Dr. David Connolly is director of Learning, Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Dr. Connolly joined USIP in May 2018 after 13 years of experience with universities and think tanks in Amsterdam, Belfast, The Hague and York. His expertise has been commissioned to strengthen knowledge, policy and front-line practice by several governments (Afghanistan, Netherlands, and UK), multilateral agencies (UN and World Bank), international nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, the Netherlands Scientific Research Council, the Qatar Foundation, the Roosevelt Foundation and the Rotary Foundation.

Working at the intersection between research, policy and practice in fragile and conflict-affected states, Dr. Connolly’s specialist areas are local governance and more broadly the role of evidence in conflict prevention and post-conflict recovery. He has also collaborated with a range of academic disciplines and sectors including education, climate change adaptation, financial management and international law. Dr. Connolly has professional experience in 16 fragile and conflict-affected states in South and Southeast Asia, East and West Africa, and the Middle East.

Dr. Connolly holds a doctorate in Post-war Recovery Studies from the University of York, and both a masters in comparative ethnic conflict and a bachelor's (political science and English literature) from Queen’s University Belfast. He has published for academic audiences in journals such as Comparative Education and Civil Wars, and for policymakers in openSecurity, the Knowledge Platform for Security and Rule of Law and Parliamentary Brief.