Dr. Joanes Atela is the Convenor of the Africa Research and Impact Network He is also a Senior Research Fellow and Head of CRE( Climate Resilient Economies Programme)at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS). Since 2016, Joanes has transformed the climate programme at ACTS to become one of the best in the world, ranking third globally and the best in Africa according to the 2016 ICCG think tank rankings based on research and policy work. He has led the design and implementation of several DFID funded among other small- medium-large research projects across Africa. Currently, he leads a team of ten (10) early career researchers working under the CRE programme while building vast networks for research excellence and policy transformation.
He also coordinates the North-South research partnership for ACTS through the Africa Sustainability Hub, and as part of his passion to spur research excellence and intellectual leadership in Africa, Joanes founded the Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN), whose core focus is to bring together a network of talented researchers and policy makers across Africa to engage in peer learning and sharing good transformative research and impact practices.
Joanes has a relatively excellent publication record in international journals (15 articles), book chapters and working papers (20) and policy briefs (10) and has been a key note speaker in over 30 international science and policy events. Based on research excellence, Joanes currently serves as a council member for the Elsevier Sustainable Development resource center alongside. Joanes also contributes to the policy transition in Kenyan and Africa at large as the Lead of the African Union Green Innovation Framework where he has successfully led the development of an innovation framework to inform pursuit of green growth in African countries. Joanes was also appointed an Associate Lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s institute for Climate Change and Adaptation where he teaches and supervises post-graduate students on policy analysis and research methods.
Joanes holds a PhD in Environment and Development, a Master of Science (First Class) in Agriculture and Resource Management from Bonn University, Germany and BSc in Environmental Science (First Class Honours) from Maseno University, Kenya.
