Professor Anna Mdee is Professor in the Politics of Global Development at the University of Leeds, UK. Her research focuses on the politics of global development and development practice: how the aid system works (or doesn’t work), how to improve local service delivery and governance; how to manage natural resources (primarily water), and how to reduce vulnerability through improved livelihoods. She is a social anthropologist and so interested in aid and development as a political and cultural practice. Her research tends to take a critical reflective practice approach to unpicking development problems. She has worked primarily on Tanzania (for more than 25 years), but also has experience in Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Tajikistan.