Ronja Kurtzahn is an analyst at Technopolis Austria. She has a background in economics and global development, with a focus on mixed-methods research, and brings international experience at the intersection of development cooperation, policy and program design, and evaluation. Before joining Technopolis, Ronja gained diverse practical experience. Most recently, she completed a traineeship at the European Commission, where she worked on Budget Support projects for Southern Africa, prepared policy briefings for high-level events (including the Africa Energy Summit and IMF–EU meetings), and supported bilateral project planning. Previously, at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), she contributed to the preparation and implementation of evaluative studies for a global soil protection program, analyzed food security data, and helped draft progress reports for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). She also documented the political impact of education projects and conducted macroeconomic data analysis (e.g., inflation and exchange rates) at Oxfam Denmark, supported agricultural initiatives in Tanzania and Uganda, and helped build participatory structures for an integration project in Maastricht, including leading a needs assessment with refugees.

Ronja holds a Master’s degree in Global Development from the University of Copenhagen and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Economics from Maastricht University. She wrote her Master’s thesis in cooperation with GIZ, conducting a cost-benefit analysis of sustainable soil management in Ethiopia. In addition, she carried out studies on perceptions of environmental policy and the role of social norms in access to education. With her interdisciplinary background, Ronja is experienced in both quantitative and qualitative methods.