Jo Beall is an Emeritus Professor and Distinguished Policy Fellow at the LSE and has conducted research across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia on urban development and governance, as well as cities in situations of conflict and state fragility. Jo was formerly the Global Director of Education and Cultural Engagement for the British Council, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and has an honorary doctorate from the Open University. She is currently the Editor of Oxford Development Studies, a multidisciplinary journal on international development and sits on the boards of the United Nations University World Institute for Development and Economic Research (UNU-WIDER), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), and is Co-Vice Chair of the SOAS Board of Trustees.