Noha El-Mikawy
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25 years of experience in philanthropy management, policy advice on governance, multidisciplinary governance research, project development/management, teaching and publishing.
Wide network of partners in research and policy in the Global North and South.
Well-developed communication, negotiation and mentoring skills in English, German and Arabic.
Education
1985-1991 Ph.D. in Comparative Politics
Thesis: Predicament of Consensus Building in Transition to Liberal Democracy in Egypt
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
1983-1985 M.A. in Comparative Politics & International Relations
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
1977-1981 B.A. in Political Science
American University in Cairo (AUC)
Post Graduate and Executive Training
2016
Executive Leadership Training
Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, USA
2010
Executive Training
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA
2003
Bridging Research and Policy
Overseas Development Institute, U.K.
1986
Summer Internship
United Nations Information Office, Switzerland
Professional Experience: Management and Policy Advice
2012 to date
Ford Foundation
Regional Representative/Regional Director
2009-2012
UNDP Regional Center for the Arab States Region
Regional Team Leader for Governance based in Egypt
2007-2009
UNDP Oslo Governance Center
Policy Advisor on governance & legal empower based in Norway
2005-2007
Regional Service Hub of UNDP
Regional Policy Advisor based in Lebanon
Professional Experience: Academic Teaching & Research
2001-2007
Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn (Germany)
Coordinator of Middle East Political Economy Research
2000-2001
Economic Research Forum (ERF)
Peer Review as ERF Fellow: EU funded Country Profiles: Governance Chapter; Global
Development Network GDN: Brazil meeting in 2001
1998-1999
Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn (Germany)
Project Manager
1993-1999
Universities of Erlangen, Free University of Berlin, City University Frankfurt (Germany)
Adjunct Professor of Middle East Politics & Human Resource Management
1991-1993
American University in Cairo (AUC)
Assistant Professor of Political Science
1988-1991
University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA)
Teaching and Research Assistant in Political Science & Middle Eastern History
1984-1988
University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA)
Peer Counsellor for Foreign Students
1981-1984
IFPRI in cooperation with the National Institute for Planning, Egypt
Research Assistant for Egypt’s first comprehensive food production survey
Publications
2016
“Egypt: The Protracted Transition from Authoritarianism to Democracy and Social Justice” in
Democratic Transitions in the Arab World, S. Makdisi & I. El Badawi eds. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
2015
“Arab Philanthropy: From Social Giving to Social Change” in Alliance (London based journal of
philanthropy), Vol 20, #3, Fall, p. 22.
2012
UNDP Arab Development Challenges Report
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/hdr/arab-development-challengesreport-2011.html
2009
“Judicial Reform in the Arab Region” in A.Dias & G. Welch eds. Justice for the Poor: perspectives
on accelerating access. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
2009
Gender Sensitive Measurement of Social Service Delivery. Ed. UNDP and UN Women Publication
2007
“Governance in Fragile Contexts” in International Experiences in Fragile States Bonn: BMZ.
2005
“Medien im arabishcen Raum” in Medien und Entwicklung. Bonn: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung p. 31.
2004
“Governance and Institutional Issues” in Egypt: Country Profile. The Road Ahead for Egypt. A
FEMISE Network Publication, December, p. 119.
2004
“Institutional Reform in Support of Economic Transition in the MENA Countries” in IEMed
Yearbook 2003-4, IEMed, Barcelona, Spain.
2004
“Institutionelle Reformen und Wachstum in Aegypten” in S. Wippel ed. Wirtschaftsreformen im
arabischen Raum. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag.
2003
“Media and Civil Society” E+Z, vol 31, #7, July, p. 282.
2003
“Governance Trends” INAMO, 9:36, Winter, p. 18.
2003
“Getting the Basics Right” EPD:Entwicklungspolitik, #13, July.
2003
“Political Economy Aspects of Trade Reform in Egypt” in Ghoneim and Nasser eds. Institutional
and Policy Challenges Facing the Egyptian Economy. Cairo University: Center of Economic and
Financial Research.
2002
Institutional Reform and Economic Development in Egypt. Cairo: AUC Press.
2002
“Labor Representation in the Age of Globalization” with M. Posusney in Employment Creation
and Social Protection in the Middle East and North Africa Handoussa and Tzannatos eds. Cairo:
AUC Press.
2002
“Islamic Economic Thought in Egypt: Should We Take It Seriously?” Discussion Paper #87, Free
University of Berlin, Center for Modern Oriental Studies, Schwarz Verlag ISSN 0942-3052.
2000
“Perceptions of the Social Role of the State in Egypt” in Discourses in Contemporary Egypt:
Politics and Social Issues. E. Hill, ed. Cairo: Cairo Papers in Social Sciences, vol 22, # 4.
2000
“Institutional Reform of Economic Legislation, the Case of Egypt” Discussion Paper Series #30,
Bonn: ZEF.
1999
Building Consensus and the Politics of Transition in Egypt. Cairo: AUC Press.
1999
“The Informal Sector and the Conservative Consensus in Egypt” in H. Afshar ed. Globalization
and Fragmentation. London: Macmillan.
1998
“Die Reflexionen der Politik in aegyptischen Spielfilmen” in W. Hofmann ed. Visuelle Politik.
Munich: Nomos Publishers.
1993
“The New Clinton Administration: People and Foreign Policy” in The New American
Administration and the Middle East. Cairo: Cairo University Center for Political Research and
Studies (in Arabic)
1992
“The US and its Role in the New World Order” in The Structures and Processes of the New World
Order. Cairo University: Center for Political Research and Studies (in Arabic).
1991
“The Egyptian Parliament and Transition to Democracy” in American Arab Affairs, #36, Spring.
Courses Taught
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Institutional Analysis in the Middle East and North Africa (ZEF, University of Bonn)
Islamic Political Thought (University of Erlangen, Germany)
Politics and Film in Egypt (University of Erlangen, Germany)
Comparative Government in the Middle East (Free University Berlin, Germany)
Strategic Human Resource Management (City University, Frankfurt, Germany)
Transition to Democracy in Comparative Perspective (AUC, Egypt)
The Political Economy of Democratization (AUC, Egypt)
Introduction to World Politics and Political Thought (as teaching assistant at UCLA)
Reader and Reviewer
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UNDP National Human Development Reports on Decentralization, Civil Society, Youth and Social
Justice (Egypt)
UNDP national report on the role of business in development (Egypt)
UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia Outlook Report (regional)
Carnegie Endowment on Shrinking of Public Space (Thomas Carothers)
Carnegie Endowment on assistance to countries in transition (Thomas Carothers)
Editorial Experience
2002-2005
2002
1992-2000
ZEF Newsletter (Bonn, Germany)
Guest Editor of Forum of ERF (Cairo, Egypt)
International book review editor at al-Siyasa al-Dawlia
Program and Project Formulation, Needs Assessments, Evaluations, Trainings
2005-2010
Parliamentary Strengthening in Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, UAE, Iraq (UNDP)
Civil Service Reform in Somalia (UNDP)
Gender Empowerment in Kuwait and Bahrain (UNDP)
Public Administration Reform in Syria and Tunisia (UNDP)
Judicial Reform in Yemen (UNDP)
Gender Sensitive Analysis and Programming for Country Offices in Arab Region (UNDP)
Rights based Approach to Regional Bureau Arab States, New York (UNDP)
2004
Program Officers of European Training Foundation on governance in Arab region
2003
Professors and university officers of EU Tempus Program on higher education
cooperation in Arab region
1995
1992-1993
Training Yemeni engineers of GITEC Consulting (in Germany)
Training African visitors of Egyptian International Institute of Agronomy
1983-1988
Counselling foreign students and scholars at UCLA
Development of Cross Practice Research Projects (Germany)
2004
Education Reform in Morocco, Jordan, Yemen and Egypt
Project size: 60,000 Euros from German BMZ
Team: 4 Institutes in Morocco, Jordan, Yemen and 4 Egyptian researchers
2001-2004
Law making, Participation and Economic Reform
Project size: 250,000 Euros from German BMZ
Team: 10 professors and researchers in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco
1998-2001
Institutional Reform and Economic Development in Egypt
Project size: 60,000 Euros from Center for Economic Research at University of Bonn
Team: 5 professors, researchers, and Ph.D. candidates in Egypt
Organizer of International Conference for Comparative Experience on Transitions
2012
Cairo Conference on Transitions; first such gathering in June 2012 to include transition
experts from South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico and Chile.
Civil Society Participation
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Speaker for the Arab Region Civil Society Delegation to the G-8 Meeting, NY 2004
ERF research fellow (a think tank on economic research for Arab states, Iran and Turkey)
Member of the Civic Forum, an NGO in defense of liberal values in Egypt