Merrick Schaefer

Merrick Schaefer is currently a Senior Innovation Specialist at the World Bank, working at the intersection of technology and international development and focused on creating institutional strategies for integrating innovation into national level programs. Before joining the World Bank he was a founding member of the UNICEF Innovation Team where his work ranged from strategic program design to managing software development, as well as implementing programs in the field and the monitoring and evaluation of ICT4D projects. Two defining projects of his career were managing the development of the RapidSMS software framework and leading Programme Mwana in Zambia, one of the first mHealth programs to be scaled nationally. He has recently been focusing on a nationally scaled education monitoring program in Uganda. Merrick has also been an avid rock climber for 20 years and can often be found dangling off cliffs in far-flung corners of the world.