Francisco Javier Varela Sandoval is currently the Director for Institutions and Governance Research at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), a Mexico City-based think. He leads a team of policy researchers focusing on anti-corruption, public finance, governance, and democracy in Mexico. His work at IMCO sets the standards that guide transparency in state-level public finances in Mexico and is also the benchmark by which the Federal Government assesses its public procurement procedures. In addition, he is a frequent contributor on TV and radio news shows, commenting on current political events. Since 2017, he is also a Lecturer at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM). At ITAM, he teaches growth, inequality, and public policy courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Previously, between 2008 and 2020, Francisco worked at multiple agencies within Mexico’s Federal Government. At the Ministry of Public Service, he was in charge of the national civil service and the national human resources policy for over 200 agencies from 2018 to 2020. Earlier, at the Office of the President, he was in charge of Mexico’s Digital Agenda between 2013 and 2015. He started his public service career in 2008 at the National Transparency Institute. There, he worked for five years, contributing to passing regulations and launching procedures for transparency and data protection in the public sector. Francisco has also been a consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD). The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the British Council have funded his work and research. Francisco holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, both from ITAM, a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and has completed leadership training at the University of Cambridge.