Dr Daisy Ogembo, a leading researcher in tax law, policy, and administration, has joined the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) as a Research Fellow, working primarily on digitisation and tax, under the Centre’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Taxation programme, among other themes.
Ogembo holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford and has received numerous prestigious awards and research grants, including the British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and the Harvey Fellowship. Prior to joining ICTD full time in May, she taught law as an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham.
Remarking on her track record of interdisciplinary and socio-legal research, ICTD Research Director Martin Hearson said, “I’m sure [Ogembo] will make a great contribution across the ICTD programme.”
“As well as an academic career at Oxford, Strathmore, and Birmingham, she brings a wealth of experience from legal practice, being a non-practising Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and having worked for several years as a litigation lawyer in Kenya before transitioning to academia. I’m very pleased to welcome her to our team,” he added.
Ogembo’s work focuses on the taxation of hard-to-tax groups, constitutional issues in taxation, and digital aspects of taxation, and aims to address the challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries in implementing effective tax systems.
With ICTD, she will work on projects surrounding DPI, tackling questions around data sharing, data governance, and citizens’ rights, as well as continuing her work on ongoing projects, including international tax standards in Kenya and taxing higher income earners in the informal sector.
“Joining ICTD at this point in my career represents a meaningful continuation of my long-term commitment to building tax systems that truly serve and empower citizens. I believe that rigorous, locally grounded research can transform revenue systems – enhancing fairness, strengthening institutions, encouraging citizen participation, and repairing the broken social contract,” Ogembo said.
“Drawing on my experience in tax law and policy, I am delighted to contribute my skills to the innovative research colleagues are doing at ICTD, where evidence translates into real-world policy action,” she added.
Read Ogembo’s ICTD work here.