Otto Ben Adol

Dr. Otto Ben Adol is a seasoned development practitioner and academic with over fifteen years of experience in human security, governance, peacebuilding, and project management across Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa. He currently serves as a Lecturer and a Deputy Chief at the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies (IPSS), Gulu University, where he teaches and supervises graduate and undergraduate students in governance, conflict transformation, sustainable development, climate change, and international relations.
Academically, Dr. Otto holds a PhD in Peace and Security Studies from Gulu University, where his doctoral research examined Acholi traditional institutions and post-war land governance. His post-doctoral fellowship further explored reparations, and the implications of International Criminal Court orders on LRA victims in Northern Uganda. He also earned a master’s degree in Culture and Environment in Africa from the University of Cologne, Germany, graduating with distinction.
His expertise spans grant management, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), human rights advocacy, and land governance in post-conflict contexts. He has provided technical leadership for complex donor-funded portfolios, including projects supported by the Ford Foundation, Oxfam, USAID, GIZ, ActionAid International, and Amnesty International, ensuring compliance, value for money, and evidence-based impact.
As Programme Coordinator of Amaro Research in Development (ARiD), Dr. Otto spearheaded strategic partnerships with international organizations and led initiatives on responsive governance, electoral democracy, and community peacebuilding. His consultancy record includes baseline surveys, impact evaluations, and conflict analyses for leading institutions such as the World Bank, Avocats Sans Frontières, War Child UK, and THRIVE Gulu, with a focus on land rights, gender justice, and transitional justice.
Dr. Otto has contributed to peer-reviewed publications on land rights, customary governance, and post-conflict reconciliation, including chapters in Berghahn Books and Routledge. He has presented papers at international conferences in Sydney, Washington DC, Dar es Salaam, and Mumbai, and facilitated high-level trainings on social accountability, land mediation, and electoral democracy.
Fluent in English and Luo, with working knowledge of German, Dr. Otto combines academic rigor with practical field experience. His career reflects a commitment to bridging research, policy, and practice in advancing peace, justice, and sustainable development in fragile and post-conflict societies.