Colin has a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge. Between 1975 and 1994 he taught anthropology and sociology at the Universities of Glasgow (1975-82) and Papua New Guinea (1983-94). From 1991 to 1994 he also managed the UPNG business arm, Unisearch PNG. From 1995 to 2000, he was head of the Social and Environmental Studies Division at the PNG National Research Institute. From 2001 to 2012 he was Convenor of the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program in the College of Asia and the Pacific. He is now a member of the Resources, Environment and Development Group in the Crawford School.