Julie Brittain appointed executive director of INASP

Brittain brings to the role 30 years of working in the information sector, with a particular focus on the intersection between research knowledge and international development.

For the past four years she was INASP’s deputy executive director and director of programmes. In this role, she was instrumental in setting the direction of and securing funding for INASP’s Strengthening Research Knowledge Systems (SRKS) programme and VakaYiko, an INASP-led consortium to support evidence-informed policy making.

Prior to joining INASP, Brittain was head of library at the Institute of Development Studies. She also spent six years with the British Council, based in Nairobi, and seven in Zimbabwe with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies. As well as managing libraries, Brittain has worked as a lecturer and consultant.

Brittain said: 'We have had four very good years under Sue Corbett’s leadership – the organisation has doubled in size in terms of both staff and income, our funders trust us to do good work and our partners trust that we are committed to building long-term sustainability and to listening to their concerns. We have a very good reputation in the sector, which is one of the reasons we are continuing to attract and retain excellent staff.'

She continued: 'I am very excited by the opportunity to continue this good work and to grow INASP’s reputation in the sector. I am also really looking forward to working with the team to demonstrate more clearly how we are making an impact and to align our work even more closely with the new sustainable development goals (SDGs).'