In-Profile – Mike Keshishian, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

In his interview for DeLoG's Newsletter No. 54 Mike Keshishian provides us with insights into USAID's approach to decentralisation, discusses their recently published study on decentralised governance and accountability and the importance of future research on local governance in its different settings.

 

Mike Keshishian is a Senior Decentralisation and Local Governance Expert on the Governance and Rule of Law Division. He has worked for USAID/DC since 1998, with a focus on evaluating the sectors of local governance, decentralisation and urbanization. Mike Keshishian lived in Armenia for five years where he worked on World Bank and USAID-funded projects but he also has a lot of experience in Africa as well. Mike speaks fluent German and proficient Armenian and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning.

As USAID’s focal point for DeLoG, Mike shares his perspective on the role that decentralisation plays for the organisation’s work as well as his insights on the benefits of decentralisation, the need for cooperation across all governmental levels and how COVID-19 has impacted USAID's work globally. He also discusses USAID's recently published study on decentralised governance and accountability and the importance of future research on local governance in its different settings.

Read the full interview here.