William Higgins

william.higgins@sciencespo.fr
+33 (0)6 46 37 86 69

Education

  • First in Class:

    The Art of Peace, Peace Mediation and Conflict Resolution, History/Restructuring of the Chinese Economy, Agriculture and Food in the Global Agenda.

    Related Coursework

    Architecture of International Development Finance, Sustainability and Growth in Developing Countries, Development Evaluation in Africa, Advanced Political Analysis, Development Economics (Macro), Sustainable Finance, Macro Monetary Policy Analysis, Development Strategies and Development Banking

  • Specialisation:
    Peacebuilding, UN Peacekeeping.

    Dissertation: First Class
    Peacebuilding theory development and application to post-war food systems.

    Extracurricular:
    Direct of Operations - St Andrews Charity Polo Tournament
    Managed budget of £70,000 and team of 6 peers; Welcome over 1,700 guests and raised over £10,000 for Help for Heroes.

    President - St Andrews Model UN
    Organised multiple-day conference for over 100 attendees from Europe and Africa.

  • Awarded the Kathryn Davis Peace Fellowship

    7-week intensive immersion; only French is permitted to speak, read, and listen to.

Professional Experience

  • Barka is an impact fund focused on African entrepreneurs taking measures to address urgent climate and environmental challenges in their communities. Barka supports their efforts to scale environmental and climate solutions and build sustainable companies.

    Barka also provides investment advisory services to technical assistance programs and philanthropic investment organisation in Africa.

    https://barkafund.com

  • Alongside my final year at Sciences Po, launched a research project into soil health from farming, investing, cultural and geo-strategic angles. (English and French)

    Research:
    Interviewed investors, farmers, academics, and other experts on farming methods, investment strategies, and government policies for improving soil health and food systems in the UK, France, and USA; Volunteered on a ‘no-input farm’ in France.

    Project Development / Writing:
    Launched a Substack and Instagram newsletter based on my research and ongoing conversations.

    Consulting:
    Editorial and business development for The Land Gardeners; e-label.io (France).
    Hospitality project feasibility study for a private investment fund.

  • Meridiam is a private investment fund focused on long-term, sustainable infrastructure in Europe, Africa, and North America. (English and French)

    Policy Development & Analysis:
    Presented research and analysis of the SFDR, TCFD, TNFD, and EU Taxonomy impacts on Meridiam’s operations; analyzed Meridiam’s NZAM commitments, proposing real-economy and off-set strategies to achieve the goals; Utilized research to update Meridiam’s Suitability Risk Policy, help write their first TCFD report, and for Investor Relations presentations.

    Reporting, Monitoring, & Evaluation:
    Responsible for reporting sustainability and ESG data and narratives to LPs; analyzed Meridiam’s proprietary M&E system, proposing methodological updates informed by policy analysis and trends in LP requests.

  • The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) represents Industry associations from OECD member states providing private sector insight to OECD research and policy development. (English and French)

    Policy Coordination and Development:
    Collated positions across jurisdictions and industries to develop BIAC’s policy stance, speaking points, and comments to OECD working papers. Organized input from global membership to write 2 major policy papers on International Trade and International Agricultural Policies. Wrote regular briefings on OECD developments for membership.

  • The Military Staff Committee (MSC) at the US Mission to the United Nations represents the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the UN-MSC and advises the US Ambassador to the UN.

    Policy Coordination, Logistics: drafted cables, meeting read outs, policy memos outlining current debates in committees and Working Groups, analysing potential issues and opportunities.
    Coordinated State, DOD, and UNDPKO to plan a trip to UNMISS for a Major General and 3 senior military officers.

  • Blue Hill at Stone Barns is a two star Michelin, 12th Best Restaurant in the World (2018) – Focus on locally sourced produce from organic, regenerative, and/or sustainable producers.

    Event Planning, Management, Logistics:
    Responsible for daily menu coordination, guest list management; organizing on-farm vendor logistics, private dining room bookings for Blue Hill NYC. Assisted with event management (10-200+ guests) on and off-site.

  • Download three standing letters of recommendation from the US Military Staff Committee and the OECD (BIAC).

Professional Writing Samples

Academic
Writing Samples

  • The Anatomy and Implications of Repealing the Reporting Requirement of the UN’s 1533 Sanctions Regime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Beginning in 2003, the UN established the 1533 Sanctions Regime for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to signal support for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, help facilitate Security Sector Reform (SSR) and improve Weapons and Ammunition Management (WAM). Within the sanctions regime, a requirement for member states selling weapons to the government of the DRC to inform the UN Security Council[1], known as the “Reporting Requirement,” was a point of controversy for the DRC and its allies…
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    Chapter Review: Material Politics, Disputes Along the Pipeline
    Notwithstanding the monist-dualist speedbump, Barry’s political geography lens of analysis for pipelines and infrastructure projects illuminates a new and worthwhile space of analysis for international relations and critically highlights that transparency is a strategic tool and not in principle a conduit for good social and environmental governance.
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    Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Analysis with 2023 Update
    This report was produced in 2020, at the start of renewed violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The military and political situation has shifted greatly since that period. At the current time (August 2023), Azerbaijan is blockading an Armenian envoy of humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh; Azerbaijan has kept the Nagorno-Karabakh increasingly isolated over past 8 months; and, the Armenian Prime Minister recently announced a major policy reversal, articulating his willingness to, in the near future, rencognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity over the region.
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    Article Review: Dessler “What is At Stake in the Agency Structure Debate”
    Dessler’s expanded ontology under the transformational model cannot be thought of as presenting any objective truth. Rather, it achieves its own goal of accepting social rules for a structural interpretation of international relations. Dessler has a personal purpose for how he decides to expand ontology. Thus, as much as Dessler achieves eliminating structural determinism of Waltz’s theory, not recognizing Dessler’s own agency as an actor in international relations ignores the deterministic aspect of accepting any theory as objective, dualist and separate from the world the theorist theorizes.
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  • Fed Data Dependent Talking Points Are Here to Stay
    With AIT the Fed is able to remain flexible, based on incoming data, at decision making points, and it is able to maintain its credibility by sticking to a clear decision making framework without being held accountable for getting inflation to 2% by a specific date. Thus, Fed officials cannot discuss at what point they would have enough data to begin reducing interest rates without publicly disclosing (if one exists) the Fed’s timeline for AIT — in turn losing its decision making flexibility and potentially damaging their credibility by not reaching 2% inflation within a set period.
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    Monetary Policy and Information Effects: Romer and Romer (2004) and Beige and Green Books
    A short essay responding to the prompt “Can the Romer and Romer (2004) monetary policy shocks still be faulty of including information effects?”
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    Data Dependence and US Monetary Policy
    Richard Clarida, vice-chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve, made a speech entitled “Data Dependence and U.S. Monetary Policy” on November 27, 2018. The following is a short brief on decision making frameworks and subsequent communications on monetary policy decisions and incoming data.
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