Nicole Bonoff

I help lead a mix of quantitative and qualitative user and market research to address issues like strategic prioritization, user product experiences, and evaluating the impact of product changes on user sentiment and behavior. Focus elite public opinion, regulatory response, and tooling for regulatory compliance.

Focus on foreign and domestic election interference, hate speech, and misinformation.

I am an independent research post-doctoral fellow and lecturer currently in the School of Public Affairs (2017-2019). Previously, I was in the Department of Political Science (2015-2017). My work focuses on the political economy of development, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. I am interested in comparative political behavior, decentralization and public service delivery, accountability relationships, and survey and experimental methodologies. I have completed or on-going work in DRC, Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia. I also have other work in Peru and the Philippines. I teach two upper division undergraduate lectures: Politics of Development and African Politics.

I am a research fellow in the US Agency for International Development’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) focused on randomized controlled trial experiments (RCTs) and impact evaluations (IEs) . I contribute to evidence-based policy making and training of USAID staff on issues of causal inference and DRG trends. I provide technical assistance to USAID field missions to plan and meet monitoring and evaluation needs. In my primary function, I help manage a portfolio of over 40 evaluations of USAID programs, including 20 RCTs experiments or quasi-experiments and a budget of over $15m. Additionally, I am serving as a Principal Investigator on 3 on-going RCTs for USAID in Peru, Zambia, and DRC. I am responsible for designing, implementing and analyzing these RCTs, surveys and survey experiments, and then communicating the findings back to a policy audience. In my training capacity, I teach impact evaluation methodology and logic of causal inference for USAID field officers through original trainings. This teaching focuses on best practices for bringing together academics and policy-makers so program-design and procurement are conducive for organizational learning. This work also includes the design and management of an annual week-long workshop and clinic to co-design new RCTs with USAID Missions and academics. Field experience in: Republic of Georgia, Peru, Zambia, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. “Applied Political Science and Evidence-Based Foreign Assistance in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance.” 2018. Abbarno, Aaron J. and Bonoff, Nicole. PS: Political Science & Politics, 51(3), 559-562.

Dissertation on the role tribal chiefs play in local politics in Africa. Includes 3000 person household survey in southern Ghana that was individually designed and managed. Research funded by the National Science Foundation through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program and a Dissertation Improvement Grant.

Social and environmental safeguard policy assessments and creating resettlement framework instruments.

Admissions counselor trained to conduct informational sessions and advise prospective students.

Office of Science and Technology Cooperation. Providing environmental science expertise to the policy making process.