Aziza Umarova

Aziza Umarova is a thoughtful practitioner who brings regional insight and analysis, an expert on the development and the political economy of reforms in Central Asia. A former development practitioner with the largest UN agency, her experience includes serving as Advisor on Public Sector Innovation at UNDP’s Global Center for Public Sector Excellence in Singapore and leading UNDP’s governance portfolio in Uzbekistan. Since 2017, she has devised and delivered numerous public policy projects through her own boutique strategy consulting company SmartGov, working closely with the governments of Central Asia on institutional reforms. Umarova engaged in a variety of roles: OECD’s monitoring expert on the Anti-Corruption Istanbul Action Plan in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan; Associate Editor for Eurasia at GovInsider, the platform on public sector innovation, catering to the audience of over 1.1 million government officials worldwide. Umarova is a regular speaker and author of numerous articles on public governance reforms, including a chapter in the book “Public Service Evolution in 15 Post-Soviet Countries: Diversity in Transformation” (Palgrave, 2021). Umarova is a certified Independent Director and currently serves as an Independent member of the Boards at two State Owned Enterprises. She holds a master’s degree (MA) from St Andrews University, Chevening scholarship (2006). She worked and lived in the United Kingdom, China, Austria, and Singapore. Research fellow at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University.