Pierre Schoonraad is the Chief Director for Research and Development at the South African Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI). He has vast experience in the fields of social and public sector innovation, governance, research and knowledge management.

He leads the CPSI’s research into and the development of new solutions in response to current and future public sector challenges. His unit explores opportunities presented by frontier technologies and digital transformation of public services.

Before joining the Public Service, Pierre spent more than a decade in the not-for-profit sector conducting action research in informal settlements to find or co-develop innovative solutions for poverty related challenges, including energy efficiency solutions for low-cost housing, job-creation and combatting air pollution. He has co-authored the chapter on measuring public sector innovation in the Edward Elgar Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement (2nd Edition, 2023). Pierre holds BA and BD degrees from the University of Pretoria.