Lhawang Ugyel

Dr. Lhawang Ugyel is a Senior Lecturer at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University (ANU), specializing in public policy and administration. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from ANU and an MSc in International Development Studies from Cornell University. His academic roles include teaching at UNSW Canberra, Tallinn University of Technology (as Visiting Professor), and the University of Papua New Guinea (as Visiting Lecturer). He has over a decade of civil service experience in Bhutan, including roles as Policy Analyst and Senior Human Resources Officer, and part-time work with the Australian Diabetes Educators Association. Since 2019, he has advised the WHO on community health worker programs in PNG and Vanuatu.

Research interests focus on public sector reforms in developing countries, non-Western public administration, and happiness/well-being policies. Key areas include Buddhist governance systems in Bhutan, Pacific Island governance, and policy transfer mechanisms. He has published in journals like Democratization and Policy and Politics, with his PhD thesis published as a Palgrave Macmillan monograph (2016). Current projects explore Buddhist and Oceanic influences on public administration and Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) policy.

Editorial roles include Associate Editor of Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies and membership on editorial boards of Public Administration & Development and Halduskultuur. His research spans governance networks, pandemic response strategies, and cultural impacts on policy implementation, with a focus on hybrid systems merging formal and informal institutions.