Careers in Development: Interview with Darren Welch

June 1, 2007—Darren Welch, Head of Information & Community Partnerships Department at the UK Department for International Development, spoke with Youthink! about how he ended up there, and what his work involves.

Youthink!: What attracted you to a career in international development?

Darren Welch: What attracted me was the chance to get involved in so many different issues, while having an impact on people's lives and doing something really worthwhile. Development work spans health, education, economics, governance, social justice, and many other fields, so there is enormous variety. And the truth is that we are learning new things all the time about what works to help reduce poverty, so this is an exciting and changing field.

I only joined the UK's Department for International Development recently, and I've found it a fantastic place to work, and full of very energetic and dedicated people with a strong focus on achieving results. I've come on secondment from the private sector which shows how open DFID is to bringing in people with new ideas and different ways of working.

Youthink!: How can one prepare for a career in international development? What should one study to enter the field and to do well?

Darren Welch: People working in development come from a wide range of backgrounds with different types of qualifications—it all depends on what areas you want to focus on.

My first degree was in modern languages, and my early career was spent in the UK government's Cabinet Office working on public sector reform, so it wasn't obvious that I'd end up in development. It was only after taking a mid-career Master's degree in public administration at the Kennedy School of Government that I got really interested in development.

I joined an international development consulting firm, DAI Europe, in 2003 and worked on a range of projects to improve governance, especially in Bosnia, Ukraine, Uganda, Tanzania and Bangladesh.

I think there is a lot to be said for coming to international development work after you've gained useful experience in related fields. For me, it was my direct experience of working in a UK government ministry that gave me something practical to offer developing countries seeking to improve their governance and policy-making systems.

Youthink!: What does your job involve on a daily basis?

Darren Welch: Much of my time is spent managing DFID's links with civil society organizations, such as Oxfam, Action Aid, and Water Aid as well as many smaller organizations. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have an important part to play in global development efforts, and DFID provides about $700 million a year to CSOs through a number of funding schemes.

For example, we give funds to Islamic Relief to help the organization strengthen its capacity to be an even more effective international development organization. We are supporting Christian Aid to strengthen the ability of smaller CSOs around the world to get involved in advocating on issues that affect them. For example, in Bolivia, Christian Aid is helping communities claim their land rights. We are funding Save the Children, including one scheme in Tibet to work with the Chinese government to develop a more child-focused education system.

In addition to long-term funding agreements with big organizations such as these, we are funding more than 150 smaller CSO-led projects around the world to deliver services in tough environments and to build local capacity to advocate for rights.

A typical day for me would involve meetings to review progress under our funding agreements with CSOs, providing briefing for our Ministers on issues that have come up, and working to ensure that we get even more impact from our "investment" in our CSO partners.

I'm also responsible for DFID's internal knowledge management systems, so we are working on a number of projects to make sure that this large and dispersed organization shares information effectively and can access all the learning that is going on in our work around the world. I've got a team of 55 staff, so supporting these individuals and helping them do a really excellent job is a large part of what I do.

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