for 13 years as a Program Manager and Senior Analyst and has covered a diversity of other issues including corporate social responsibility and global environmental issues. While at the Canadian High Commission in South Africa representing CIDA's regional program for Southern and Eastern Africa, she was responsible for managing CIDA support to the African Peer Review Mechanism, the African Capacity Building Foundation, Southern African Trust and Southern African AIDS Trust. She also led two donor working groups on HIV/AIDS and food security and was the donor representative on two working committees linked to the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP). Ellen is also a professional facilitator and has facilitated sessions on human rights, gender equality and intercultural communications as well as recent meetings on HIV/AIDS, health and food security. Ellen recently completed a research paper on the challenges to regional infrastructure in Africa for DBSA and is working as a research fellow at TIPS providing advice and undertaking research on issues related to regional economic development.
Glen Robbins is a part time Researcher at the School of Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal and freelance consultant specialising in regional and local economic development with a focus on regional and city economic development strategies, infrastructure planning and financing and trade and industrial policy. Previously he headed up the Economic Development and City Enterprises functions in the eThekwini Municipality (Durban). Since 2003 he has been involved in teaching and research at the School of Development Studies and has contributed journal articles and book chapters on subjects ranging from municipal infrastructure investment to industrial policy and local economic development. He has also authored and co-authored reports for the Cities Alliance, UNCTAD, ILO and other multi-lateral bodies. In recent years he has worked with UNCTAD on a range of research projects in Southern and Eastern Africa and has recently completed a report, together with David Perkins, on infrastructure and mining investment in Tanzania and Mozambique for the Making the Most of Commodities Project coordinated at the University of Cape Town and the Open University (UK).