Colin MacAndrews
Colin MacAndrews is a specialist in south and south-east Asian affairs, having lived for many years in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. He has B.A. and M.A. degress from Cambridge University (UK) and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
On graduation from Cambridge, Colin joined the British Council and worked in Bangladesh, India, Uganda, and Iran. For a time he also worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC and various newspapers in Europe and North America.
After earning his Ph.D., Colin became a full-time consultant in international development. At various times in his career, Colin has also been a visiting stundent or professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London (UK), the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto(Canada), the Harvard Law School in Boston (USA), and Australia National University (ANU) in Canberra (Australia). Colin is currently a visiting professor at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, and at Mahidol University.
Colin has written twelve books and numerous journal articles. He speaks Bahasa and Farsi, and is currently learning Thai.
Colin has been a consultant for nearly 30 years, having worked for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as well as various bilateral agencies. His area of practice includes:
- Capacity building for government agencies, universities, and NGOs;
- Environmental management, including the design and organization of environmental agencies, including staff training and strategic planning;
- Policy analysis and evaluation of natural-resources management;
- Design and management of universities and research centres;
- National parks development and management; and
- Refugees, migrants, and resettlement issues.
Colin is based in Bangkok (Thailand), where he teaches courses on politics and local government in south-east Asia.
Colin has an undergraduate degree, two master's degrees, and a doctorate:
- Ph.D. (Political Science), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), 1976, including several courses at the Harvard Law School
- M.A. York University, Toronto (Canada), 1970
- B.A. and M.A., Cambridge University (UK), 1958
He works professionally in English (mother-tongue), French (reading knowledge), Bahasa Indonesia (fluent spoken and written), Malay (fluent), and basic Thai.
2004-present: Visiting Professor, Centre for S.E Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok: Teaching courses on “Local Government in South East Asia” and “Politics of S.E Asia” in the MA programme in S.E. Asian Studies
2004-05: Senior Associate, United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC): Responsible for identifying needs and opportunities for UN Staff in the south-east Asia region
Feb-May 2001: Consultant to the World Bank Cambodia Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Program: responsible for policy and financial components
Jan-Mar 1999: Consultant to the Asian Development Bank: Completion of Volume 3 (ed. Amar Siamwallah) in the ADB Rural Asia Study on Evolving Roles of the Public, Local and Private Sectors, including contributed chapters on “Decentralization in Indonesia, the Philippines and China” and “Development of Rural Services in Asia (Education and Health)”
Sep-Dec 1998: Staff Consultant, Asian Development Bank: development of policy component of the Second Social Sector Loan to Indonesia ($360 million)
Nov 1997-May 1998: Institutional Adviser to the World Bank: Cambodian Forestry Policy
Oct 1990-Jul 1997: Various assignments for UNDP,World Bank, ADB, CIDA, and USAID on development projects in south and south-east Asia, including:
- Large Scale Indonesian Natural Resources Project (1991-97)
- Establishing and developing a major environmental agency, the Indonesian National Agency for Environmental Impact Control (BAPEDAL) and designing its structure, functions, staffing, budgeting, and technical work(1990-91)
- Program Manager of the UNDP Program for The Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Afghanistan (1989-90)
- Various regional and rural planning projects in Indonesia
1990: Department of Economics, RSPAS, Australian National University, Canberra, Visiting Fellow<
1986-91: Field Staff Member, Rockefeller Foundation, New York, including:
- Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences, taught undergraduate/graduate courses in a variety of fields including sociology, public administration, demography and statistics, international relations, and local government systems
- Responsible for the formulation and implementation of a Rockefeller Foundation training program to upgrade six academic departments
- Arranged and monitored training in South, South East Asia, and North America for 32 lecturers in Masters and Ph.D. programs
- Set up a Rockefeller Foundation-funded teaching material project that led to the publication (with Indonesian counterparts) of four Indonesian language Social Science textbooks
- Consultant to the Institute for Regional and Rural Studies responsible for building up this interdisciplinary research institute through research/training into a national/international research institute focusing on village/regional studies.
1984-86: Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (USA); as part of PhD field work, worked in the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department, Government of Malaysia, on demographic and internal migration aspects for the Third Malaysian Plan; also part-time lecturer in Demography, University of Sains, Penang, Malaysia (1984-85)
Sep-Dec 1983: Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Visiting Scholar on Government reforms in south-east Asia; gave seminars at various departments in MIT
1982: Rockefeller Study Centre, Bellagio, Italy: Visiting Scholar, research for a book on decentralized development in Indonesia.
1969-76: York University, Toronto (Canada): Initially Executive Assistant to the President, reporting directly to the President on matters related to the reorganization of the university; and subsequently Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean, Graduate Faculty of Environment Studies
1958-69: British Council, London: Representative/Assistant Representative in (successively) Bangladesh, India, and Uganda, responsible for building up cultural and educational relationships; later seconded to the School of Oriental and Africa Studies (Sep 1964-Jul 1965) to study Farsi on a British Foreign Office course and then assigned to Teheran (Iran)
Numerous books and articles on natural resource management, governmental decentralization, national development planning, environmental policies and their applicability in developing countries, and the social impact of development programmes. Books and other major works include:
2001. The Evolving Roles of State, Private, and Local Actors in Rural Asia. Volume 5 in the Study of Rural Asia series, Asian Development Bank. With Ammar Siamwalla, Alex B. Brillantes, and Somsak Chumharas.
1986. Central Government and Local Development in Indonesia. Part of the East Asian Social Science Monographs. New York: Oxford University Press.
1986. Land Policy in Modern Indonesia: A Study of Land Issues in the New Order Period. Published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
1982. Too Rapid Rural Development: Perceptions and Perspectives from South East Asia. With Chia Lin Sien. Akron: Ohio University Press.
1981. Southeast Asian Seas: Frontiers for Development. McGraw-Hill International. Southeast Asia Series. With Chia Lin Sien.
1979. Developing Economics and the Environment: A South-east Asia Experience. Singapore: McGraw Hill.
1979. "Developing Economies & the Environment: the Southeast Asian Experience". With Chia Lin Sien.
1979. "Land affairs in Indonesia: An Annotated Bibliography". Centre for Rural & Regional Research & Studies, Gadjah Mada University. With Soeri Soeroto.
1978. Change and Adaptability in Rural Communities: Land Settlements in South East Asia.
1978. "Land settlement policies in Malaysia and Indonesia: A Preliminary Analysis". Occasional Paper No. 52, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
1977. Bureaucracy, Land Development and Effective National Policy Implementation in Malaysia and Indonesia.
1977. Mobility and Modernisation: The Federal Land Development Authority and Its Role in Modernising the Rural Malay. Jogjakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press.