Sidonie East graduated in 2022, winning both Best Overall Performance and also the Best Overall Dissertation. She has also been nominated for the DSA Masters Dissertation Prize 2023. She shares her journey so far, and where she hopes her career will take her next.
Before coming to IDS I worked at an INGO called Sightsavers, that works on disability rights, preventing curable blindness and treating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Prior to this, in 2019, I graduated from my undergraduate degree in International Development at the University of Sussex. For my undergraduate degree I finished top of my class and received the Pramit Chaudhuri Memorial Prize for Best Performance in International Development.
Choosing the right Master’s
My Master’s at IDS was in Globalisation, Business and Development. The reason I chose this course was a module in my undergraduate degree, titled Wealth, Inequality and Development taught by Paul Gilbert. For the module I wrote an essay which explored whether the Sustainable Development Goals could be achieved without closing tax loopholes, using case studies of tax avoidance in the mining sector in Tanzania and Zambia. Through exploring this topic I found out about the work of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) hosted at IDS. The module changed my life and while I enjoyed my work at Sightsavers I knew that I really wanted to try to move towards working in this subject area, and believe the MA Globalisation, Business and Development at IDS will help facilitate this.
Deciding on a focus for my dissertation
During my Master’s I continued to work on papers which built on my passion for corporate accountability, justice for affected communities and tackling tax avoidance, particularly in the mining sector. My dissertation was a culmination of all of these things. The title was: Is Transparency Enough? An Examination of the Effect of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) on Accountability, Corruption and Trust in Zambia.
The EITI is the leading global transparency standard for the extractive industry. It aims to improve governance standards in the industry, by providing a public platform for information sharing and multi-stakeholder dialogue. However, the success of the initiative has been brought into question by numerous scholars. My dissertation aimed to shed new light on this work by presenting a unique analytical framework. The framework hypothesises that improved transparency, through the EITI, can lead to improved extractive industry governance, in the form of increased accountability, reduced corruption and increased trust.
However, I hypothesised that this improvement of governance can only take place when combined with three scope conditions:
- Transparency condition
- Publicity condition
- Accountability condition.
The dissertation applied this framework to the single case study of Zambia and found that the EITI has failed to meaningfully improve these three governance outcomes in the extractive industry in Zambia. The dissertation argued that the reason for this is that none of the three necessary scope conditions are sufficiently present.
The biggest challenge
Throughout the Master’s I faced a constant battle with my own confidence, self-belief and perfectionist tendencies. I would like to say that winning these awards has allowed me to miraculously overcome these issues, but I think that this will likely be a lifelong journey of learning with myself.
Studying at IDS has been an amazing experience. The tutors are incredible and the location on the South Downs is gorgeous. However, the most valuable of all is the community that comes along with it. I have met the most wonderful, intelligent, interesting and kind human beings imaginable through studying at IDS. I was elated and in complete disbelief when I found out about winning Best Dissertation and Best Overall Performance! But I would not have been able to claim these achievements if it was not for their support. I hope to carry their friendship and support with me for the rest of my life!
Next steps
I am currently working as a researcher for a Dutch NGO called SOMO. SOMO conducts action-oriented research to expose the impact and unprecedented power of multinationals and show the underlying structures that enable them. I hope to continue in this role for a very long time because I love the organisation and the work that they do!
I have also secured a small amount of funding from the ICTD to adapt my dissertation into a publishable working paper, which I am very excited about!
One day I hope to do a PHD, but I am in no rush to jump into that just yet!
Linda Waldman, Director of Teaching & Learning at IDS, said:
Sidonie’s work demonstrates exceptional clarity of vision. She is able to exercise superior judgement in her analysis of development-related topics. Her in-depth, nuanced understanding of the role of business in relation to development, combined with her values-driven approach, positions her extremely well to contribute productively to future debates on the role of business in development. In a few years’ time, I envisage her to be at the forefront of high-level policy processes that seek to enhance business’ role in development, whether she chooses to pursue this through working in research, policymaking or practice.
Her dissertation was described by her examiners as ‘phenomenal’, ‘of the highest quality’, and ‘outstanding’. This is in part because it develops ‘original ideas and insights, comprehensively covers the topic and makes highly perceptive use of original and secondary data, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of these sources’, and offers ‘a great case study integrated with a highly appropriate analytical framework’. It is also because the work is ‘exceptionally well-written’, makes ‘brilliant use of illustrative materials’ and – perhaps most importantly – generates ‘novel findings that have important and actionable implications for practice’.
Her MA course convenor described her as ‘an exceptionally committed and thoughtful student, an independent thinker, and a person who is kind to others’.