Busara

Peace or conflict. Democracy or autocracy. Numbers or words. Fragility or resilience. It’s tempting to view the world in binaries—a mindset that conflict researchers strive to move beyond, yet often find themselves returning to. This week at the Conflict Research Society, Mareike Schomerus was confronting the challenge of letting go of binary thinking in two sessions: a workshop and a collaborative methodology paper. Read her reflections here: https://lnkd.in/dammMuPz

Wairimu (Nimo) Muthike has dedicated much of her time to exploring how smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa can sustainably adopt technology. Intriguingly, she found that integrating new technology with traditional wisdom holds the key to addressing Africa's most pressing agricultural issues. Today, she will be sharing key insights from her work at TedX Kitisuru. Watch the video below for more. In the meantime, this story book contains insights from some the work she has been doing in the Global South: https://lnkd.in/dgaQSWDq

This week, Busara is represented at the Conflict Research Society Annual Conference in Edinburgh. In preparing for her sessions, Mareike Schomerus reflects on what she thinks about the most at the moment: the mental models of international engagement in situations of violent conflict. Dr Anouk Rigterink Shriyam Gupta

This month, Busara celebrates its 10th anniversary. As an international organization rooted in the Global South, the appointment of Francis Meyo as our first CEO from the region marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to contextualizing behavioral science research. Having been with Busara since its early days, Francis has witnessed its transformation from a small lab to the boutique research and advisory organization it is today. Here, he shares his reflections on the past decade and his vision for the future

This is a really special day for me. When I first came to Kenya as a PhD student, I got sent to IPA in Kisumu to run my first field trial. I had no clue what I was doing, but luckily Francis Meyo was there to show me the ropes. I remember, I would sit in his makeshift office, managing hundreds of field officers in dozens of locations, surrounded with tablets, consent forms, and laptops -- I thought to myself, "how is this possible?". Still, he had time to work with my little project, and talk me through getting things done, managing a team, and finding my way in a new country. Years later when James Vancel and I were first scaling Busara in it's own transition out of IPA, we talked a lot about our goals -- primary among them having this be a Global South organization run in the Global South, by someone from the Global South. I've been asked a lot during my own transition from CEO how I made the choice to leave such a well-regarded and successful organization. It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't a choice. Busara was never my organization to run. Congratulations to Francis Meyo and to Samantha Bastian who steered the ship as interim during this critical transition. I can't wait to see where you take Busara.

Check out the recent report published by ideas42 used in the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Advocacy Hub's learning session last week, which focused on applying behavioural science to improve FLN outcomes. The report draws on the learnings of a cohort of organisations including VVOB and partners applying behavioural science to change teacher behaviour. Discover the report 👇 and learn more about barriers preventing teachers from taking up pedagogical best practices for foundational literacy and numeracy. Teaching at the Right Level Africa | Busara | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Central Square Foundation | Centre for Social and Behaviour Change | Funda Wande | Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED) | Youth Impact | Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Hub

Before he was appointed CEO in June this year, Francis Meyo was leading Busara’s health portfolio, where he focused on projects across sexual and reproductive health, digital health platforms, and innovative demand-creation strategies. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dVKEDQnE 

Today, Busara celebrates a significant milestone as Francis Meyo steps in as our new CEO. Francis joined Busara in 2016 as an Engagement Director before rising to the previous VP role, serving under James Vancel and Chaning Jang. As VP, he led Busara’s health portfolio where he focused on projects across sexual and reproductive health, digital health platforms, and innovative demand-creation strategies. Congratulations Francis!

The recent anti-finance bill and #Occupyprotests in Kenya offer a compelling case study on the critical role information plays in shaping collective action and mobilization incentives. Armed with memes and placards, the young people marched on the streets for weeks, demanding the President's attention on the Finance Bill, corruption, unbearable taxation, unaffordable living costs, joblessness, and more. The movement gained massive support regionally and globally, eventually forcing the government to listen to them in their own space - X Space. The question is, how did this "leaderless, partyless, tribeless, fearless, and relentless" hashtag movement manage to rally such massive support? And what drove young people to leave the comfort of their homes to join the #OccupyTuesday, #OccupyThursday, and #OccupyEverywhere calls on the streets every week? Brenda A. Ogutu and Fernanda Garcia share some insights in this blog post: https://lnkd.in/dZ5z45dK 

In today's world of information overload and competing audience choices, organizations need to be strategic in crafting their communication campaigns. Message testing is a key step in all this as it ensures that your messages resonate with your target audience. The Busara LCMT guidebook is a free, multilingual tool designed to help CSOs overcome the challenges of integrating evidence, experimentation, and behavioral science into their messaging. Download a free copy for a step-by-step guide on how to go about message testing here: https://lnkd.in/d7zC_zK6 For more information about the guidebook, watch this video: https://lnkd.in/dySB63Fh