Agnese Pastorino, Ph.D.

Agnese Pastorino is a social scientist focused on innovation, digital media, and behavioural change.

She supports organizations in designing communication strategies, policies, and programs grounded in evidence and insights — with the goal of driving social change through innovative tools and digital solutions. She is currently a collaborator at Research for Purpose.

Over the past decade, her work has focused on:

• Behavioural and social data in humanitarian and development settings
• Risk communication, misinformation management, and community engagement
• Detection, analysis, and mitigation of misinformation, disinformation, and harmful online content
• Development of communication strategies informed by trends and evidence
• Integration of AI and social listening tools in communication systems
• Multi-stakeholder mechanisms in policy-making
• Donor relations and advocacy
• Capacity-building and training

Agnese has led or contributed to global research and communication projects for leading institutions, including UNICEF, WHO, the UN Department of Global Communications, the European Commission, Sapienza University, and Sorbonne University, across multiple regions.

She holds advanced training in social science, innovation, digital communication, and behavioural research, and has served in roles bridging research, policy, and practice.