School of Social and Political Science

Background

Qualifications

MSc in Public Policy (University College London); MSc in Political Theory (London School of Economics and Political Science); BA History (Columbia University)

Research Focus

Hilary's PhD research focuses on flows of expertise in global governance, specifically the politics of expert knowledge flows between the Global North and Global South for policy making. 

Hilary has worked, while pursuing her PhD, as a Research Assistant on the Rethinking Policy Impact project and a Researcher on the ESRC funded project, Scoping Impact: Mapping Contemporary Trends in Research Impact Definition. These projects have investigated empirical evidence and conceptual underpinnings of evaluations of research impact in the UK and globally. Before starting her PhD, she worked as a consultant for the Asian Development Bank in Indonesia as a researcher for a project providing research support to Indonesia's Ministry of Education and Culture. 

Publications

Peer-reviewed

Grek, S., MacDonogh, H. (2025). The Geopolitics of Expert Knowledge: Analysing the European Commission's Role and Influence in Indonesian Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-025-00429-9.

Coombs, N., MacDonogh, H. (in preparation) Beyond the linear model: Introducing 'process impact' to social science research evaluation. 

Other publications

Research Policy Exchange in Scotland (forthcoming).

Coombs, N., MacDonogh, H., Rodrigues E. (2023) Scoping Impact: Mapping Contemporary Trends in Research Impact Definition. ESRC.

MacDonogh, H. (2023). What could a more ethical approach to global metrics look like? Remaking Globalisation! Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung Magazine. https://www.helmut-schmidt.de/fileadmin/Aktuelles/Aktuelles_Veranstaltu…

MacDonogh, H., Davies, C., Smith, K. (2022)  Rethinking Policy Impact: Literature Review. Royal Society of Edinburgh.