Bahman Kashi is the founder and president of Limestone Analytics and an adjunct faculty at Queen’s University. Prior to Limestone, he worked as a consultant in the areas of public investment management, economic analysis of development projects, and evaluation of social programs. Dr. Kashi has served as an advisor on numerous projects for the World Bank, USAID, and the Inter-American Development Bank for the past 11 years. Dr. Kashi has authored peer-reviewed publications and professional guidelines on the use of economic analysis in energy and nutrition, and the integration of gender and other social and environmental considerations into economic analysis.
At Limestone Analytics, Dr. Kashi uses his international expertise in economic analysis to serve as an advisor to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on cost-benefit analysis, and as the Research Director for USAID’s Learning, Evaluation, and Analysis Project (LEAP) III. Dr. Kashi is known for his work on assessing the financial, institutional, and political sustainability of programs and policies in developing contexts, including research and technical advisory on public-private partnerships and innovative financing models such as Development Impact Bonds. Dr. Kashi has assessed the feasibility of impact bonds for gender-equitable education programs in Zimbabwe, neonatal care in Cameroon, stunting in Lesotho, and financial inclusion in South East Asia. Dr. Kashi is also a recognized expert in the electricity and power sector, and received the 2018 Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER) on his work on power sector reform in Haiti.
Dr. Kashi is always seeking innovations to improve the use of economic tools in policy and development. He has led the development of Unified Cost-Benefit Analysis (UCBA), a modelling specification paradigm that can improve the efficiency and transparency of developing cost-benefit models. Dr. Kashi has also piloted the use of aerial imagery and artificial intelligence to collect data necessary for investments in rural electrification and transport projects.
Dr. Kashi is also the Director and faculty member for the Certified Professional Impact Analyst (CPIA) course at Queen’s University which provides training to professionals from government, NGOs, and the private sector on cost-benefit analysis, innovative finance, and evaluation.
