Prof. Willem Fourie
Willem works at the intersection of building practical AI capabilities for the public sector and ensuring AI remains safe and aligned. As the Chair of Policy Innovation at Stellenbosch University and the founder of the Policy Innovation Lab, he leads a multidisciplinary team that builds and ships AI tools, alongside the implementation support public institutions need to use them well. Under his leadership, the Lab has developed an AI for Policy platform now used by government partners and supports digital public infrastructure reform initiatives.
An Alexander von Humboldt Fellow with a PhD in social ethics, Willem has advised the UN, AU, EU, and the South African government. He also has hands-on experience in tech environments, where he co-founded a legal-tech/NLP startup and led teams shipping applied AI tools into production.
Alongside the Lab’s core mandate, he is developing a frontier AI safety and alignment agenda for the region. This research focuses on instrumental goals, value alignment, and practical governance mechanisms that can be implemented in African contexts.
Dr Itai Makone
Dr Itai Makone is a Social Science and Policy Innovation Researcher at the Policy Innovation Lab. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. Itai’s PhD focused on political risk analysis in hybrid regimes.
Itai has a wealth of experience in academia as a lecturer at Stellenbosch University and Researcher at HUMA, University of Cape Town, in public service as an Economist for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Zimbabwe, and as an individual consultant for the Parliament of Zimbabwe and various NGOs like the African Development Bank and the International Rescue Committee.
From these and other experiences, Itai brings vast expertise in policy-relevant projects across various topics and advanced qualitative analysis skills to the team. Her research interests include using AI for evidence-based policymaking, ethics in AI, political risk analysis and security, public policy, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Gray Manicom
Dr Gray Manicom is a mathematician with a keen interest in dynamical systems, mathematical modelling, and data science. Fluent in Python and Matlab, Gray holds a PhD in Mathematics from The University of Auckland. His dissertation explored memory effects in heteroclinic networks and their application in cognitive modelling.
He previously worked as a postdoc at the University of Auckland, using models of COVID-19 to advise government COVID-related policies. At the Policy Innovation Lab he leverages the power of data analytics and machine learning to inform government policy decisions. Gray brings quantitative skills and a passion for research with real-world impact.
Monique Bennett
Corina du Toit
SDG/2063 Impact Hub, Stellenbosch University International
Co-ordinator: Goalkeepers South Africa Network
Corina du Toit
Corina is the inaugural Programme Manager for the SDG/2063 Impact Hub at Stellenbosch University and the Co-ordinator of the Goalkeepers South Africa network. She promotes and advocates for the uptake of the Sustainable Development Goals in teaching, outreach, stewardship and research.
Tinashe Chikunichawa
Tinashe is completing her Master’s in industrial engineering and engineering management. She thrives on complex challenges and has a passion for applying her knowledge and skills to contribute to developing and improving sustainable solutions.
Tinomutendayi Muzondidya
Tinomutendayi Muzondidya is a passionate data scientist, working to be at the forefront of exploring how data science can revolutionize policymaking across the entire cycle. He is completing his Master’s in industrial engineering with a focus on data science and has experience in applying data analysis skills to complex problems.
Our
PARTNERS
The Policy Innovation Lab works with the South African government and is funded by Gates Foundation and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
