Foresight Africa

Fostering greater demand for multilateral development bank financing for adaptation: Insights from developing countries

Authors : Deborah Murphy, Jo-Ellen Parry and Joanes Atela.

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have pledged to and are working to increase financing for adaptation in developing countries. For MDBs, alignment with the adaptation goals of the

A Summary of the Regulatory Framework on TV White Spaces in Kenya

By Leonard Mabele, CB4ICT Project

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) – Kenya’s National Regulatory Authority (NRA), has been deeply engaged on studies to validate the draft of the regulatory framework for Television White Spaces (TVWS) in the country. These studies were spearhead by researchers within the country led by Strathmore University and working with international partners as well.

The future of AI and Cybersecurity: A focus at Generation Z and Generation ALPHA

By Erick O. Otieno, CB4ICTD Project

Information security and cybersecurity have been used synonymously in the context of information systems security management. It is, however, very common to hear the word cybersecurity being floated in almost every discussion in the information systems world. For this blog, we shall consider cybersecurity and information security to mean the same thing.

Climate Information Communication for Local Adaptations: Policy Dialogue

The exchange of climate information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium, messaged in a practical and useful context contributes to climate communication. This has become increasingly vital in translating science and research, into practice and policy.Timely delivery and access of climate information, and how it is received, becomes important in management of drought, floods, pests, and effects of diseases.

Renewable Energy Penetration: Expanding Functional Infrastructure Through Technology Adoption and Meeting Gender Needs in Kenya

By Benjamin McIntosh-Michaelis [1]

Issues of climate change and diminishing energy resources have pushed discussions of renewable energy to the forefront of global energy discourses. Transitions and expansion of infrastructure are key elements of these discussions.

Industry-Academia Collaboration: A Key Driver to the Achievement of the desired Digital Economy

By Leonard Mabele, iLabAfrica Research Centre, Strathmore University

The unveiling of Kenya’s Digital Economy Blueprint in May 2019 promises a great economic transformation driven by a number of factors such as Digital Skills, Infrastructure, Innovation-driven Entrepreneurship, Digital Government among other factors.

How public participation can aid the uptake of solar – lessons from Makueni County.

By Morven Macewen

Public participation and community empowerment are fundamental to the success of Sustainable Development Goals; particularly, Goal No.7 that seeks to increase the ‘proportion of the population with access to electricity’, SDG 13 that aims at avoiding anthropogenic climate change, and SDG 5 concerning gender equality.

Nairobi Disaster Risk Hub signs an MoU with the Nairobi City Government

By Victoria Chengo and Joanes Atela, ACTS

On 6^th May 2019 during the official launch of the ‘Nairobi Disaster Risk Hub’ under the ‘Multi Hazard Urban Disaster Risks Transitions’ project, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Nairobi Risk Hub – hosted at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the Nairobi City County Government (NCCG) was signed.

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.