Biography
Tim Lann, DPhil student studying under Professor Paulo Savaget, is exploring the central research question — "How can development institutions (such as USAID, The World Bank, UNDP etc.) better support an acceleration towards net-zero in low/middle income countries?"
He is currently studying the case of Armenia, a positive outlier in recent renewable energy trends. From 2019-2023, USAID ran a project which simultaneously developed digital energy infrastructure and institutionalized a liberalized energy market. Shortly after this intervention, investment in renewables in Armenia skyrocketed. How did this innovation ecosystem USAID co-designed with the Government of Armenia lead to these results and how could this design be modified and applied in much larger low/middle income countries?
Tim seeks to better understand the optimal systems design of multilateral development interventions in the renewable energy sector to maximize long-term sustainability and self-reliance. Only 5% of countries are "on-track" to reach 2050 net zero goals and with billions in aid committed to developing renewable energy in low/middle income countries, it is essential that these interventions are designed to maximize the ability for countries to sustainably transition to and maintain net-zero.
In addition to working on his DPhil, Tim works in the "real world" of International Development project implementation. He has led USAID, UNDP, and IDB projects in Armenia, Barbados, Bangladesh, Moldova, Liberia, The Bahamas, Afghanistan, and India. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Stanford University.
