Frances Cossar came to Oxford Department of International Development after several years undertaking policy research within international organisations.

She worked with the Chief Economist office at the World Bank on a multi-country research project to investigate the constraints and opportunities for manufacturing development in Sub-Saharan Africa. She then spent several years supporting the Ghana country program of the International Food Policy Research Institute. As a result of that work, her research interests have evolved to focus on agricultural development and the role technology plays in changing farming systems.

She also spent two years supporting budget reforms in the Ministry of Finance, Government of Rwanda, as an ODI Fellow.

She holds a BSc Mathematics and Economics from the London School of Economics, and an MSc Economics with reference to Africa from the School of Oriental and African Studies.