The Team
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Kamran Naim, Executive Director
Kamran is an information strategist, academic publishing executive, educator and researcher. His career has been devoted to the principle that access to scientific information empowers local communities, advances global health, and lays the necessary foundation for advancing socioeconomic equality.
Kamran brings to NIDA his experience in designing, managing and implementing programmes with international development agencies and organisations combined with his primary role as Head of Open Science, CERN, Geneva, exploring the potential of new mechanisms of communication (in particular Open Access) to drive and sustain changes and development.
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Rob Davies, Acting Director
United KingdomRob has over 40 years’ experience as an information professional. In his early career, he managed library and information operations in Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt and London for The British Council. He has advised government and leading international development agencies and foundations on the role and potential of libraries and information provision of all kinds and has initiated and led numerous European projects in the digital era. He now advises on strategies for data, digital culture, libraries and 'literacies'.
Some of his recent roles have included: Manager of the ViMM (Virtual Multimodal Museum) Coordination and Support Action (Horizon 2020); Chair of the European Task Force on Public Library Makerspaces; Member of the Advocacy and Research groups of Public Libraries2020; Evaluation and sustainability consultant to Future Library on the INELI-Balkans regional library leadership project; Libraries expert on the USAID-funded Sindh Reading Project Pakistan; Adviser to the ITN-DCH project to create a European cadre of cultural heritage PhD fellows under the EU Marie Curie programme.
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Nguyen Thi Bac, Senior Adviser
VietnamBac has over 25 years experience working in and with public library systems in Asia. She was formerly the director of the General Sciences Library, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and has held many positions as project manager and coordinator for regional and country programmes.
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Prof Kingo Mchombu, Senior Adviser
International University of Management, NamibiaA long-term advocate of the role of information in community development, Kingo also provides expertise in information and library training, as well as in impact assessment.
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Gloria Rodriguez, Senior Adviser
ColombiaGloria has over 25 years experience working in and with public library systems in Latin America. She was formerly the director of the Department of Culture and Libraries of Comfenalco Antioquia, in Medellín, Colombia.
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Valentina De Col, Adviser
ItalyValentina has a Masters in Environmental Science Technology and a Doctorate in Agricultural Science and Biotechnology. She is passionate about public understanding and involvement in science, especially when applied towards sustainable development. Formerly, NIDA's Programme & Research Manager, Connect with Science, Valentina has recently taken up a Research Fellowship with ICARDA (the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas).
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David Alcock, Senior Adviser
United KingdomFollowing a period in the British Council Libraries Department, David took a position as Head of Cataloguing and Acquisitions and Subject Librarian for Law, International Relations and Geography at the University of Surrey. From 1986-2010 he was Librarian of Jordanhill College of Education/Faculty of Education, Strathclyde University. His interests lie in education in its broadest sense, formal, informal and community. His experience in the international field has included collaborations with Egypt, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and most recently within the EU-Asia Link programme with the National University of East Timor in a project led by the Universidade do Minho in Portugal.
Within NIDA David contributes to the Impact Assessment portfolio, particularly within elearning in science and health literacies.
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Carol Priestley, Director Emeritus
United KingdomCarol has over 30 years experience working in international development and although now based in the UK spent many years in the field in various countries of Asia and Africa. Prior to joining NIDA, Carol was the founding director of the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP). In 2007 she was awarded the MBE for her services to science.
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Sue Wright, Finance Director
United KingdomSue is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and holds an MBA. She previously worked for a charity in the information field.
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