Cosmas C. Ohaka PhD is a Business Administrator, Development Expert, Educationist and Researcher. An alumnus of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, and the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), his other academic and professional qualifications include: MBA (Marketing), PGD (Marketing), BSc. (Accounting), Diploma in Marketing and Diploma in Management. Cosmas Ohaka has work experience in both the public and private sectors of Nigeria spanning over two decades. His research interests are on development management, governance and public policy.

His yet to be published doctoral thesis is on the impact of remittances, financial sector development and institutional quality on investments in Nigeria. He has presented a number of papers including Population Growth and Economic Development. (UNN, 2012), Non-Governmental Organizations and National Development- Need for Paradigm shift. (UNN, 2012), Improving the Internally Generated Revenue of Local Governments in Enugu State (Enugu, 2013), Political Campaign funding and Corruption in Nigeria. (UNN, 2013), Understanding the Entrepreneur (Enugu, 2016).

He has also attended a number of seminars and training workshops on water management, safety and security, gender equality and conflict management. Cosmas Ohaka has participated in a number of research projects of the Centre.

Dr. Oliver C. Ujah is an independent consultant and Agricultural Economist with specialization in Resource and Environmental Economics from the University of Nigeria. He has over ten years’ agricultural research and consultancy experience in Nigeria with special interest in agricultural development economics, food security, climate change, sustainability and WASH (water and sanitation). He is also active in subnational governance and accountability issues through many years of active participation in subnational governance and business environment benchmarking in States of Nigeria.

David is an economist and a researcher in the field of Applied Economics. Within the broad field of Economics, he has special research interest in the area of Open Economy Macroeconomics – Finance, International Capital Flows, Trade and Regional Integration, and Fiscal/Monetary Policy. He does these with the application of quantitative analytical skills – Macroeconometrics and macroeconomic modelling.

David has provided consultancy services to more than a dozen national and international agencies. Some of the international institutions he has consulted for include The World Bank Group; United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER); WaterAid Nigeria Country Office; Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA); etc. David has capabilities for various technical services such as reliable data collection, data cleaning/analysis, production of technical reports and policy briefs. He has therefore produced close to two dozens of technical reports. David has travelled widely and has presented several conference/workshop papers. David has also published widely.

Okolo-obasi Nduka has garnered over ten years’ experience working in development, financial and management consulting outfit. Well vast in gathering, analysis, design, development, deployment in several social research Projects. He hold a Bechelor of Agricultural Technology, Agricultural Economics and Extension from Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), M.Sc, in Development studies from the f University of Nigeria Nsukka and currently a PhD student of development studies of the same University of Nigeria Nsukka. Mr. Okolo-obasi is well experienced in designing and delivering large scale programmes with a track record of meeting and exceeding target while maintaining technical quality. He is Highly numerically articulate with record of data manipulation and the use of computer packages like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point, Microsoft Access, Adobe PageMaker, Simnet, SPSS, STATA, Distributive Analysis (DAD), Tora, Lindo and Lingo Optimization Software, Limdep, Microfit, CS-PRO, Operation Research (OR) Courseware, Econometric Views (E-Views), Limdep, Data Envelopment Analysis [DEA], Give-Win, Pc-Fml, PC-Give and What is Best and reporting systems. He has a sound strategic thinking and planning skill, having ability to think creatively and innovate and set priorities to manage work plan and evaluate progress. Highly experienced working with social protection or cash transfer programmes like the United Nations’ Harmonised Approach for Cash Transfer (HACT). A tested and proven team player and highly self-motivated.

Mr. Okolo-obasi has consulted for so many international development organizationslike the United Nations EXcom agencies (UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA), DIFD and USAID; WaterAid Nigeria, African Union (AU), New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and Economic Community of west African States (ECOWAS) etc. He has also consulted for numerous national development organization which include but not limited National Primary Health Development Agency (NPHCDA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Agency for the control of Aids (NACA), National Automotive Council (NAC), Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), National Urban Water Sector Rehabilitation Programme (NUWSRP), Office of the senior special assistant to the president on MDG (OSSAP-MDG), Revenue Mobilization and fiscal commission (RMFAC) and several state governments.

Mr Okolo-obasi is an affiliate of many professional organization including; Nigerian Economic Society (NES), International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs), Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network (PEP), Global Development Network (GDN), African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE), Nigeria Association of Agricultural Economist(NAAE),and Natural Resources and Environmental Economics Group (NAREEG). He has core research interests in the areas of macro-economic policy, financial reforms, fiscal and monetary policy, international trade, migration, poverty etc. He is actively involved in many evidence-based and policy related researches of PHD Consulting where he serves as Senior Manager Consultancy.

Uchenna is an economist, a development expert and a researcher in the field of development Economics. His interests include Development Finance; Financial Inclusion; Public Finance; Trade and Regional Integration; and International Capital Flows. He has over the years developed quantitative analytical skill especially in the areas of time series econometrics, panel data, cross sectional econometrics. He has presented research papers in conference both within and outside Nigeria. He has also served as resource person in workshops and summit including the Aba Urban Development summit in January 2016 and the workshop on development of performance indicator for monitoring IGR performance in Anambra State (August 2016). Uchenna is also capable of providing several technical services including reliable data collection, data cleaning/analysis, production of technical reports and policy briefs.

Dick Emmanuel is a researcher with Development Strategy centre (DSC), Enugu, Nigeria. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. After his one year compulxory service during which he taught Economics and mathematics in Ikabigbo Grammar school, Uzairue, Edo State, proceeded for further studies at the University of Nigeria. Consequently Emmanuel holds a Master of Science degree in Quantitative Economics from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu state, and is a prospective Ph.D candidate at the same institution. In the course of his career, Emmanuel has worked as Economics tutor at Doyen Academy (School of Preliminary Studies), where he made his students fall in love with the subject of economics. Before his appointment at the development Strategy Centre, He was a research assistant to the consultant on Abia Education for Employment (E4E) Programme, where he led the team that collected and organized the data of unemployed youths in Abia state, Nigeria. While with DSC Emmanuel has participated in a couple of field works and data analysis.

Emmanuel is a reader by nature and very creative, he brings this powerful combination of creativity and passion to bear in economics research and writing. Over the last couple of months, Emmanuel has been trained and has worked with some of the best hands in research and specifically in the field of economics, not to mention his competency in the use of statistical software packages like Eviews and Stata in data analysis. He has also through his various endeavours demonstrated the ability to break down issues into manageable tasks.

Chioma is a young female Development practitioner and a current PhD student at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nigeria. She has up to 6-years’ experience in development practice and research in Nigeria. She is an in-house researcher (microeconomics and social governance) with Development Strategy Centre (DSC) from the onset of the institute and fully participates in several development research studies and social governance with DSC. Chioma was also part of the dynamic team that conducted livelihood needs assessment funded by NEWMAP, Enugu State Project Monitoring Unit with another organization which was led by Nebechi Ugwuozor.

Chioma has been actively involved in several other research strategy report writing, monitoring and evaluation, administration and Needs Assessment. In the area of development practice, Chioma has worked with several non-governmental organisations where she helped the organisations to achieve their corporate missions of existence. Some of the non-governmental organisations are Poverty in Africa Alternative (POVINAA), Women Action Research Organisation (WARO), etc. She is very efficient in data gathering and analysing, proficient in the use of Microsoft word, Power point among others, also competent in the use of spread sheets (e.g. excel spread sheet), and knowledge of STATA.

Emekaraonye Chukwunenye Ferguson is a staff of Development Strategy Center (DSC), Enugu, Nigeria and a PhD student of the Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka majoring in Monetary Economics. He is very proficient with the use of econometrical softwares such as SPSS, E-views and Stata. He has publications to his credit and many conference paper presentations. He has won research grant from United Nations University-Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) and has among others, consulted for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the capacity of Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in the USAID MARKETS II Project in Ebonyi State.

He is a full member, Nigerian Economics Society (NES), a network member, African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS), a graduate member, Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and a network Member, Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP)

His research interest includes Monetary Policy, International Finance and Macroeconomics.