Meet the authors

Petronella Chaminuka is the Principal Economist at the Agricultural Research Council in South Africa. She leads a team responsible for integrating socio-economic analysis and gender in R&D programmes and conducting impact assessment to guide investment decisions. Petronella holds a PhD in Environmental Economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and an MSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Zimbabwe. She has more than 20 years’ international experience working as a lecturer, researcher and facilitator in rural development processes. Petronella has extensive experience working in multidisciplinary teams and has participated in many international collaborative projects focussing on capacity development and research. She was part of a project on “Novel livestock vaccines for viral diseases in Africa towards improved food security’ under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund and participated in developing a scaling up strategy for the project. She has published articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and numerous short articles.

Blanca Llorente is an economist (Universidad Javeriana), social evaluation specialist (Universidad de los Andes) and MSc in Public health (LSHTM University of London) with experience in environmental and public health policies and as advisor to private sector in human rights/social management practices. Almost 30 years as teacher in several Colombian universities. Former Vice Dean and Research Director at the School of Economics in Universidad Sergio Arboleda. She is currently the research director at Fundación Anáas, a Colombian public health think-tank and researcher of CREER-IHRB, a center that encourages a multi-stakeholder approach to strengthening government and company efforts to protect, promote and respect human rights. Her work in tobacco control started in 2008, frequently in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, with researchers and other NGOs and is focused on research-to-action strategies.

Tatiana Rincón is President of Gender, Social Protection and Livelihoods at Fundación Capital. She has over 20 years of experience in social protection, and poverty reduction policies (graduation program) and gender. She holds an MA in International Relations from Carleton University in Canada and a degree in Finance and International Relations from the Universidad Externado in Colombia. She is currently completing a Master's Degree in Gender and Public Policy at FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales). Prior to joining Fundación Capital, she worked for the Carter Center and as a consultant for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). She was formerly the coordinator for the National Project on Economic Development and Commerce for the Delegation to the European Union and the Ministry of Commerce in Colombia, and also served as Colombia's Director for International Cooperation for the Justice and Interior Ministry. Ms. Rincón has worked as a professor and graduate program director at the Universidad Externado in Colombia.

Abu Syed (http://www.abusyed.org) is the Managing Director, C4RE Services and a Senior Fellow at BCAS since 2008 and founding Director of NABIC, Bangladesh since November 2011. He holds a PhD in Climate and Geospatial Modeling. He did his MSc in Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation; and Post-Graduate Diploma in Geommatics Engineering for integrated coastal zone management. Dr. Syed possesses expertise on environmental assessment, monitoring, natural resources, Sustainable Development Goals, regional agreements and policies. He worked extensively on application of remote sensing, GIS, geoinformatics in agriculture, water and forest resources; coastal environment, climate change impacts, investment, conservation and adaptation planning, and policy analysis. He supervised 8 PhD and 22 MSc researchers in environment, climate change, adaptation, climate modeling, early warning and disaster risk reduction with different universities. He worked and contributed in many national and regional policy documents and effective changes in national policies in water, forestry and fisheries sector in Qatar and Bangladesh. He has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals papers and book chapters.

Odunayo Clement Adebooye, Professor of Agronomy holds a PhD (Agronomy) of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan-Nigeria. He is a winner of 19 competitive international research grants, about 50 travel grants and 4 local grants all valued at about US$15.0 million. He has published about 90 research articles in high impact journals. He currently serves as the Ambassador Scientist of the German Government Humboldt Foundation in Nigeria. He is also the Secretary-General of the African-German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES), a funding agency of the German Government. He is a Fellow of the United Nations University, a Fellow of the German DAAD and a Fellow of the German Government Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He has successfully served as Regional Project Manager for IDRC projects in West Africa.

Ali Ben Charif is a postdoctoral researcher in knowledge translation in patient-oriented research at Laval University. Originally from Comoros, Ali studied in Senegal and France before settling in Canada. His research focuses on patient-oriented scaling research in primary care. He has thrown himself into this new field and has already mastered the area sufficiently to be internationally known as an expert. He published the first knowledge synthesis on scaling strategies in primary care, developed the Innovation Scalability Self-administered Questionnaire (ISSaQ), and led the scalability assessments of 57 Canadian primary care innovations. He is involved in several international advisory committees and has been guiding Canadian primary care networks to talk with their decision makers and patient partners about the scalability assessment of their innovations. Ali’s expertise is crucial as it will ensure that there is a fit between the values, preferences, and perspectives of the intended beneficiaries and the innovations to be scaled.

Oumoul Khaïry Coulibaly is a PhD. in socio-anthropology and lecturer-researcher at the Higher School of Applied Economics of the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar. Specialist in gender issues, the work of Dr. Coulibaly addresses the issues of women's empowerment, land governance, migration, the gender impact of climate change, gender-based violence and political participation women. She is also a specialist in development project management and since 2015 she has coordinated two action research projects funded by IDRC in collaboration with the NGO ANID (African Network for Integrated Development) and the Think Tank IPAR (Initiative Prospectiive Agricole Rurale).

Berhane Gebru is a researcher and practitioner in climate change adaptation and ICT4D focusing on data systems, digital health, digital literacy, digital inclusion, and social network analysis. Over the past 16 years, he successfully led multiple projects in 40 countries involving digital solutions to improve climate change adaptation action, strengthen health and education systems and build the entrepreneurial capacity of small businesses. Throughout his career, he led award-winning projects including the Climate Change Adaptation and ICTs project that received the UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change Award (2015) and the Mobile Health Information System that received the World Summit on the Information Society’s 2015 Prize.

Dr. Amédé Gogovor is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Laval University. He is leading the development of a reporting guideline for scaling studies. The project integrates patient-oriented research principles and sex and gender considerations and is overseen by an international executive committee. Dr. Gogovor has been involved in the design, implementation, and dissemination of results from serial Health Care in Canada surveys of the Canadian public and health professionals since 2007. His research interests and expertise include chronic disease management, sex, gender, and intersectional analysis to improve health outcomes and equity, and meta-research. First trained in veterinary medicine (C.A.D University of Dakar), Dr. Gogovor holds a MSc in Pharmaceutical sciences from University of Montreal and a PhD in Experimental medicine from McGill University.

Rachid Hakkou received his Ph.D. in geosciences and raw materials at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, Nancy, France in 1993 and a Moroccan PhD in 2001 in solid waste management and treatment. He is a Full Professor at Cadi-Ayyad University (Morocco). Since 2009 to 2017, he was Chairholder of IDRC Research Chair on “Management and Stabilization of Mining and Industrial Wastes”. He is a member of the international board for the journal Mine Water and the Environment (Springer). His research interests focus on the management and valorization of mining wastes. He has more than 55 peer-reviewed publications (h-index = 15). According to Elsevier's Scopus (1966-2019), he is ranked as the second author publishing in the field of phosphate mine wastes. In 2016, he was awarded Hassan II prize for the Environment in the category of Scientific Research, delivered by the Moroccan Environment Ministry.

Ursula Harman is a sociologist with a Ph.D. in Inclusive Innovation from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Master’s degree in Innovation and Technology Management and Policy from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). She has extensive experience facilitating research, technological development and innovation processes with emphasis on community development. Currently, Ursula is a lecturer and researcher at PUCP and UTEC universities, international senior consultant and researcher in the field of science and technology studies, resilience and community development. She is a member of the CONCYTEC Pro-Woman Committee 2021 on Science, Technology and Innovation, District Councilwoman of San Bartolo for the period 2019-2022, and Eisenhower Fellow 2019.

Ermel Johnson is from Benin, West Africa. He is a Medical Doctor, with a Master’s degree in population and health research; and has served as a practitioner in Burkina Faso. Dr Johnson has six years of experience in international organizations during which he worked in the humanitarian NGO Médecins du Monde France and since 2015 at the West African Health Organization (WAHO) as professional in charge of the implementation of the IMCHA program in West Africa. His interest in implementation as the key to successful programmes and health systems strengthening; he embraces the field of implementation science. Therefore, he is doing a PhD in Health Policy & Health Systems at the African Institute for Health Policy & Health System in Nigeria. Dr Johnson is member of several networks and professional associations including Health System Global, African Evidence Network, and West African Network of Emerging Leaders in Health Policy & System (WANEL).

Lynette is a multi-skilled and seasoned professional in advocacy, policy engagement, communications, and program management, with over 10 years of experience. She strategically articulates policy issues, develops and synthesizes information for development spanning national, regional, and global levels. Her work in the development and humanitarian sectors has enabled her to facilitate sustainable evidence-based solutions. She has led and implemented projects in over 15 sub-Saharan Africa countries. She has a keen interest in global health policy and health equity. Lynette believes that investing in research and using evidence in decision-making facilitated the development of context-relevant solutions and unearths new frontiers. She works with the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), where she is leading a project mapping the scope of Personalized Medicine in Africa. A consortium of 13 partners implements the project; six from Europe and seven from Africa. It aims to foster joint personalized medicine projects and programs between Europe and Africa and strengthen bilateral EU-AU science, technology, and innovation (STI) relations in the area of health. Lynette also coordinates the Eastern Africa Health Policy and Research Organization, a consortium of three organizations, APHRC; East, Central, Southern Africa – Health Community; and Partners in Population and Development – Africa Region as part of the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa Initiative. Lynette has a Master's in International Studies and a Bachelor's degree in Development Communication, both from The University of Nairobi. Lynette Tweets @Lynnmukuhi.

Teresa Mosquera-Vásquez is from Colombia. She conducted undergraduate studies in biology, and graduate studies in genetics and plant breeding, obtaining her Doctoral degree in Agricultural Science, from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in collaboration with Max Planck Institute in Germany. At present, she is a full Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Faculty of Agricultural Science, where she leads projects for scaling-up technological and social innovations aiming at improving the nutritional status of Colombians. Her research strategies feature participative research and adoption by farmers and consumers of new nutritious cultivars, with the view of promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the development of new technologies. To that end, she focuses on education and food security with high impact on public policies.

Tobias Schonwetter is the Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Unit (www.ip-unit.org) and an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town's law faculty. He is a Principal Investigator for various intellectual property-related research and capacity building projects, including Open AIR (www.openair.africa). Previously, Tobias was a Senior Manager - Technology and Innovation Law - at PwC South Africa as well as the Regional Coordinator for Africa and Legal Lead South Africa for Creative Commons. He also served as an editor for the African Journal of Information and Communication’s (AJIC), Thematic Issues on Knowledge Governance, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town’s IP Unit. In 2018-19, Tobias was the acting deputy dean for Internationalisation and Outreach in the law faculty at the University of Cape Town. Tobias specialises in and teaches intellectual property and cyberlaw, particularly the relationship between intellectual property, innovation and development. Tobias studied and practiced law in Germany and holds Ph.D. and LL.M. degrees from the University of Cape Town. In 2018, Tobias became an Associate Member of the Centre of Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa, Canada; and in 2019 he joined the Department of Science and Innovation’s Open Science Advisory Board. Tobias has written numerous articles on intellectual property law and has spoken at various national and international conferences.

Patterson Siema is the Director of Policy Engagement and Communications at the Africa Population and Health Center. He has more than 18 years of experience in policy engagement communications and advocacy. Under Siema’s direction, the APHRC is developing innovative approaches to traditional activities; maximizing impact and widening networks of potential allies and collaborators. He also leads on the knowledge translation value chain that translates APHRC evidence into policy, and guides the visibility, branding and outreach strategies for the Center. Prior to joining APHRC, he was the communications and advocacy specialist for Eastern and Southern Africa at the United Nations Gender Entity, UN Women. He also served for eight years as the head of communications for United Nations Development Programme in Kenya. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and degree is in Strategic Communications from Daystar University.

Issiaka Sombié is a senior researcher with more than 25 years’ experience in health research in West Africa. He is registered Medical Doctor from University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and graduated a PhD in Public Health from Brussel Free University (Belgium). He is a full Professor of Epidemiology at the Medical School of University of Nazi Boni in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. His areas of interest are maternal and child health, clinical trial and health policy and systems research, research system development and research ethics. He is member of several research networks both regional and global level. He worked over fifteen years in Centre MURAZ before joining the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) in 2008, where he led the regional research programme, which aimed the development of research systems in ECOWAS region. Currently, he is actually Acting Director of the Directorate of the Department of Public Health and Research. Professor Sombié is the author of more than a hundred scientific articles in international journals.

Ivonne Villada has a Masters in Rural Development from the Javeriana University of Bogotá, Colombia, and Environmental Managment of the Technological University of Pereira. She has more than 12 years of experience in the design, implementation, evaluation and improvement of public policies and private initiatives aimed at overcoming poverty and financial inclusion with a differential approach. She has worked with public entities such as Social Prosperity Department in Colombia and research institutions in Chile and Peru with the Institute of Peruvian Studies. In recent years, Ivonne served as Director of the "Proyecto Capital", a regional initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean supported by the Ford Foundation and the IDRC, which links social protection and financial inclusion as part of the set of rights that people need to overcome poverty and transform their lives.