Camille Pellerin, MSc, MRes and PhD in Development Studies, is a researcher and consultant specialised in issues related to civil society development, democracy promotion and human rights. Her PhD thesis is dedicated to analysing civil society state relations in authoritarian settings and explores how the relationships between the Ethiopian state under the EPRDF rule and different types of civil society organisations have affected regime stability. Camille is trained in quantitative and qualitative research methods and has hands on experience in project and programme evaluations, mapping studies and needs assessments. Moreover, she is familiar with the latest approaches to civil society capacity development and democracy promotion and has contributed to designing several capacity building projects in these fields in Africa, the Western Balkans and Turkey. Her approach to civil society development and democracy promotion combines best practices with innovative approaches and is founded on the principles of participation and local ownership. Camille has completed two “complex risk and research trainings” and has extensive experience of conducting research and evaluations in conflict settings.