Altaf Virani

Dr Altaf Virani is a public policy scholar whose research examines how governance systems, institutional arrangements, and policy tools shape government effectiveness and equity outcomes. Grounded in the policy sciences tradition, his research adopts comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding policy design and implementation, particularly in non-Western and transitional contexts. He advances design-focused policy research that engages with systemic and institutional barriers to reform, the unintended consequences of poor design, the ways policies can create or exacerbate inequalities, and strategies to address these effects.

Alongside his academic work, Altaf has been involved in applied research and policy engagement. He served as Executive Vice Director of Action Lab Indonesia, part of Monash Global’s Action Lab Network, which advances initiatives that promote innovation at the intersection of communities, digital technology, and social inclusion. He has worked with governments, international agencies such as the World Bank, ILO, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Aga Khan Development Network, as well as community-based organizations on field action research projects and interventions. His contributions include developing policy knowledge networks to support health system reform, technology-assisted tools to strengthen frontline healthcare delivery, and social protection programs for low-income households.

Altaf holds a PhD in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and was a Fox International Fellow at Yale University’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. Before joining Flinders, he was Associate Professor of Public Policy at Monash University Indonesia, where he led the establishment and strategic development of the public policy program in Jakarta.

He currently serves as Associate Editor of Policy Design and Practice, is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, and is a Steering Committee member of the India Public Policy Network. His work has appeared in leading journals such as Public Administration, Policy and Society, Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, and Globalization and Health, as well as in volumes published by Oxford University Press and Edward Elgar.