Benjamin Kumpf

Benjamin Kumpf is Head of Innovation for Development at the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. Before 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 Program. In these capacities, Benjamin managed flexible funds to support experimentation, exploration, and the scaling-up of development innovations, co-led programs on adaptive management and advised country offices and partners on strategic innovation opportunities. Past posts include work with UN Volunteers, 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. Before 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. He teaches as adjunct professor at Columbia University, New York, and SciencesPo, Paris. He 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.

Corporate Experience

• Head of the Innovation for Development Facility, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris, France, 2020 - Present

• Head of Innovation, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, London, UK, 2018 - 2020

• Head of the UNDP Innovation Facility, United Nations Development Programme, New York, USA, 2014 - 2018

• Innovation and Learning Specialist, United Nations Development Programme, New York, USA, 2011 - 2024

• Knowledge Management Analyst, United Nations Volunteer Programme, Bonn, Germany, 2009 - 2011

• Innovation Specialist, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, Hyderabad, India, 2008 - 2009

• Knowledge Management Specialist, German Development Service, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2007 - 2008

• Junior Expert for Knowledge Management, German Development Service, Kigali, Rwanda, 2006 - 2007

Academic Experience

• Adjunct Professor, IE University, Spain, 2024 - Present 

• Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, USA, 2022 - Present

• Adjunct Professor, SciencesPo, Paris, France, 2023 - Present

Academic Background

• MA in Political Science and Psychology, Heidelberg University, 2006