Poorti Sapatnekar

Dr. Poorti Sapatnekar is a research affiliate at the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CISSM). Poorti’s research focuses on multi-stakeholder partnerships, international organizations (particularly the United Nations system), sustainable development and climate governance. Her doctoral dissertation used dynamic network analysis, archival research and interviews to reveal the outsize roles played by international organizations in driving the growth of multi-stakeholder partnerships via a mechanism she calls “the Collective Choreography of Cooperation”.

Poorti currently supports the Government of the United Kingdom in the development and co-creation of the Adaptation Research Alliance ahead of the next global climate conference (COP26). She previously worked at the United Nations, as part of the UN Secretary-General’s Strategic Planning Unit and Climate Change Support Team, in the run-up to the Paris Climate Agreement. Prior to this, Poorti was a Coordination Specialist for the UN system in Indonesia to ‘Deliver as One’ in support of the Government of Indonesia’s priorities on crisis recovery and resilience, digital innovation, climate change, and development. In addition, Poorti has worked for NGOs in Sri Lanka and Rwanda to promote grassroots recovery and development following civil conflict.

Poorti completed her PhD in Policy Studies at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy in October 2020. She also holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London; and a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.