Our People
Dr Rose Oronje is a distinguished expert in development policy and strategic communications, with over 20 years of leadership advancing evidence-informed policymaking (EIP) across Africa. She serves as the Director of Public Policy and Knowledge Translation, and Head of Kenya Office at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), where she oversees high impact regional initiatives that innovatively combine evidence generation (research), capacity development and technical assistance, and policy dialogue, to drive policy and legislative reforms, budget increases and efficient expenditure, and improvements in development programme design and implementation.
Dr Oronje has been instrumental in advancing research to policy and practice interface, leading the design and implementation of transformative, multi-country programmes that have, among others, contributed to institutionalising the systematic use of research evidence in policymaking in government agencies in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda; stimulated and supported constitutional amendments in Malawi to entrench the democratic role of parliament in the country’s constitution and enhance the independence of Parliament; and, supported the governments of Kenya, Malawi and Zambia to implement their commitments to increasing domestic financing of health and tackling expenditure inefficiencies (efforts that have produced increased budgets for health and implementation of efforts to reduce expenditure inefficiencies). Her work has, and continues to, shape African governments’ policy actions in health, population, governance, population, other development sectors.
Renowned for her ability to innovate and push boundaries in the area of evidence-informed policymaking, Dr Oronje is widely recognised for her thought leadership and trusted expertise in EIP and science communication, demonstrable in her frequent speaking opportunities in global and regional forums on evidence and development. She has played a central role in building systems and capacities that enable policymakers, civil society, and the media to effectively engage with and use evidence.
Prior to joining AFIDEP, she served as Policy Engagement and Communications Manager at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), where she pioneered innovative science communications efforts through building strategic relationships with governments, the media, and research communities, as well as capacity development programmes for journalists in research use, efforts that resulted in APHRC establishing a full-fledged policy engagement and communications department.
Dr Oronje has a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex, a Master’s degree in Communications from the University of Nairobi, and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Science from Moi University.
Dr Oronje has published in peer-reviewed journals on policymaking, policy reforms, and the place of evidence in these processes. You can read some of her scientific publications here and here.
