Benedikta Spannring Salzgeber

Benedikta Spannring Salzgeber is a social worker and interdisciplinary researcher pursuing a PhD in Development Studies at SOAS University of London. Her research explores how everyday negotiations of authority and regulation shape state–civil society relations and the possibilities for locally led development in Ethiopia.

Her doctoral project examines how regulatory requirements are communicated, interpreted, negotiated and put into practice through interactions between civil society organisations and state actors. She is particularly interested in how organisations negotiate room to shape their activities, and whether and how this enables people affected by development initiatives to influence decisions. Her work therefore asks not only how organisations navigate regulation, but also whose priorities and knowledge shape development practice.

Her academic background spans Social Work and African Studies. She holds a master’s degree in African Studies from the University of Basel, where she graduated summa cum laude, with additional studies at the Universities of Vienna and Hamburg. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) and two master’s degrees in Social Work, awarded by FHNW and the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg through a cooperative academic arrangement.

Benedikta has worked regularly in Ethiopia since 2015, studying Amharic and developing relationships with local organisations and communities. She is the founder and director of Foundation Ethiopiaye – my Ethiopia. Her work with the foundation has informed her interest in dialogue, community participation and how development priorities are negotiated. It has also prompted critical reflection on the responsibilities and unequal power relations that can accompany development cooperation.

Her African Studies master’s thesis, *I See You – ተያይተናል*, developed a dialogue-based framework for community engagement. Drawing on qualitative research in Ethiopia and her experience with the foundation, it examined how dialogue and the recognition of different forms of knowledge might inform development cooperation. This work raised further questions about the legal and institutional conditions within which participatory approaches can be pursued.

Her earlier research on the Basel Mission and involvement in the Baselfo project have also contributed to her interest in the historical roots of contemporary development practices and institutions.

Across her research and practice, she is concerned with who can define development problems, whose knowledge counts, and how people can influence the decisions that affect them

• State–civil society relations in Ethiopia
• State regulation and everyday organisational practice
• Locally led development and localisation
• Participation, organisational autonomy and decision-making power
• Relational approaches to governance and development practice
• Community engagement and dialogue-based approaches
• Ethiopian Studies

Ethiopiaye

Baselfo