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Olufemi Samson Balogun—Femi to friends and colleagues—regards excellence in research as a process. The intern in the Research Programme (RP) at PASGR says: “We try to ensure that we don’t compromise on quality.” Besides engaging practitioners and policy actors from the beginning to the end of the research, PASGR endeavours to ensure inclusiveness in terms […]

Professor Edgar Pieterse is convinced that a transformation is taking place in African cities. “They are not just about doom and gloom” the Principal Investigator of the Urban Governance and Turning African Cities Around project says. The Director, African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, has been involved with […]

Research Programme There is no stopping an idea whose time has come. This is the story of PASGR’s innovative approach to research uptake and policy engagement, Utafiti Sera (research-policy communities), which appears to have taken the research community by storm. In a short three years, Utafiti Sera has become a key component of the Research […]

In 2016, several instructors in the PASGR Advanced Research Design and Policy Oriented Research Professional Development and Training programme undertook a joint research project. The idea was to ground what they teach participants on the practical application of various methods in research. The instructors identified a common problem in Africa and applied their expertise to […]

In the fifth and final blog in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, Kassa Teshager Alemu – assistant professor at the Ethiopian Civil Service University – uses his research on the role of informal actors in Addis Ababa’s solid waste management system to reflect on the recent Koshe landslide and how a similar disaster […]

In this blog, the fourth in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, Daniel Doh investigates the impact of staff motivation and competence levels within local government on the quality of service delivery in Ghana’s district assemblies Kejetia Market, Ghana. Image credit: Nyani Quarmyne/Panos Decentralisation in Ghana One of the most discussed and acted upon […]

In this blog, the third in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, researchers from Kenya dramatize – through Kenyan storytelling – their recent study on citizens’ perceptions of the impact of decentralisation on healthcare in Kenya. The characters in the story are fictitious. Photo: Availability of ambulances at sub-County level has not only translated […]

In this blog, the second in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, Emilly Comfort Maractho reflects on the differing success of public primary education in Uganda. Last year, as I addressed the Nebbi Makerere Students Association at a function organised to help students making the best of their time at university, I spoke to […]

In this blog, the first in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, researchers from Nigeria share insights from their recent study on citizens’ perceptions of elected versus ‘selected’ local government officials. In 1999 Nigeria returned to democratic rule after a long spell of military rule. Democracy opened up spaces for political debates and contestations, […]

As PASGR’s work grows from strength to strength, we are beginning to take the lead in various aspects of programme activities. The year 2015 has been one of several ‘firsts’ as we have started to implement the strategic directions finalised in 2014. A key focus in 2015 has been the formation and deepening of partnerships […]