Rakesh Rajani

I work to try to make public systems work better for people.

The wellbeing of people and the planet is largely determined by how well our systems work in practice. The systems change I work on seeks to make public systems deliver meaningful outcomes, be more inclusive in who benefits and decides, and be more dignity affirming.

I believe that government matters because it is the only way we can achieve change at the scale of the problem, and have it last over time. To me government is not only a big bureaucracy over there; rather ‘government is us’, an expression of how communities come together to achieve collective wellbeing. When people inside and outside government work together, beautiful things can happen.

My colleagues and I work to support leaders in government and civil society to cut out the noise and connect with purpose, focus on meaningful outcomes, and motivate teams to achieve impact across the Global South.

Prior to JustSystems, I worked in philanthropy for 9 years, serving as the first VP Programs at Co-Impact and director of Civic Engagement and Government at the Ford Foundation in New York. Our work focused on putting people’s agency at the center of change, on making government more open, democratic and accountable, and on combining strategic and trust-based philanthropy. Before that I worked in civil society in East Africa for 25 years. I founded and served as the Head of Twaweza East Africa, an organization that advances citizen agency and open government, and established Uwezo, Africa’s largest program to assess basic literacy and numeracy. I co-founded and led HakiElimu, Tanzania’s leading citizen engagement and education advocacy organization, as well as the Kuleana Center for Children’s Rights (now defunct).

I was instrumental in the work of TENMET and the Policy Forum, two coalitions that advanced civil society voices in national policy and budget making. I am a founding member and past co-chair of the Open Government Partnership, an effort across 77 countries and 100s of local governments to strengthen the social compact between people and their governments. I also bring over 30 years of experience of serving on East African and global non-profit boards, including Aidpan, FCS, the Media Council, IBP, IPA, Luminate, and the Hewlett Foundation.

I hold a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard, and a BA in Philosophy and English Literature from Brandeis.

Through all this I have come to appreciate the power of learning where I was wrong, and to value and cherish vegan food, solitude, friendship and kindness.

Additional Reading: Why Trust (not Money, Data, Evidence, Argument, Credentials) is the Currency of Change