Dr. Rose Oronje is a development policy and strategic communications expert with over 20 years of experience advancing evidence-informed policymaking across Africa. She serves as Deputy Executive Director and Head of Programmes at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), where she previously led Public Policy and Knowledge Translation and headed the Kenya office. Her work integrates research, capacity development, and policy engagement to drive reforms, strengthen public institutions, and improve development programme design and financing.

Dr. Oronje has led multi-country initiatives that have helped institutionalise the use of research evidence in government decision-making in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda; supported constitutional reforms to strengthen parliamentary independence in Malawi; and advanced domestic health financing reforms in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. She is widely recognised for her thought leadership in evidence-informed policymaking and science communication and frequently speaks at regional and global forums.

She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies 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.