Professor David Sanderson

Professor David Sanderson, Director, Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP), Oxford Brookes University

David’s professional experience lies in urban poverty, disaster risk reduction and livelihoods. He has undertaken work for the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), European Commission (DiPECHO, EC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank (EDI Section), United Nations (UNDP/UNDESA), Action by Churches Together (ACT), British Council, Christian Aid, Tear Fund and the Mott Foundation.

David has been Director of CENDEP since 2006. CENDEP’s award-winning Masters degree in Development and Emergency Practice is known and respected for its practice base and strong culture of student and practitioner collaboration. Since its founding in 1991 the Masters degree has established an international reputation for excellence. In that time well over 500 students have attended the programme from all around the world, with many going on to hold wide-ranging positions in community based groups, NGOs, UN and donor bodies, governments and the military.

The programme is above all multi-disciplinary: each year students come from all kinds of backgrounds and walks of life. While many have extensive experience working within aid agencies and are looking to make sense of their experience, others may be wanting to become engaged in issues of poverty, development, conflict and disaster. Others still may have found themselves caught up in emergencies and are now looking to refocus their careers.

“To reduce vulnerability and the scale of a disaster the key relates to community cohesion, community knowledge, skills and the education of girls. The stuff of development.” Professor David Sanderson

“…as we find cities get denser and people are living stacked on top of one another and getting denser and denser, the issue is land. This problem comes to the fore following a disaster. It’s a real problem and one the aid agencies are really grappling with. Professor David Sanderson