Shahrukh Wani works with policymakers, researchers, and development partners to support evidence-based policy decisions and reforms. He has worked with governments in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uganda, and Zambia to deliver actionable research, strategy, and policy advice focusing on urban development, public finance, public-sector management, poverty reduction, and infrastructure financing.
He presently leads IGC's engagements in Zambia as the Country Manager based at the LSE and the Lusaka office. The program’s efforts involve enhancing the use of data analytics in public policy, addressing challenges in agricultural productivity, informing decentralisation, promoting the mining sector's contribution to the economy, place-based economic policies, and positioning Zambia for the global energy transition.
Prior to his current role, he was an urban economist at IGC's Cities that Work initiative based at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford where he worked on delivering research and policy advice on urban governance, transport, property taxes, and public-private partnerships in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uganda, and Zambia. He also supported multilateral initiatives, including the UK's Global Future Cities Programme.
He has been quoted widely on economic, tax, and urban policy, including in Financial Times, Africa Report, BBC, Fortune, and Al Jazeera. His writing has also appeared in Dawn.com, The Guardian, among others. He served on an advisory panel for the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s initiative on innovation in public policy and has worked at Innovations for Poverty Action, the Grameen Foundation, and the UN-Habitat. He was born and raised in Pakistan before studying at the London School of Economics. He tweets @ShahrukhWani and his webpage can be accessed here.
