Laura Chappell

Associate director for international policy

Laura is associate director for international policy at IPPR, where she is building a new programme of work on progressive international policy.

Before joining IPPR Laura spent 12 years working on international policy across three government departments. Areas of focus have included the IMF and multilateral development banks; fragility, state-building and the rule of law; private finance including blended finance and global debt markets; climate and nature including deforestation, carbon markets and sustainable agriculture; and economic development and investment in Africa.

Laura has lived and worked across Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. She has led large, multi-country teams, and overseen portfolios of up to £700m. Laura has held a board seat on a financial institution in Uganda and had a regular column on India in Progress magazine.

Prior to working for government Laura spent five years at IPPR, working on migration, development and UK economic policy. While at IPPR she made regular media appearances, including on the BBC's Today programme, Radio 5 Live, and BBC News 24.

Laura has a masters in development economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies where she won the taught masters prize for excellence 2003 – 2004.

More from this author:

  1. Entrance sign at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office in Westminster

    Reset: Building modern partnerships with the countries of the global south

    The UK's relationships with many countries of the ‘global south’ are in a poor state.
  2. Shipping containers at Port of Southampton captured by drone at sunrise

    Navigating trade-offs in the global economy: A framework for a world between orders

    The UK must navigate a new era of geopolitics, characterised by competition, conflict and instability. 
  3. A UK border controls office behind a chain linked fence

    Aid for asylum hosting: Time to act

    Following the recently announced cuts to aid spending – taking official development assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI to 0.3 per cent – it is time for the government to act, to ensure that asylum and refugee related costs take up a…