Benjamin Kumpf

Focus areas: international development, innovation

Benjamin Kumpf is the Head of Innovation for Development at the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. Prior to joining the OECD, he worked as Head of Innovation at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and led the Innovation Facility of the United Nations Development Programme. In these capacities, Benjamin managed flexible funds to support experimentation, exploration and the scaling-up of development innovations, co-led programmes on adaptive management and advised country offices and partners on strategic innovation opportunities. Past posts includes work with UN Volunteers, with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the International Agricultural Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and others in India, Jordan, Nepal and Rwanda. Prior to working in international development, he worked in social justice movement groups in his home country Germany.

He is a member of several advisory bodies to advance innovation in the development and humanitarian sectors, and holds a Master degrees in Political Science and in Psychology from the University of Heidelberg and a post-graduate certification from the New York University.