GHFP Research Fellows & Research Associates

The GHFP collaborates with scholars, experts and researchers in diverse fields to help in conducting our investigations into the main areas of our concern.

A focus on human-centredness and vitality in our research inquiries

Prof Garrett Thomson is the GHFP's Research Director. He received his DPhil from the Oxford University. Currently he is Compton Professor of Philosophy at the College of Wooster, USA. Garrett is the GHFP's CEO as well as Director of Research. He was formerly the CEO of the World Subud Association in 2005-2010. Garrett is the author of numerous books including Needs; Kant; Introduction to Modern Philosophy; and a series of introductory texts on Descartes, Locke, Aristotle, Kant, and Leibniz. He co-edited the six-volume The Longman Standard History of Philosophy. His other recent works include Una Introduccion a la Practica de la Filosofia, On Philosophy and On the Meaning of Life.

	Main areas of GHFP research inquiry

	Wellbeing and human values

	Good governance

	Human-Centred Development

	Peace

	Human-Centred Education

	Narrative Pedagogy

Dr Scherto Ruoshi Gill is GHFP's Research Fellow. Trained in education and sociology, she has developed with others the conceptual framework of 'human-centred education'. Accordingly the focus of her work addresses key questions related to human flourishing and transformation. As a social reseacher, Scherto is particularly interested in the significance of life histories and narratives in the shaping of a personal sense of self, integrity and the development and identification of courses of action in line with individual values. Scherto is also a Visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex where she leads the teaching and learning of a cohort of students who focus their study on human-centred education, as part of the MA in Education Studies.

Prof Ivor Goodson is a visiting Research Fellow at the GHFP. He is also Professor of Learning Theory at he University of Brighton, and Joss Owen Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. He is the Founding editor of the Journal of Education Policy. Ivor has spent the last 30 years researching, thinking and writing about some of the key and enduring issues in education and has contributed over 50 books and 600 articles to the field. Life-History and narrative research specialisations represent a particular area of competence as does his research on teacher’s lives and careers and teacher professionalism. Ivor was recently given the Michael Huberman award at the American Educational Research Association for his work on teachers’ lives; he has just been given an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Gothenburg and made a Laureate of the Phi Delta Kappan Society in the USA.

Dr Livingston Armytage is a Visiting Research Fellow at the GHFP. He is a specialist practitioner in judicial and legal reform. He advises governments, courts, aid agencies on reforming justice systems around the world. He is also adjunct professor of law, University of Sydney. With over thirty years' experience directing programs of justice reform, judicial development and civil litigation; Livingston has been a Senior counsel, project director, team leader and technical specialist on ADB, AusAID, United Nations, World Bank and USAID projects in many countries. His expertise includes policy formulation, strategic planning, project design, program direction and management, need assessment, training, performance monitoring and evaluation. He has published widely and his most recent monograph "Reforming Justice" is in press with Cambridge University Press (April, 2012).

Frédéric Richard is a Research Associate at the GHFP. He has Diploma de l'Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP) and received an MBA from Columbia University, New York. He started his career as Professor in management and organization development at the ESCP. He then joined the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) where he worked for more than 20 years, including 10 years as Director. He introduced and managed new and innovative approaches and programmes to support the development of local clusters of SMEs in developing countries and to promote systems of governance based on consultations and cooperation between the government, the private sector and the technical and financial support institutions. He now works as a consultant advising on new forms of strategic governance to a sustainable industrialization in developing countries in a context of globalization of industry and rapid technological changes.

Dr Josef Boehle is a Visiting Research Fellow at the GHFP. He works as a Research Fellow in Globalisation, Religion and Politics at the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, and is also the Focal Point of the UN Alliance of Civilizations at the University. Apart from teaching 'Religion and Peacebuilding', Josef is currently working on ‘Religion and Peacebuilding in International Relations', a research project jointly sponsored by the GHFP. He is also completing a publication on 'Religion in a Global Age'. Josef has worked with international interreligious organisations for many years and helped organise major conferences and summits addressing interreligious, intercultural and inter-civilisational issues. In October 2010 he was one of the Interfaith Visionaries honoured at the 50th Anniversary Gala and Conference of the Temple of Understanding in New York City.