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Abrar Chaudhury

Senior Research Fellow


Saïd Business School
University of Oxford
Park End Street
Oxford
OX1 1HP

Profile

Abrar conducts research on topics of global environmental change, climate finance and corporate purpose.

He is affiliated with Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI) and is a Fellow of Green Templeton College.

Abrar is currently on a prestigious three-year British Academy Fellowship at Oxford, investigating the ways in which dedicated climate funding, such as the Green Climate Fund, and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and distributed ledgers, shape implementation and diffusion of climate action in Pakistan and emerging economies.

He was on the core research team for a pioneering Oxford collaboration with EY Global, to understand how and why C-Suite and Boards from large global MNCs are again focused on corporate ‘purpose’ in a turbulent global economy. The findings contribute to a global research initiative on corporate transformation to meet the challenges of the early 21st century. 

Abrar is the recipient of the ‘Best Dissertation’ award (2017) from the Academy of Management, Organisations and the Natural Environment (ONE) Division. He publishes widely in leading academic journals and presents at global and speciality conferences in management and strategy, innovation, climate change policy and practice, and environmental sustainability.

Abrar earned a doctorate in Environmental Change and Management, an MBA and an MSc in Environmental Management (Distinction), all from the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA). His doctoral research explored the organisational and network challenges of implementation to develop and deliver climate change adaptation policy in emerging economies, based on extensive fieldwork in Ghana, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Prior to Oxford, Abrar was a partner in a leading accounting firm in Pakistan.

Expertise:

  • organisational theory and change
  • corporate purpose and strategy
  • policy design and implementation
  • climate change and finance
  • sustainable agriculture and food systems
  • social network applications
  • systems thinking and futures
  • financial and management accounting

Read Abrar's CV.

Research

Abrar’s research interests span challenges at the intersection of environmental management, sustainable development and organisational theory.

Abrar is an experienced multidisciplinary researcher drawing expertise from accounting, management and environmental disciplines. He uses innovative mixed-methods approach of social network analysis, participatory action, community-based research, interviews and various forms of content analysis to study how policy translates into action on the ground.

Currently he is developing a novel research methodology to study how global climate change funding regime is emerging and how it would shape climate action in emerging economies.

Publications

  • Ariella Helfgott,
  • Gerald Midgley,
  • Abrar Chaudhury,
  • Joost Vervoort,
  • Chase Sova,
  • Alex Ryan

Meta-organisations and clusters in climate regimes(opens in new window)

  • Journal article
  • Clusters and Sustainable Regional Development: A Meta-Organisational Approach
  • Abrar Chaudhury,
  • Carolina Stecca Douek
  • Saher Hasnain,
  • Abrar Chaudhury
  • Abrar Chaudhury,
  • Thomas Thornton,
  • Ariella Helfgott,
  • Chase Sova
See more publications

Engagement

Abrar works closely with governments, funders, private sector and research institutions to translate research into practice.

Abrar is a global professional with over 20 years of experience in technology, consulting and research contexts across continents and sectors. He has recently completed country profile for Pakistan and the Punjab for Climate Smart Agriculture funded by the World Bank and Food and Agriculture Organisation. The findings from the profile were launched in the United Nation’s Conference of Parties (COP24) for climate change in Poland in 2019.

Previously Abrar worked on a multidisciplinary research project funded by CGIAR’s Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security Research Program (CCAFS) focused on resilience and adaptive capacity of food systems to climate change across national structures.

Teaching

Abrar is an experienced teacher, contributing to Oxford programmes on the MBA, EMBA and Executive Education

He teaches on speciality electives on global challenges, futures, governance and innovation, and as a lecturer on the ECI MSc degree. He has substantial experience as an Oxford tutor in small groups and with individuals, including leading MBA groups on the Global Opportunities and Threats Oxford (GOTO) initiative. Abrar is the Faculty Advisor on the Oxford 1+1 MBA Programme.

He has worked for many years with executives as a convenor and facilitator for public sector and private workshops around governance and environment in emerging economies.

Oxford Answers

Thought-leadership and insights for business leaders written by our Faculty and Associate Fellows.

View articles by Abrar.

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