Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Leadership, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Robert Wilkinson teaches graduate courses on negotiation and leadership effectiveness. In 2023, he won the Harvard Kennedy School Carballo Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Rob has more than 30 years of experience, in over 50 countries, across the public, private and not-profit sectors. He supports numerous organizations of all kinds to help them increase their overall effectiveness.
Rob’s non-profit and public sector clients include the United Nations, World Bank, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), US Postal Service, Oxfam, CARE International, and several others. Corporate clients include IBM, Deloitte, Merck, ExxonMobil, Bank of America, Walmart and many others.
Since 2011, Rob has regularly consulted for the White House, supporting the Leadership Development Team within the White House Presidential Personnel Office.
Previously, Rob worked overseas for 15 years, on a variety of international projects. This included spending three years in Rwanda working with Hutu and Tutsi communities, two years working with the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Angola, and 18 months in Laos, consulting on a variety of community development programs.
Rob also led a 2-year Security Sector Reform project in Burundi, bringing together government and rebel forces to support the formation of a unified military and police force. He began his overseas work in Nicaragua, in both Sandinista and Contra areas.
In 2007, he won a Governors’ Service Award (from the Governor of Massachusetts) for leadership in delivery of development aid operations.
Education
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.S., Stanford University
Research interests
Negotiation theory and practice, leadership, management, community development
Selected publications
- Negotiating toward the Paris Accords: WWF & the Role of Forests in the 2015 Climate Agreement. HKS Case No. 2118.0. Harvard Kennedy School, 2018.
- With Eileen Babbitt and Diana Chigas. Theories of Change (THINC): Concepts and Primers for Conflict Management and Mitigation. USAID, 2013.
- Preventing Violent Conflict. Department for International Development, March 2006.
- With Jamie Balfour-Paul. Poverty in the Midst of Wealth: The Democratic Republic of Congo. Oxfam International, 2002.
