Paul Perrin

Biography & Research

Paul Perrin is an associate professor of the practice in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame and a core-affiliated faculty member of the Pulte Institute for Global Development. He also is the academic director of the Integration Lab (i-Lab) for the Master of Global Affairs program.

Perrin’s work has spanned academic, government and non-governmental settings and has largely focused on building the evidence base around effectiveness of global development and humanitarian efforts. In particular, he studies how human dignity and flourishing is conceptualized and enacted in global contexts. He has extensive experience in adult education and technical writing, including briefings for senior government officials, peer-reviewed publications, and technical reports.

Before coming to Notre Dame, Perrin served as director for monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) at Catholic Relief Services and was a member of the senior management team for the Overseas Operations Division. In this role, he oversaw the development and implementation of a global MEAL strategy, which has led to the incorporation of evidence-based learning into Catholic Relief Services programming around the world. He also co-led the development of the agency’s Information and Communications Technology for Development strategy, stipulating an approach for using advances in technology to serve the needs of vulnerable populations.

Perrin also worked as senior technical advisor for health research and evaluation at Catholic Relief Services, as an associate in the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, and an information officer at USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. During his tenure at USAID, he served as editor-in-chief of two annual reports, an information coordinator for the Haiti earthquake response management team, and provider of information support for the Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia team.

Perrin holds a Ph.D. in international health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a certificate in humanitarian assistance. He also holds a master of public health and bachelor of arts in linguistics from Brigham Young University.

Recent Work

• "Understanding and addressing 'Benevolent Indignities': Unintentional violations of human dignity by well-meaning international actors" (World Development)
• "Applying a Dignity Lens in Migration and Displacement" (Journal on Migration and Human Security)
• "Finding Humanity in Resilience: a Call for a More Holistic Framework" (Resilent Universities, Ukrainian Catholic University Press
• "Explaining Variation in Treatment Effects: An Impact Evaluation and Mixed-Methods Study of Variation in Early Grade Reading Program Effects" (Comparative Education Review)

Courses

• Masters of Global Affairs Integration Lab, Semesters 1, 2, and 3
• Program Design, Management & Evaluation (master of global affairs course)
• Introduction to International Development Studies

In the Media

• To Rebuild American Trust in the SDGs, Localize with Youth’s Help (SDG Knowledge Hub, International Institute for Sustainable Development)