Constantine Manda

Karibu! Welcome! 

I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. 

My research has been published or is forthcoming at Comparative Political Studies, Health Education & Behavior, the Journal of Politics, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.

My work has been funded by the Network of Impact Evaluators in Africa, Partnership for Economic Policy Network, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Yale University's Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Effective Global Action, and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.

I am also among the 2022 "30 Most Influential Young Economists" in Sub-Saharan Africa as awarded by the Institute of Certified Chartered Economists based in the United Kingdom. 

I am a graduate with a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (2022), Master of Philosophy in Political Science (2018) and a Master of Arts in Political Science degree (2017) from Yale University. 

I also have a Master of Public Policy degree (2010) from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree (2009) from Xavier University.

Feel free to read my CV, in Kiswahili and English.

In other work, I am also the co-Founder and inaugural Director of the Impact Evaluation (IE) Lab at Tanzania's Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF). The IE Lab's Mission is to expand the impact evaluation space in Tanzania through capacity-building of local researchers in IE methods; facilitating interactions between IE researchers, both local and international, and policy-makers; producing cutting-edge rigorous impact evaluated-knowledge of interventions and policies; to ultimately inform better policies that improve the lives of Tanzanians.

The IE Lab is managing an almost USD 2 million funding portfolio that includes research, capacity building, and policy engagement with as many as four impact evaluation studies of various interventions in nutrition, COVID19, and education research collaborating with academics from within and outside Tanzania and various government ministries and institutions. 

Prior to co-founding and directing the IE Lab at ESRF, I served as the Senior Research Analyst at Twaweza working on randomized controlled trials aimed at improving education outcomes in Tanzania. The experiments are collectively called KiuFunza, a portmanteau of the Kiswahili words that mean "thirst to learn". Part of my work also involved liaising with internationally acclaimed research institutions such as IPA, J-PAL, CGD, CEGA, among others.  

I have consulted with various organizations including the World Bank, Tanzania's Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT) and  REPOA. 

I write academic articles and policy briefs for publication, and have also contributed on the Washington Post's Monkey Cage.

I have also instructed on impact evaluation, political economy and development economics at the University of Dar es Salaam's Economics Department, ESRF, the African School of Economics, and Strathmore Business School.

I was a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Curator (2019 - 2020) of the Dar es Salaam Hub (since 2013) but formerly of the New York City Hub (2015 - 2017).

I was a CEGA Fellow (Fall 2012) at the University of California at Berkeley and worked with Oxfam Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics and CEGA Faculty Director Edward Miguel. 

I was also a member (2015-2018) of the Research and Development Advisory Committee on Basic Science at Tanzania's Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).

I was also a member (2018 - 2019) of the Advisory Group on Impact Evaluation at the Africa Centre for Evidence, University of Johannesburg. 

I am also a member of the Advisory Board at IDInsight; a member of the Board of Directors of the Msichana Initiative; and a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the Jenga Hub of the Neghesti Sumari Foundation (2018 - 2023).

I am also a co-founder of the Network for Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA) (June 2018).