Experienced Research and Public Policy Expert with 17 years of experience working on evidence based policy development including; research, interdisciplinary policy analysis, impact assessment, advocacy and international cooperation at national, regional and international levels. Prior joining Qatar Foundation, he worked for UNFPA Regional Office; EU Program on Family and Child Rights and the Egyptian Prime Minister’s Office. His research focuses on the politics of social policies, social justice and interdisciplinary policy analysis from socio-economic perspective in the Arab region, with a particular emphasis on Gulf and Mashreq contexts. His areas of expertise include social protection systems, resilience mechanisms, maternity protection, social inclusion/ exclusion, labour policy transformations, family policies, demography and sustainable development. He also published and coauthored peer-reviewed articles, policy briefs and research reports on issues related to disability protection, social welfare system, housing and family formation/dissolution, work-family balance policies, political economy of international aid, monitoring and evaluation under humanitarian circumstances, among others. He delivered high-quality consultancies, led research, policy and advocacy programs in the aforementioned fields, and participated as a speaker in numerous national, regional and international conferences and expert meetings. Publications can be found on: https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/persons/ahmed-aref Ahmed is affiliated with the Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath, UK and can be reached on: Email: a.aref@bath.ac.uk