About Senior Partner David South

David South is the founder and senior partner for David South International and David South Consulting. He has worked around the world for the United Nations and has led a number of groundbreaking projects for major institutions. Clients have included the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH)/Institute of Child Health (ICH)/National Health Service (NHS), Harvard Institute for International Development, UNICEF, World Bank, USAID, and the Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine, among others.

He has worked for, or side-by-side, with many high-level senior professionals and executives.  These experienced professionals had roles under close public scrutiny and needed to show the impact of their work to a tight deadline.

He has been the editor for the United Nations magazine Southern Innovator since 2010. He also researched and wrote the influential United Nations e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions (2007-2014). He has over two decades’ experience in media and journalism (developing strong relationships with many top journalists and media professionals), health and human development, and the role innovation plays in transforming major organisations while getting the most from people tackling complex problems in challenging environments.

Experience

I am an international development consultant with over 20 years’ experience. I specialise in media, health communications, development strategies, project management and publishing. I have led high-profile projects in Asia, Canada and the UK. This work has included a number of groundbreaking, award-winning new media projects.

United Nations Global Marketplace (ungm.org) Vendor.

Read the David South Consulting Summary of Impact here: http://books.google.co.uk/books/about?id=1FdyBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Read the Southern Innovator Summary of Impact here: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lK4jBgAAQBAJ&dq=southern+innovator+summary+of+impact&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Methodology

I have managed and delivered projects to tight deadlines, with extensive public scrutiny and under difficult country conditions. I keep a cool head and am a seasoned trouble-shooter.

Education

University of Toronto: BA Honours in Political Science and History

Courses

BBC: Managing Complex New Media Projects

International Health Exchange: Humanitarian Aid: Policies and Practice

Languages

English, Mongolian

Publishing

High-quality, award-winning offline and online publishing has been key to larger successes. Examples can be found on this website along with cited work in books, journals, papers and online here: http://www.davidsouthconsulting.com/media/2017/7/9/publishing-david-south-consulting-1990-2017.html

Archived work can be found on various platforms here: Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/user/16741171/David-South; Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/%40southern_innovator?&sort=-publicdate&page=2

My books, magazines, newsletters, papers and research materials are archived at Academia.edu: https://independent.academia.edu/DavidSouth

Journalism by theme and timeline can be found here: http://www.davidsouthconsulting.com/stories/2017/7/11/stories-david-south-consulting-1991-2017.html 

My journalism portfolio on Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/david-south

Online

I have launched and overseen a number of high-profile, high-impact, and award-winning online projects. My roles have been as strategist, project manager and/or content provider: 

GOSH/ICH Child Health Portal

Southern Innovator Online Archive

UNDP Mongolia Development Web Portal

UN Ukraine Development Web Portal

Graphic Design

High-quality graphic design and illustration has played a key role in project success. Some examples are below: 

Client: Case Study 7: UNOSSC + UNDP | 2007 - 2016 Images

Client: Case Study 5: GOSH/ICH Child Health Portal | 2001 - 2003 Images

Social Media

An early adopter of social media, DSC/DSI has been able to reach across borders and cultures to spread the message on innovation. One Twitter account, @SouthSouth1, was called “one of the best sources out there for news and info on #solutions to #SouthSouth challenges (Adam Rogers, Assistant Director, Regional Representative, Europe, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation - UNOSSC)”.

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidSouthConsulting

On SlideShare: https://www.slideshare.net/DavidSouth1?utm_campaign=profiletracking&utm_medium=sssite&utm_source=ssslideview

Follow my work on the Academia.edu platform where academics share research papers: https://independent.academia.edu/DavidSouth

Follow me on Academia.edu

Thank You!

The achievements detailed on this web portfolio are down to fruitful collaboration and wise mentoring. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ever-growing list of people who have helped me in one way or another over the years.

David South in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Jill Lawless.

© David South Consulting 2020

UNDP Mongolia Media Coverage | 1997 - 1999

As head of communications for UNDP/UN Mongolia, I cultivated a good relationship with local and foreign media. This had many benefits for the mission, including extensive coverage of Mongolia and the UN's work. A small sample of the stories this relationship generated were published in the book In Their Own Words: Selected Writings by Journalists on Mongolia, 1997-1999 (ISBN 99929-5-043-9). Rather than having a confrontational relationship with the media, we found facilitating a constant flow of information back and forth led to many great stories, great adventures and the opportunity to meet highly talented journalists and other media professionals: all to the benefit of the UNDP Mongolia Communications Office. 

In Their Own Words was published in 1999 by UNDP Mongolia.

Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine and is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind. It chose my photo taken in the Gobi desert for its profile of the Internet revolution in 1998.

I am pictured speaking with Mongolian Members of Parliament in 1997.

"Communications Co - ordinator David South ( right ) meets regularly with the Communications Team : from left to right , Ms Saruul , UN Infoshop librarian , Ms Oyuntungalag , UNDP Communications Officer and Ms Bayasgalan ..."

Other Resources

Today's journalists have to contend with a very different world to what existed in the mid to late 1990s. The ubiquity of electronic devices - and surveillance - means it can be risky and even dangerous to contact sources using these tools. A free guide is available to help journalists protect themselves and sources. Written by a journalist, the Online Privacy Guide for Journalists 2017: A Guide for the Savvy Journalist in a World of Ever Decreasing Privacy, can be found here: https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/online-privacy-journalists/. For an explanation of the difference between a VPN (virtual private network) and a proxy, this short video from ExpressVPN on YouTube can help: What's the difference between a proxy and VPN?.

Various search engines also offer to hide your search. They include: 

Startpage.com

Privado.com

Duckduckgo.com

Interviews for the GOSH Child Health Portal | 2001-2003

 An interview in the hospital newsletter Roundabout.

Roundabout, November 2001 Issue No. 18

Joint Website Launched

A two-year project to turn our joint institution’s website (www.gosh.nhs.uk) into a respected child health portal got underway with the launch of the first phase of development in September. The second phase of content development will get the site ship shape for a UK-wide publicity campaign as the hospital’s 150th birthday celebrations begin in January.

The site’s web editor, David South, has been working on the project since arriving here in June, having worked on award-winning websites for the United Nations.

“The first phase saw collaboration from staff across both institutions,” he says. “An impressive amount was done, and we have now laid the foundations for future improvements to the content on the site. I really want to offer more for children. Over three million children in the UK now surf the internet.”

The opportunity for both institutions is enormous. As the internet has evolved, it has become increasingly clear that the future of its development lies in the public sphere. US government sites now outstrip commercial operations, selling far more books than the largest online bookseller, amazon.com. Here in the UK, the www.ukonline.gov.uk site is working to offer one-stop access to all government services, including health care.

Unlike commercial operations, the hospital and the Institute are an unbiased resource for the public to turn to. Currently, the joint site has more than 180 factsheets for families covering tests and procedures, illnesses and diseases and operations. It also has the complete archive of Dr. Jane Collins’ Times column, with its jargon-free look at child health issues.

“This being London, we have the unique advantage of being at the centre of so many developments, and having the opportunity to communicate this through our website,” says David South.

Across the NHS the Modernisation Plan involves the largest data collection exercise in its history. More and more resources will be offered online, and the content produced by individual trusts like ours will be linked with national sites like NHS Direct.

New GOSH/ICH website

With over three million children in the UK now using the internet, and a total of 33 million UK citizens accessing it through work, school or the home, no organisation can afford not to make the most of this valuable communications tool. Estimates vary, but some put the number of health-related websites at more than 100,000. Trust is an even more important issue, as users search for accurate information. It is in this context that the new hospital and ICH website, www.gosh.nhs.uk, launched in September. Web editor David South puts us in the picture.

The new site reflects the hard work and collaboration of staff across both institutions, and it is hoped it will quickly make its mark as a trusted resource on complex child health issues. The site also becomes one of the most visible signs of our on-going modernisation programme, and can uniquely tie together the breadth of our work in a way that no other medium can. The site development project spans two years and will fit in with the wider move across the NHS to offer a wide range of services online.

The next phase of the site’s development is aimed at getting the site ready for a larger publicity campaign slated to coincide with the hospital’s 150th birthday celebrations with start in January. In preparation for this public launch, a number of improvements will be made to the site’s content, interactivity, platform and design. To put it simply, the site should become a critical first stop for anybody seeking our services, or wanting to learn more about the latest research and care developments in the field of complex child issues.

The joint site will also be available via Gosweb for staff in the hospital who don’t already have internet access.

As the project evolved, regular updates were communicated to colleagues and the public through the media.

A BBC story in 2002 announcing the launch of the GOSH Child Health Portal's children's content. 

© David South Consulting 2017

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

New Magazine Targets Innovators in Global South | 2011

Press Release for General Distribution

 

New Magazine Targets Innovators in Global South

United Nations, New York, 20 September 2011

• Global magazine Southern Innovator profiles innovation
culture ending poverty
• 60-page color magazine gives snapshot of fast-changing
world

Southern Innovator is a new magazine for a fast-changing world. It profiles
and celebrates the innovators across the global South finding new ways to
tackle poverty, create wealth and improve human development and achieve
the millennium development goals (MDGs). In its first issue, Southern
Innovator features the people who are re-shaping new technologies – from
mobile phone ‘apps’ to Internet technologies - to overcome poverty and to
improve the quality of life in some of the poorest places on earth.

SI is based on intensive research and is produced by UNDP’s Special Unit for
South-South Cooperation (www.southerninnovator.org). The Unit is the
leading organisation in the world tasked with the goal of sharing knowledge
across the global South. It organises events including the yearly South-South
Expo (www.southsouthexpo.org), a roaming celebration and gathering of
Southern innovators previously held in New York and Geneva, Switzerland.
This year’s Expo will be held in Rome, Italy (5 to 9 December 2011).

SI is being distributed around the world through the United Nations network
and partners and reaches some of the poorest and remotest places as well as
the vibrant but stressed growing global megacities. It is hoped the magazine
will inspire budding innovators with its mix of stories, essential information,
facts and figures, images and graphics. The magazine will evolve based on
reader responses and this first issue is very much the beginning of a journey.
As became clear while researching this first issue, many things can change in
a short space of time. Few could have imagined the rapid take-up of mobile
phones in Africa and how these phones have become integral to development
goals across the continent.

SI magazine is a quarterly publication and the next issues will launch in
September and December of this year.

A summary for publication is here:

“Southern Innovator (ISSN 2222-9280) is a quarterly magazine published by
the United Nations Development Programme’s Special Unit for South-South
Cooperation. Launched in May 2011, SI is a new magazine celebrating
creativity and innovation emerging from the global South. It explores
entrepreneurial solutions to development challenges and uncovers the trends
and events shaping the rise of the South in order to spur action on ending
extreme poverty and toward reaching the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).”

We hope you enjoy the magazine and find its content interesting and
illuminating: a snapshot of a fast-changing world awash, as we found out, with
innovators, creators and do-ers making their world a better place.

For more information on Southern Innovator contact Cosmas Gitta at
cosmas.gitta@undp.org or editor David South at
southerninnovator@yahoo.co.uk.
www.southerninnovator.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5311-1052.

© David South Consulting 2021

Update on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 10:47AM by David South

Interviews for the Development Challenges, South-South Solutions e-newsletter 

In 2008 writer and researcher David South interviewed Question Box's founder Rose Shuman and in 2011 Question Box was featured in Southern Innovator's first issue on mobile phones and information technology.

In 2009 writer and researcher David South interviewed Joana Breidenbach at the betterplace.org Berlin HQ for the United Nations e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions.

In 2010 writer and researcher David South interviewed co-editor Charlotte Mathivet on her new book, Cities for All.

A tweet from UN Development in 2012. Southern Innovator Magazine can be downloaded from the UNOSSC website.

 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) posted on Facebook about the second issue of Southern Innovator Magazine.