PASGR Blog

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 […]

If he had his way, University of Ibadan professor Ayobami “Ayo” Ojebode would take all his PhD students and supervisors through PASGR’s Professional Development and Training (PDT) course before starting their doctoral work. “PDT is first and foremost training in research design, and design is everything. If the doctoral thesis is faulty in design, it’s […]

Dr Connie Nshemereirwe considers her participation in the Advanced Research Design (ARD) course as one of the most transformative experiences of her life. “It changed my whole approach to research and policy engagement,” the Director of Quality Assurance at Cavendish University in Uganda says. The don, who had just completed her PhD a year earlier, […]

Professional Development and Training The year 2016 saw PASGR consolidate its claim to being Africa’s premier social policy and governance research institution as it focused on strengthening its training institute and its emerging community of practice. After four years, the Professional Development and Training (PDT) Programme has grown a robust and innovative institute capable of […]

Prof Peter Wanyande’s engagement with PASGR goes back eight years—even before the pan-African policy research organisation was born. “I had the opportunity to discuss the initiative with the current Executive Director, Prof Tade Akin Aina, and Higher Education Programme (HEP) Director Beatrice Muganda at the very initial stages of PASGR,” he says. The don has […]

When National Treasury Consultant Fred Owegi was invited to give a one-hour talk to a group of Masters students at the Maseno University in Kisumu, the session lasted three hours! The talk in 2016 was on fiscal decentralisation. “PASGR felt there was limited understanding of fiscal decentralisation in Kenya.” He was impressed by the level […]

Higher Education The graduation of 22 candidates in the first class of the collaborative Master of Research and Public Policy (MRPP) was a landmark achievement in 2016. The graduands at the universities of Dar es Salaam (November 8) and Mzumbe (December 2) joined PASGR’s flagship programme at its inception in 2014. Higher Education Programme (HEP) […]

Maureen Sylvia Kusiima’s relationship with PASGR dates back to 2014. The Master of Research and Public Policy (MRPP) student from Uganda Christian University credits PASGR for honing her research skills to include public policy issue analysis, lobbying and advocacy. The student, who describes herself as “determined, hardworking, and self-driven” has acquired tools, design and other […]