Dr. Fares A. Braizat
Chairman, NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions
Dr. Fares A. Braizat is currently the Chairman of the Amman-based NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions (Research Firm) where he directs public policy-related projects especially on tourism with specific focus on eco-tourism in rural and periphery areas in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Oman. In 2022, he was also appointed by the Royal Court to moderate “The Working on the Tourism Sector” as part of the economic workshop organized the Royal Hashemite Court to produce Jordan’s economic visions 2033 and in the same year he became an IGCAT Expert (International Institute of Gastronomy Culture, Arts and Tourism). He was appointed by His Majesty as a member of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System (Summer 2021) where he served on the Election Law Subcommittee.
In the private sector he oversees a few youth-led and owned entrepreneurial projects in the tourism and agricultural sectors where he offers mentorship. He is also active member of the Jordan Trail Association and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature.
Prior to his current roles, Dr. Braizat served as the Minister of Youth 2019-2020 where he combined academic research with public policy to introduce new programs such as the National Youth Entrepreneurs Forum which focused on, inter alia, tourism. He also served on the Board of the Government Investment Management Company in 2019. He has also served as the chairman of the Social Policies Committee at the Economic and Social Council in 2016.
Prior to founding NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions in 2016, he served as Senior Adviser / Director of Strategic Studies and Evaluation at the Office of His Majesty, Royal Hashemite Court, Jordan between Jan 2012 – Feb 2016. At the Royal Court, his public policy work included working on the Arab Spring and governance issues, evaluation of royal initiatives and public policies, creating a heat map of Jordan. As a result, 7 eco-tourism projects were established to create economic impact in local communities adjacent to the Jordan Trail.
He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (2003) and an MA in Political Sociology (1998) from the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK; a diploma in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Raul Wallenberg Institute at Lund University in Sweden 1997, and a BA in History and Archaeology form Mutah University in Jordan 1994.
He was elected in May 2022 on the International Executive Committee of the World Values Survey and served previously on the International Scientific Advisory Board of the World Values Survey and the Principal Investigator for Jordan and leading the project in Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt. Also, he led Transparency International surveys in Jordan and other countries in the region. Since 2016, he has been overseeing the Investor Confidence Survey and led many research projects for the UNHCR, UNWOMEN-UNDP, International Republican Institute, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, USAID, Fredrick Ebert Foundation, and UKAID to name a few.
Dr. Braizat is a leading analyst on tourism-related public policy, socio-economic development, and survey research. He has conducted numerous studies on performance evaluation of public and private institutions across the Arab World. Currently he directs a multi-party (EBRD, MoTA, Skills Development Commission, Tourism Sector Skill Development Council) project to produce a research-based Skill Development Strategy for the Tourism Sector in Jordan.
Given his standing he was awarded Fulbright/APSA Senior Fellow at the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC 2006-2007 and served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at the United States Congress as part of the fellowship. Prior to that, he was awarded the Chevening Scholarship for his MA and PhD in the United Kingdom and most recently in 2014 Eisenhower Leaders Fellowship in the United States.
His recent academic publications include “Youth in the Arab Mediterranean Region: The Prospects for Building Bridges to Solve Common Issues”, Anna Lindh Foundation (2021). Determining Youth Radicalization in Jordan, the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, Georgetown University (2017). He published a book on Islam, Muslims and Liberal Democracy in 2011 and wrote over 50 research papers (published and unpublished). He writes regular OpEds in Arabic and English for local and international news outlets and comments for many local and international TV channels.