Mark has a degree in civil engineering and a PhD in social science. He has worked in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, and in international development contexts overseas, in Papua New Guinea, China,Timor Leste, Bolivia, Lesotho, and Fiji. His research interests include aid effectiveness, appropriate technology, governance, public finance management, political economy of governance, and community-driven development. His publications include two popular books: Serious Whitefella Stuff - When Solutions Became the Problem in Indigenous Affairs, and Two Close to Ignore - Australia’s Borderland with PNG and Indonesia. He has a track record of leading large research teams with high policy impact, including an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant in 2016. His teaching is focused on online learning modes to teaches advanced leadership and management skills for development workers, through Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and Australia’s first MicroMasters of Leadership in Global Development. In 2019, he received a MOOC Award of Excellence, by the United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Academy. He is also a Churchill Fellow with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Global Development in Washington DC.