Utafiti Sera

Utafiti Sera is a Swahili phrase for Research-Policy. Utafiti Sera is conceived as a multi-dimensional response to enhancing policy outcomes across Africa. Our unique and innovative approach bridges the research-evidence and policymaking process by providing safe spaces for policy dialogues among the stakeholders. Our safe spaces are important co-learning and sharing platforms, enhancing trust among actors and eliminating barriers to evidence use. We support, contribute and coordinate a vibrant network of researchers and policy actors who work together to ensure that appropriate and negotiated policy actions and uptake occur. We achieve this by: (1) Providing forums for stakeholders to engage in participatory and transdisciplinary research to co-produce context-specific and relevant knowledge; (2) Engaging diverse policy stakeholders in the process of our research projects form inception and design to implementation; (3) Being a one-stop repository for stakeholders to seek research-based evidence for policies; and (4) Facilitating shared platforms research findings dissemination to foster learning and decision-making in public policy in Africa.

As a working process, Utafiti Sera is organised into what we call, Utafiti Sera Houses. These houses are conceived across cross-cutting and multidimensional developmental pathways and are informed by rigorous research evidence generated from research work produced through PASGR strategic networks.

The current Utafiti Sera Houses include:

1. Urban Governance House Nairobi on infrastructural development in Kenya.
2. Urban Governance House Kigali on urbanisation and housing focusing in secondary cities in Rwanda.
3. Youth Employment Creation House in Kenya on agro-processing in potato and mango value chains.
4. Water Governance House in Kenya to anchor the accountability for water research work in Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
5. Urban Reforms and Development House in Accra to anchor the African cities research consortium work in 13 African countries.
6. Social Protection House in Kenya to anchor the research work in Africa.
7. Youth Aspirations and Resilience research projects in Ghana, Uganda, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya to anchor the Young Women and Men’s Aspirations and Resilience Research exploring young women and men’s aspirations and resilience in Africa before and during COVID-19 in order to understand the implications of the crisis for the lives and livelihoods of the young women and men now and in the future.
8. Policy Cultures study which is domiciled in all the houses. Its main focus is on common practices and trends that characterize policymaking practices in Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda is tackling the disconnect between the research process and policymaking that hinders the uptake of evidence in policymaking. An important contribution of this work is the novel use of ethnographic model to understand policy culture.

Current products under Utafiti Sera:

1. Newspaper article titled “the need of stakeholder engagement framework in infrastructure development projects;
2. 1 policy brief and 1 newspaper in mango value chain to inform and influence the national policies in the agri-business sector were produced by the house;
3. Draft Strategic Urban Development Framework, a key document for the design and operation of urban areas envisioned in the Urban Areas and Cities Act 2019.