Aziza Umarova leads the Delivery Unit office at the Agency for Strategic Development and Reforms under the President of Uzbekistan, where she works on the shift toward outcomes-based governance and public sector innovation. In this role, she drives a whole-of-government approach to strategic alignment, leads the development of a unified public performance system for the Uzbekistan–2030 strategy, and strengthens implementation through data-driven, human-centered, and outcome-oriented approaches. She also spearheads the “Zero Bureaucracy” initiative, aimed at simplifying processes and improving the effectiveness and responsiveness of the state.
Aziza bridges international development and government practice, translating global reform models into institutionally grounded, outcome-oriented solutions. She brings nearly a decade of experience with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she led governance work in Uzbekistan and contributed to global public sector innovation at the UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence in Singapore. She is a contributing author to Public Service Evolution in 15 Post-Soviet Countries (Palgrave, 2022) and Public Administration in the New Reality (Palgrave, 2025).
A former Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Davis Center (2022), her research examined state delivery models, with a particular focus on the role of data in driving government performance. She is a Chevening Scholar, holds a Master’s degree from the University of St Andrews, and is currently completing an Executive Diploma in Strategy and Innovation at Oxford’s Saïd Business School.