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Francis J. Lethem, Professor of the Practice Emeritus  

Office Location: 266 Rubenstein Hall, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 90237
Email Address: francis.lethem@duke.edu

Areas of Expertise

  • International
    • Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping
    • Development Management and Governance
    • Human Rights
    • International Development

Education:
Ph.D., University of Neuchatel (Switzerland), 1967
B.A., University of Antwerp (Belgium), 1961

Research Categories: International Development and Institutional Development

Research Description: Institutional design; development project design; human resources development; project design for conflict prevention all in relation with developing countries

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. DCID Faculty Team. "Chap 6. Some Cross-Cutting Lessons.." Doing Dams Better: The Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Story of Nam Theun 2. Ed. Ian Porter and J. Shivakumar. World Bank, December, 2010  [abs] [author's comments]
  2. Team, DCIDF. "Chap 6. Some Cross-Cutting Lessons.." Doing Dams Better: The Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Story of Nam Theun 2. Ed. Porter, I; Shivakumar, J World Bank, December, 2010  [abs]
  3. F.J. Lethem. "Towards an appropriate institutional design methodology." odii.com. (2010). Addition of one new edited paper to series started in 2002: "From AIC to AIC-IA: Applying the AIC Framework to Capacity Building. The Case of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo", by Selim Selimi (2010)
  4. F.J. Lethem. "Towards an appropriate institutional design methodology." (2002). Introduction to edited papers by PIDP Fellows prepared for the Duke University seminar "Institutional Design for more sustainable Development". www.Odi.com (Papers/Duke University International Development Program). The series, started in 2002, includes: Could Georgia's Small Farmer Support Project have been successful? by Nino Partskhaladze; Establishment of Agricultural Services in a Transition County, by Inna Bayda; Institutional Analysis of a Business Development Project, by Samir Nuryev; Commercial Banking for Rural Development: A Cautionary Tale, by Santhosh Thiruthimana; Resettling Expelled Villagers to their Place of Origin--20 Years Later, by Dalia Kaikhasraw; From Post-conflict Emergency Towards Longer Term Sustainability: Restructuring Kosovo's Customs Service Administration, by Edmond Mjekiqi (2006); Managing by Influence for the Common Good: India’s SAMBANDH Network, by Santosh Passi (2006); Restructuring the institutional design of an infrastructure development project in Guanajuato, Mexico, by Francisco Javier Luna Lopez(2007)
  5. Lethem, FJ. Towards an appropriate institutional design methodology.  2002.

Curriculum Vitae

Highlight:
Francis Lethem is Professor of the Practice Emeritus at the Duke Center for International Development (DCID), after stepping down after 9 years as its Director. He is also a Board member and Co-Director Emeritus of the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center. His primary interests are in the areas of institutional design in relation to sustainable development, the design and management of sustainable development projects, project design for conflict prevention, and human resources development including capacity building in developing and transition countries.

Before joining Duke in 1994, Lethem worked for about 30 years at the World Bank in operations (human resources development and institutional development), as a policy adviser (regarding project generation and design including their social and capacity building aspects), and as adviser responsible for quality assurance of the Bank's Eastern Africa project portfolio. Over the years, his work experience has been primarily in Africa and Latin America, though he also worked in the Middle East and in East and South Asia.

Lethem earned his doctorate in economics from Neuchatel University (Switzerland) in 1967 and is the co-author of World Bank Staff Working Papers on organization design, the consideration of human factors in development work, land tenure, and the management of technical assistance.

Bio/Profile
Francis Lethem is Associate Dean for Executive Education Programs at the Sanford School of Public Policy, Director of the Duke Center of International Development (DCID), Co-Director of the Duke-UNC Rotary program in Peace and Conflict Resolution, and a Professor of the Practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy. His primary interests are in the areas of institutional design in relation to sustainable development, the design and management of sustainable development projects, project design for conflict prevention, and human resources development including capacity building in developing and transition countries.

Before joining Duke in 1994, Lethem worked for about 30 years at the World Bank both in operations (human resources development and institutional development), as a policy adviser (regarding project generation and design including their social and capacity building aspects), and as adviser responsible for quality assurance of the Bank's Eastern Africa project portfolio. Over the years, his work experience has been primarily in Africa and Latin America, though he also worked in the Middle East and in East and South Asia.

Lethem earned his doctorate in economics from Neuchatel University (Switzerland) in 1967 and is the co-author of World Bank Staff Working Papers on organization design, the consideration of human factors in development work, and the management of technical assistance.

Francis J. Lethem