Neil Thin
Neil Thin is social anthropologist in the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, with 30 years of combined experience in research, planning, policy-making and grassroots activity in UK, South Asia, South-East Asia, Africa, and Latin America on social planning, sustainable development, poverty, and happiness. He has since the early 1980s been continuously active in international development cooperation as an adviser, trainer, planner, and policy evaluator at all levels from project work with local NGOs to policy analysis for global agencies such as the World Bank, UN-FAO, OECD-DAC, and UK-DFID. His book Social Progress and Sustainable Development (Rugby: ITDG Publications, 2002) was commissioned by the World Bank and UK-DFID. His latest book Social Happiness: Research into Policy and Practice (Bristol: Policy Press, 2012) explores the potential for synthesizing knowledge and understanding from multiple research traditions and from the full variety of the world's cultural traditions, so as to promote effective use of a 'happiness lens' in all domains of social development policy and practice. He is currently serving on the United Nations panel of experts, led by the Government of Bhutan, to take forward plans relating to the July 2011 UN Resolution on happiness and development. He is also an inaugural editorial board member two new journals: the International Journal of Wellbeing, and the International Journal of Happiness and Development.
Chrystal Macmillan Building
George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9LL
United Kingdom
Email: n.thin@ed.ac.uk
Web: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/social_anthropology/thin_neil
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