The Research Programme facilitates capacity development and knowledge production for policy relevant social and governance research in Africa through collaborations with researchers based in their home institutions.  The programme aims to provide high quality policy relevant research to varied audiences; integrate policy actors into the different phases of the governance research process and institutionalise research-policy communities to facilitate uptake of research evidence in study countries.

PASGR-facilitated research has a unique focus on governance. Utafiti Sera (research-policy community) is being integrated into various research themes, to facilitate the research-policy engagement process.

Click to download Research Brochure

Initiatives and projects

Urban Governance and Turning African Cities Around: This theme explores recent rapid urbanisation in Africa and emerging evidence that some metropolitan cities are turning around their past deficits in the provision of infrastructure and services.  Visit the project page here – https://www.pasgr.org/what-we-do/research/urban-governance-and-turning-african-cities-around/

Varieties of Modes of Governance and Inclusive Development: Focusing on the nature of recent “growth” in Africa, this thematic area examines the typologies of modes of governance in Africa and uses that to analyse differential effects on inclusive development.Visit the project page here – https://www.pasgr.org/what-we-do/research/varieties-of-modes-of-governance-and-inclusive-development/

Governance, Social Policy and Social Protection in Africa: This thematic area was launched in 2016. See https://www.pasgr.org/?s=social+protection for updates.

Development data: PASGR has facilitated various activities including the African Research Database on Global Development Goals and the Post-2015 Data Test Project

Non-state social protection in Africa: Social protection was selected as a research theme due to the apparent high level of priority placed on the issue by African governments, the donor community, and regional intergovernmental bodies like the African Union (AU).  Visit the project page here

Effective Public Service Delivery: What roles do formal and informal institutions play in the provision of basic education, water supply and transportation infrastructure (roads) public services at country and sector level? What are the most feasible institutional and policy options to improve the delivery of public services in different national and institutional contexts? How do these compare across countries? Visit the project page here

Bring Back Our Girls- Nigeria: This project examines how progressive social and political action emerges in situations of fragility, conflict and closed political spaces, the trajectories they take and their impact on empowerment and accountability, with a focus on the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) movement. BBOG is one of Nigeria’s intense social media driven and female-led actions, which emerged in April 2014 following the abduction of 276 girls by the violent extremist group Boko Haram from government girls’ secondary school Chibok, Borno State North-East Nigeria. Our study attempts to understand the pathways the movement has taken, and the impact it has on empowerment and accountability, within the context of fragility, conflict, and violence in Nigeria. Visit the project page here