Uniting
Research and Policy

Ansumana Konneh is an MPP student at Harris School of Public Policy from Liberia. Ansumana’s research interest lies at the intersection of philosophy (critical theory) and public policy as an alternative means of finding solutions to complex social problems and new theoretical frameworks toward social change. He wants to examine the impact of public policy on educational development and qualitative policy analysis for efficient and improved policy outcomes in Africa. 

Ansumana wants to master the fundamentals of the American education model and indigenize them to the African context by exploring the social, economic, and psychological factors that influence learning and motivation to allow students to thrive, especially given the economic situation in Liberia and most of Africa.

Before joining the University of Chicago, Ansumana worked with social impact organizations like SMART Liberia and, recently, as a Research Assistant at the Co-Creation Hub. He’s also served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of African Challenges, an open-access policy-oriented journal of the Africa Policy and Futures Forum created to promote African thoughts on African predicaments. Ansumana’s interest in social change was put into perspective during his time at the Liberia National Students Union, where he developed a keen interest in large-scale social transformation and the role of young people in developing a pedagogy of social change in creating a common ground between theory and practice through place-based solutions.

Ansumana holds a Bachelor of Arts in Global Changes from the African Leadership University in Rwanda.