Will Mitchell

Institute for Global Sustainable Development

Research Associate

wtmitchell1@sheffield.ac.uk
+447877 331575

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Will Mitchell
Institute for Global Sustainable Development
Profile

Will Mitchell is a research associate and PhD student with the Institute for Global Sustainable Development. Will is a multidisciplinary conservation scientist with 12 years’ experience working across private, NGO and academic sectors. He holds an MSc in Conservation Science from Imperial College London and an MA in Social Research from the University of Sheffield. His main areas of interest and expertise include, entrepreneurship, market-based instruments for conservation and development, the dynamics of environmental institutions, social research design and small-scale fisheries management.

Will’s post-doctoral research explores accountability and the role of data in making or breaking accountability relations between NGOs and their participants. Through focus groups, the project explores beneficiaries’ experiences with NGO accountability. This research project ultimately aims to experiment with existing NGO data and establish novel mechanisms and learn lessons for enhancing accountability relations with participants.

Will’s PhD focuses on entrepreneurship in conservation and examines the genesis, adaptation, and impact of market-based instruments for conservation and development. During 14 months in Mozambique, he was focusing on entrepreneurs driving conservation businesses, beekeepers in the Chimanimani mountains and baobab collectors in Guro district.

Will has conducted most of his research in Mozambique, but has also worked on a range of conservation and development initiatives in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Madagascar.

Research interests

Will’s research focuses on diverse topics related to conservation and development in Mozambique. Including entrepreneurship, market-based instruments, NGO accountability, data management, livelihood change and institutional dynamics.