Biography

Director Of Research, The South African Presidency

Harsha Dayal is Director of Research in the South African Presidency, where she leads projects that strengthen evidence-informed policymaking across government. She has a PhD in Development Studies and Masters in Public Health. She introduced policy-relevant evidence maps in 2015, and documented the first evidence synthesis methodology for government, based on key national priorities from 2015 to current. These priorities range from Gender-Based Violence & Femicide, Health Systems, Land Reform, National Evaluation system, Local Government, and Human Settlements amongst others. Prior to government, she was a chief researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council, contributing to policy analysis and knowledge systems for policy. Trained in medical and social sciences, she has over two decades of experience bridging knowledge producers and users for enhanced capacity of the public sector.