Advisory Board

Dr. Geci Karuri-Sebina

Geci Karuri-Sebina, Ph.D. is Director of the Southern African Node of the Millennium Project, Executive Manager: Programmes at South African Cities Network, Visiting Research Fellow – Wits School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand, Research Associate at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation (IERI),
 
Her specialties include:

  • Research and research management
  • Public policy design, development and analysis
  • Planning: development, strategic, infrastructure, poverty reduction
  • Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) for development
  • Futures study: scenario planning, foresight, futures research
  • Programme design: monitoring & evaluation, impact assessment, knowledge management
Geci has worked in large research institutions where she has been mainly providing research, technical assistance, and advisory and evaluation services to public sector institutions in areas related to urban development policy and planning. She is an integrative and strategic thinker with significant experience in linking scientific and technological innovation with development needs and opportunities.
 
Geci was previously Specialist at the National Treasury of South Africa, Chief Research Manager at Human Sciences Research Council, Research Group Leader at the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), and Project Manager & Associate at UCLA Advanced Policy Institute.
 
Geci earned her Bachelor’s degree (Cum Laude) in Computer Science, Sociology with a minor in Art & Design at Coe College in 1996. She earned her Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design + Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2000. She earned her Ph.D. in Planning / Innovation Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2014.
 
Read her latest book, Innovation Africa. Read Transforming Africa. Read her Foresight for Development profile and her LinkedIn profile. Follow her Twitter feed.