Foresight Africa

How can knowledge systems in East Africa contribute to sustainable development?

Unpacking Knowledge Systems for sustainable development in East Africa: Practical perspectives from Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania

by Joanes Atela, Fiona Marshall, Nora Ndege, Joanna Chataway, Andy Frost and Andy Hall, Knowledge Systems Project

Experiences from a three-month internship at ACTS

By Rasmus Magni, Aalborg University, Denmark.

My internship and stay at ACTS is coming to an end, and will therefore l try to recap look back on my time and recap my experience.

LCT project dissemination workshop – clean cooking technologies

By Mourine Chepkemoi, ACTS

The Next Generation of Low-cost Energy-efficient Products for the Bottom of the Pyramid (known as the LCT project) comes to an end in July 2018. To mark this occasion, the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) organized a dissemination workshop on 17^th July 2018 at ICIPE Duduville Campus, Nairobi.

Developing Green Climate Fund proposals: A two week Training on Climate Relevant Innovation-systems Builders (CRIBS) kicks off

By Victoria Chengo & Fiona Imbali, ACTS

A two week long research capacity building training on the preparation of proposals for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) kicked off at the Elementaita Country Lodge in Naivasha, Kenya.

Energy Development plans in the Kenyan Counties: Highlights from the Transforming Energy Access workshop

By Victoria Chengo, ACTS

On 10^th – 11^th April 2018, the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) stakeholder workshop was held in Kisumu. It was organized by the African centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in collaboration with the UK-based Low Carbon for Development Network (LCEDN), and the National Environment Trust Fund (NETFUND)-Kenya.

Sustainable dairying in Africa: Highlights from the 13th African Dairy Conference

Dr. Catherine Kilelu , 3R Kenya Project Coordinator - ACTS
From 15 - 17th November 2017, various stakeholders in the Dairy industry in Africa gathered in Johannesburg for the African Dairy conference and Exhibition organised by the East and Southern Africa Dairy Association (ESADA) (https://www.dairyafrica.com/afda). ESADA has convened this annual meeting since 2005.

ACTS Ranked among the top think tanks on climate change in the world in 2016

The African Centre for Technology Studies- ACTS has been ranked among the top 3 climate change think tanks globally in the 2016 think tank ranking. The ranking also shows that ACTS is the top think tank on climate change in Africa. The 2016 ranking assessed 244 think tanks, specialized in the research fields of climate change and climate policy.

Rethinking transformative pathways to equitable growth in Kenya: key research options for the Kenya’s Newton Utafiti Fund

Dr. Joanes Atela, ACTS

Kenya has witnessed a proliferation of research interventions on both international and national fronts. The country is a host to renowned research and development agencies such as the

Why I do what I am doing

By Dr Sandeep Napa, Project Manager, Institute for Transformative Technologies (ITT) - Low Cost Technologies Project

My parents brought us up in a home of generosity. While I had always been interested in social change, I didn’t do much until my final year of medical school. After surviving a near fatal car accident with a friend, my outlook on life changed. I realized that the support and choices that we had, were not available to most patients at our hospital.

Application of low-energy battery driven technologies in 500 Watt Clinics

By Ruth Njuguna, Head of Clinical Operations, Institute for Transformative Technologies - Low Cost Technologies Project

“Excuse me Daktari, please tell me if my baby is OK”, The woman in the queue said desperately. This woman, 27-year-old Nancy was in second trimester of her pregnancy and had noted decreased fetal movements in the last two days and mild swelling of her feet.

Mainstreaming NDCs in SDGs: the role of national innovation systems

By Dr. Joanes Atela, ACTS

Acknowledgement: This blog was written with the aid of a grant from the International Development Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. The 22^nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which took place on 7^th- 22^nd November 2016 came on the back of a series of climate negotiations over the last two decades.

3D Printing and the Policy Implications

Some thoughts for the Policy Landscape on IP

By Prof Berhanu Abegaz, The African Academy of Sciences(AAS) and Hailemichael Teshome Demissie, PhD, ACTS.

Additive manufacturing, popularly known by the colloquial ‘3D printing’, is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created.

Learning by touching: 3D printing for education

By Prof Henry Thairu Chair of the Commission for University Education, and Director of Consultancy Services, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Early this year, the BBC ran a headline story by the Director of the OECD’s Directorate of Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher, titled ‘China opens a new university every week’. At this rate China is set to overtake the total number of graduates in the Western world and perhaps in the rest of the world.

Africa’s influence in climate change negotiations is weak!! Insights from new research

By Joanes Atela, Claire Quinn, Albert Arhin, Lalisa Duguma and Kennedy Mbeva

Africa is mentioned in almost every climate change research and policy as the most vulnerable, the most exposed and the most affected continent by climate change. Global solutions being proposed to tackle climate change whether though adaptation, mitigation, capacity building, financial support are strongly justified around addressing Africa’s vulnerabilities such as hunger, disasters and diseases among others.

From policy to implementation discourse: Transformations required to achieve clean and sustainable energy in Africa

By Dr. Joanes Atela, ACTS

Background

This week from 23rd-27th May, 2016, delegates drawn from across the world are gathered at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi to participate in the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) to deliberate on the overarching theme ‘ ‘Delivering on the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’’.

Political will - The take home for Africa from Obama's endorsement of 3D printing

By Dr. Cosmas Ochieng, former Executive Director, ACTS and Dr. Hailemichael Teshome Demissie, Senior Research Fellow, ACTS

It is common tradition that every nation wants to make and preserve their leaders’ portraitures in the best way possible commissioning the best artists, sculptors and photographers.

3D Printing and Africa's manufacturing renaissance

By Prof. Bitange Ndemo, Associate professor, University of Nairobi

“3D Printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything.” President Barack Obama

Did you know that in 1990 a novel project to manufacture motor vehicles in Kenya was abandoned due to the high cost of building five prototypes?

Turning the scholarly pursuit into a development pursuit

By Dr. Joanes Atela, ACTS

In March, researchers, knowledge brokers and funders gathered in Pretoria, South Africa to share lessons and experiences on how a decade of ESRC-DFID research support has impacted on poverty reduction.The Conference came just a few months after the launch Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sweet Harmony: Why UN climate plans should use the same metrics

If the INDCs are going to be the foundations of a global climate solution, we need to make sure they are durable and clear, argue experts

By Pieter Pauw and Kennedy Liti Mbeva

The Paris climate summit was a diplomatic triumph, one built on nearly 190 national climate action plans delivered to the UN in 2015.

Experiences from conducting a choice modeling survey on domestic energy products in Kenya

By Mourine Cheruiyot, ACTS

Technology is evolving rapidly and it is influencing consumers' behaviors, their daily lifestyle, marketing, and business activities. User acceptance of technology is a critical key factor to determine its success.