Dr Stephen Thompson is a researcher who has worked across the disciplines of geography and international development since 2007. He is currently a Fellow in the Participation Inclusion, and Social Change cluster at IDS. His research mainly focuses on disability inclusion.
He is currently the Principal Investigator of the Disability Inclusive Development Networks coordination project, which involves working with ten international networks that are focused on disability inclusive arts and humanities research. He previously worked on two major development projects – Inclusion Works and Inclusive Futures. Both were funded by UK Aid and focus on disability inclusion in low-income contexts. Stephen previously worked on the Knowledge and Evidence for Development programme, assisting the UK Government with evidence use and policy creation. He has research interests in education (with a particular focus on inclusive education and tertiary education). He is interested in participatory methodologies and sustainable development.
Stephen is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Sussex University. He is the co-convenor of the Master’s in Development Studies course. He lectures on participatory development, disability inclusive development, poverty, and research design. He previously lectured on global social policy at the University of Brighton. He is the School Research Ethics Officer and the Investigating Officer for Academic Misconduct. He sits on the Editorial Steering Committee for The Bulletin journal.
Stephen has geographical experience of working in Europe, Asia and Africa. He completed his doctorate at the Technological University Dublin in collaboration with University KwaZulu Natal, as an African Vision Research Institute Scholar. His doctoral research focused on the social and economic impact of visual impairment in Mozambique. He has completed research consultancies for various aid agencies including those belonging to the UK, Irish, Swiss, Australian, and Norwegian governments, as well as for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, and various non-government organisations. Between 2018 and 2021 he served on the Board of the charity Vision Action as a Trustee.
PhD supervision
Stephen is interested in supervising development studies PhDs focused on the themes of:
- Disability inclusion
- Blindness and visual impairment
- Inclusive education
- Tertiary education/Universities
- Marginalisation
- Participation
- Volunteering for development
- Development studies/international development
He has geographical experience in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, India, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia, Albania.
