Arvinn has been engaged in governance and development policy for almost 20 years. Before joining UNDP he was Policy Director for International Development Policy in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Recently he has focused on issues such as domestic resource mobilization, addressing illicit financial flows, anti-corruption, fiscal stability, and global economic governance. He has also led a system-wide development policy analysis network to improve Norwegian development policy engagements.
Arvinn has been Senior Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council and has held a number of board positions in academic institutions, civil society organizations and inter-governmental institutions. He held the roles of State Secretary, Deputy Minister and Junior Minister for international development, climate and environment over a period of six years in Norway. Trained as a career diplomat, he has also worked in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Arvinn holds degrees in development studies, economics and international studies from the UK and Norway. He is a Norwegian citizen, and an overseas citizen of India.
Thea holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from IE University in Madrid. She has previously been a trainee at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and worked on a capstone project for the European Parliament Liaison Office in Spain. During her internship with GPCG, Thea will support the Centre Director.
Torni Iren Johansen has been the Administrative Assistant at the Global Policy Centre for Governance since January 2008 and has 40 years of experience in administrative work. Before joining the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in 2001, she worked for the Norwegian Defence. Torni has served abroad in a military capacity in both UN and NATO-led missions and also worked 4 years at NATO HQ as an executive assistant. While with DPKO she was posted to Kosovo, Lebanon and Haiti, working mostly with the Board of Inquiry.
Senior External Engagement and Communications Expert
Mark has been working for the UN for more than twenty years, including in the areas of political affairs, peacebuilding, external liaison, and human rights. He works at the Centre as the strategic engagements and communications expert. He started his career in UN peacekeeping operations, including roles in political analysis, conflict prevention, transitional justice, communications, and outreach. Later, Mark was the lead researcher for the first UNODC Transnational Organised Crime Threat Assessment in Asia and the Pacific. Before joining the Centre, Mark worked for the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, where he spearheaded the UN’s formal engagement with the ASEAN regional organisation in Jakarta, Indonesia, as the first Head of the UN Liaison Office to ASEAN until May 2024. He also previously worked as a research analyst for the Centre for International Governance Innovation (Canada) and International Alert (UK) as well as a freelance journalist in East Asia. Mark holds a Master of Arts degree in Politics, Government and History from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
Margaret Chi was previously a Programme Specialist within the Joint Directorate of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and Crisis Bureau where she supported bureau-level strategic work planning and reporting and advised global project teams on UNDP programming standards and result-based programme management lifecycle, from design to end-of-project evaluation. Previously, as the Coordinator of the Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund, she oversaw UNDP’s trust fund programming in youth and development projects in 34 countries which informed UNDP’s first Youth Strategy and integration of youth and development programming into the UNDP Strategic Plan. Prior to joining UNDP, Margaret worked for over 12 years with UNOPS in various capacities in both HQ/NY and Nairobi in the management of global and regional (Africa) development projects on environment, governance, gender, poverty reduction and health, collaborating with a wide range of UN and development partners. Margaret is a UNDP SURGE Advisor and holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.
Alexandra Wilde re-joined UNDP’s Global Policy Centre for Governance in 2024 with responsibility for the Centre’s work on Governance Data and Analytics. Alexandra has more than 25 years working in senior roles at the intersection of research, policy development, advocacy and technical assistance for a diversity of organizations including government, civil society and the United Nations. She has global expertise on governance, democratic development, human rights, inclusion and sustainable development. Alexandra has dedicated a significant portion of her professional life in guiding UNDP’s efforts in the promotion of official and non-official governance statistics at country and global levels and has coordinated multiple research, policy development, advisory and advocacy initiatives to advance the measurement, implementation and monitoring of SDG 16.
Mariana has previously worked for the National Statistics Office of Cabo Verde, where she coordinated Governance, Peace, and Security Statistics at the national, regional, and global levels. In this capacity, she was the Group Praia on Governance Statistics coordinator. She represented her country in the negotiations and design of the Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. From 2016 to 2019, Mariana worked with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a consultant on crime and criminal justice statistics in Eastern Africa. Since 2020, Mariana has been working as Governance Statistics Specialist for the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre on several measurement-related activities, including the SDG 16 Survey Initiative. Mariana holds a Post-Graduate Degree in Data Analysis for Social Sciences.
Ms. Usheva is a survey and data specialist with extensive experience in various aspects of drugs and crime statistics (including corruption statistics). She has been instrumental in developing statistical frameworks and methodologies for effectively measuring crime, and she played a key role in the development of the SDG16 Survey Initiative.
Throughout her career, Fatma has provided technical assistance and capacity building to statistical offices and ministries, leading the implementation of surveys in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Before joining UNDP, she led the research activities at UNODC Afghanistan and spent four years working on crime and criminal justice statistics at UNODC Headquarters in Vienna.
Ms. Usheva is a Bulgarian national, and she holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Milan, Italy, and a Master's degree in Economics and Business Administration from Aarhus University, Denmark.
Marie is a governance measurement expert with 15 years of experience with UNDP in supporting national efforts to measure and monitor governance, peace and security across the world. When based at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, she supported the African community of statisticians in a pioneering effort to start producing harmonized official statistics on governance, peace and security. At the global level, she supported the development of internationally recognised methodologies for SDG 16 indicators under UNDP’s custodianship. Marie has also been supporting the Praia Group on Governance Statistics since its creation, in 2015, to advance the development of international standards for the compilation of statistics on different dimensions of governance. Marie holds a Master’s degree in Human Security Policies from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Julia has worked on the intersection of governance with other policy areas over the past 20 years. At the Centre, she conceived research on SDG 16 interlinkages (reflected in the ‘Connections That Matter’ publication series) and now leads the Research and Innovation Team overseeing the workstreams on information integrity, fair green transition and financial integrity. She started her career with NGOs such as Amnesty International, CARE International and Transparency International and then developed UNDP’s human rights-based approach to poverty reduction. When the SDGs were conceived, she co-designed the UN’s consultation guidelines used in over 80 countries and led the successful engagement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the negotiation process. She also worked for the German Institute for Human Rights supporting the integration of SDGs in national policy making and did freelance work on ocean governance. Julia is a fully trained lawyer and holds an MSc in Development Practice from Oxford Brookes University.
Niamh Hanafin, Senior Expert Information Integrity
Niamh Hanafin is a seasoned communication for social change specialist. She joined UNDP’s Global Policy Centre for Governance in 2020 in response to growing calls from country offices for support in responding to COVID19 disinformation. Niamh now leads UNDP’s global information integrity workstream, collaborating across UNDP and externally to improve understanding of and responses to information pollution in the contexts where UNDP is engaging. She is the architect of UNDP's strategic guidance: Information Integrity: Forging a Pathway to Truth, Resilience and Trust. Niamh represents UNDP in global forums, leads UNDP's information integrity research and policy engagement, and provides programmatic guidance to regional hubs and country offices. Prior to UNDP, Niamh spent 8 years with Search for Common Ground, leading multi-million-dollar peacebuilding portfolios in Africa and Asia. She has over 20 years' experience designing and managing innovative communications programming promoting children’s rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation, reproductive health, and women's rights. Niamh holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from Dublin City University and a Master’s degree in Communication for Development from Malmo University. She has lived in Cambodia, Laos, Mozambique, Angola and Madagascar and worked in Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Central African Republic.
Zana Idrizi works as an Information Integrity Specialist at the UNDP’s Global Policy Centre for Governance (GPCG). In this role, Zana contributes to the UNDP’s Information Integrity workstream, a critical focus area of the Centre's commitment to counter information pollution and strengthening information integrity. Zana collaborates closely with UNDP teams and partners to develop programmes that promote information integrity, especially in sensitive contexts such as elections. Previously, Zana worked as a Policy Analyst UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub for 6 years, leading the regional portfolios on Information Integrity and Youth Engagement, providing policy and programmatic support to 19 country offices across Europe and Central Asia. Zana's engagement has extended beyond these portfolios as she has actively participated in knowledge-sharing, advocacy, and strategic communication on wider governance and peacebuilding topics, such as human rights, conflict prevention, digital civic engagement and inclusion, as well as media development. Zana holds a Master's degree in International Security from the University of Denver and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Public Policy from the American University in Kosovo.
Financial Integrity and Transnational Corruption Specialist
Søren Vester Haldrup’s work focuses on transnational corruption, financial integrity and innovation. At the center, he leads a new experimental initiative deploying innovation and systems thinking to understand and tackle transnational corruption across its global 'value chain' from source countries in West Africa to the countries where the funds are hidden and spent. He also oversees the Centre’s work on financial integrity. Before joining the GPCG, Søren worked in UNDP’s Strategic Innovation Unit where he helped country offices and partners to deploy systems approaches to tackle complex problems. In this role Søren also built UNDP’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) Sandbox, a thriving community of 200+ organizations collaborating and sharing learning on innovative M&E. Prior to joining UNDP in New York, Søren worked as a Senior Consultant with Oxford Policy Management, supporting governments and aid agencies on public sector reform and political economy analysis. He has also worked for UNDP Tanzania/ Government of Tanzania, International Rescue Committee Ethiopia, and the Danish Institute for International Studies. Søren holds an MSc in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and an MSc in Theory and History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Søren has lived in Denmark, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the UK and the USA. He has also worked for shorter periods in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Trinidad, and Ukraine.
Research and Policy Specialist – Environment and Governance
Santiago is an experienced policy analyst from Argentina, specializing in sustainable development and governance, with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining our team, Santiago worked as a Research Economist in the Infrastructure and Energy Sector at the Inter-American Development Bank. Throughout his career, Santiago has successfully led and managed research programs in the academic, public, and private sectors. With expertise in policy impact evaluation using qualitative and quantitative methods, Santiago has a comprehensive understanding of key policy issues and challenges facing various sectors, including energy, environment, and health policies. His research has been published in academic journals and books in the US, Europe, and Latin America. Before pursuing his doctorate at Penn, he received an MA in Political Science from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and a Licenciatura in Political Science from the Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Ulises Bobadilla y Jiménez is a policy analyst and communications specialist experienced in international development, environmental governance, and advocacy. At the Centre, Ulises contributes to the work stream on financial integrity. Before joining the Centre, he worked in the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for International Partnerships, where he contributed to shaping the EC’s 2021-2027 global development priorities and to upgrading development partnerships in line with the European Green Deal. Ulises has also worked for the UN Environment Programme and led the formalization of the Chemicals and Waste Youth Platform’s engagement in UN processes in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as co-facilitated the incorporation of youth-responsive targets into the new Global Chemicals Framework. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the Ibero-American University in Mexico City and a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.
Fama holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law from King’s College London and is currently completing an LLM in Human Rights, Conflict and Justice. Her areas of focus are International Human Rights, Law and Development and International Migration Law. During her internship with GPCG, Fama will provide research support – primarily in the context of the Fair, Green Transition focus area.
is currently the UNDP’s Global Programme Advisor on Anti-corruption and provides overall supervision and guidance to the UNDP’s Global Anti-corruption project titled “Anti-corruption for Peaceful and Inclusive Societies (ACPIS)”, which is UNDP’s flagship initiative for policy and programme support to UNDP programme countries. Anga has provided governance and anti-corruption technical support to more than 40 countries, including support for strengthening the capacity of government institutions, business sector, CSOs, media, youth and women’s networks to prevent and combat corruption. Anga also coordinates UNDP’s anti-corruption efforts at the global level including global advocacy and awareness, research and analysis, donor and partner coordination.
Anga was previously with RAND Cooperation, a U.S.-based nonprofit institution, where he worked on issues ranging from post-conflict reconstruction to health and education reforms in many developing countries. Anga has A Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School and a master’s degree in international development from the International University of Japan. He also brings his experiences working for various non-governmental agencies in Nepal.
Ms. Aida Arutyunova has been with UNDP’s Global Anti-Corruption Initiative since 2010. Currently she manages UNDP’s Global Anti-Corruption for Peaceful and Inclusive Societies (ACPIS) project based in UNDP Oslo Governance Center. She manages activities of the programme that relate to work on transparency, accountability and anti-corruption specifically focusing on innovation, technology, work in sectors (education, health and water), gender and local governance, integration of anti-corruption into country programmes and strategies, etc. Ms. Arutyunova works with approximately 40 UNDP Country Offices on a yearly basis and liaises with different partners such as UNODC, OECD, U4, Transparency International, etc. in regard to joint activities.
Ms. Arutyunova brings 21 years of experience in working on development and humanitarian issues. Prior to working in UNDP Headquarters, Ms. Arutyunova managed an Anti-Corruption Programme in UNDP Armenia Country Office as well as worked for European Union (EUAG) as a national advisor to the Government of Armenia on the issues of anti-corruption, transparency, accountability and e-governance. Ms. Arutyunova also brings 6 years of experience with Catholic Relief Services where she managed projects focusing on community development, conflict prevention, anti-corruption etc. She also worked for UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome and managed the Central Asian portfolio of programmes. Ms. Arutyunova holds a Master's degree in Political Science and International Relations from the American University of Armenia.
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