Shonali Banerjee
Assistant Professor in International Development
Shonali.Banerjee@warwick.ac.uk
Office: PAIS E2.18
Module Director: PAIS Undergraduate Dissertation (PO366) and Politics of International Development (PO203)
Dr Shonali Banerjee is Assistant Professor of International Development in the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS), University of Warwick. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and a guest lecturer at University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Profile
Shonali joined PAIS in 2023. Prior to this, she was the Senior Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Strategic Philanthropy. In this role, she led the Centre’s research agenda and academic programming on philanthropy and social impact in the Majority World, specifically Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Shonali is an international development expert, specialising in private sector involvement in international development, philanthropy, and foreign aid. Her previous work focused on the implications of new financial instruments in philanthropy and giving. Prior to academia, Shonali began her career as a development practitioner working for international organisations in the United States, Africa, and Southeast Asia. During this time, she specialised in programme management, impact measurement, fundraising, and strategic communications. From 2020-2021, Shonali served as Research Development Officer at Queen Mary University of London, where she worked with faculty across all disciplines to develop proposals for the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
Shonali’s recent Bristol University Press book with Anne-Meike Fechter (Sussex) and Thabani Mutambasere (Edinburgh) is entitled Horizontal Development: Shifting Power and Privilege in AidLink opens in a new window. Her work has been published in academic journals including Third World Quarterly and Development in Practice.
Shonali has also published numerous working papers, industry reports, case studies, and editorials on philanthropy and the financialisation of international development (see 'Publications' tab). She serves as an advisor and consultant to prominent international organisations including the OECD Development Centre, the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) and the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF). She currently sits on the Advisory Board for the L'Oréal Global Fund for WomenLink opens in a new window and the Board of Directors for the Sustainable Development Strategies GroupLink opens in a new window.
Shonali holds a PhD in International Development from the University of Sussex, a MSc in Development Studies from SOAS University of London, and a BA in International Affairs and Political Science from The George Washington University.
Teaching and Supervision
Shonali currently directs two modules in PAIS: the Undergraduate Dissertation (PO366) and Politics of International Development (PO203).
Shonali is open to supervising undergraduate/postgraduate dissertations or doctoral candidates focusing on key issues in international development. She particularly welcomes proposals pertaining to the following areas:
- philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, and social investment
- international aid flows
- NGOs and international organisations
- private sector involvement in international development
- alternatives to traditional foreign aid
- digital technologies in development
Research Interests
Shonali’s research has focused on two rapidly emerging areas of international development: 1) the financialisation of development through private sector influences and 2) the use of new media and technologies by development actors.
She has conducted extensive qualitative and ethnographic fieldwork with a variety of international development actors over the last decade, specifically focusing on NGOs, digital platforms, and philanthropic organisations.
Shonali’s early research focused on the role of digital platforms in NGO fundraising, exploring how the emergence of new technologies shapes the international development space. More recently, her research investigates prominent actors and trends in the global philanthropy space, including extensive research with large private foundations. Shonali also investigates the financialisation of international development through new instruments including impact investing, venture philanthropy, and blended finance.
Broadly, Shonali’s research interests include the following:
- philanthropy, international aid, and NGOs
- financialisation and new market-based models in development (impact investing, blended finance, venture philanthropy)
- private sector influences in development spaces
- new media and technology in development
- global humanitarian and social movements
- decolonising aid and international development