Busara
Busara Center for Behavioral Economics is an advisory and research organization focused on advancing and applying behavioral science in the Global South. We work with organizations to build behaviorally-informed solutions to help scale their products, programs, and policies. At Busara, we work to understand the context of decision-making in new markets, with a strong focus in Sub- Saharan Africa. Busara operates from its permanent offices in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania, and has worked on projects with partners across the continent. We have recently scaled our efforts to Pakistan and are looking for other global partners.
Busara
Participatory Action Research (PAR) challenges a common assumption in development. Instead of conducting research about communities, it invites researchers, practitioners, and community members to work together to understand challenges and co-create solutions that reflect local realities.
To support this approach, Busara has developed the Participatory Action Research Guidebook, a practical resource that combines participatory methods with behavioral science to help organizations generate stronger evidence, strengthen citizen engagement, and design programmes that are grounded in community priorities.
Join us on 10 August as we officially launch the guidebook during a live webinar hosted in partnership with Centre for Multiparty Democracy Kenya (CMD Kenya) and Azadi.
Moderated by Monica Akinyi Kay, Senior Project Associate at Busara, and David Muruaru, Senior Policy Communications Officer at Busara, the session will introduce the foundations of Participatory Action Research and why it matters for today's development practitioners.
You'll also hear from:
Tracey Osogo, Senior Program Officer, Political Party Strengthening, Youth and Dialogue, Centre for Multiparty Democracy - Kenya
Arizechukwu Okafor, Qualitative Research Specialist
Mellan Lilumbi, Senior Qualitative and Design Analyst
Maryfin Kemunto - Knowledge Production and Sharing Program Coordinator at Azadi Resource Center.
They will unpack the principles behind PAR and explain how collaborative research creates more meaningful and sustainable outcomes.
Whether you work in research, civil society, public policy, programme implementation, or community engagement, this conversation offers practical insights you can apply immediately.
Download the Participatory Action Research Guidebook through the link in our bio or the comments.
par.busara.global/
Register for the webinar on August 10 and join the conversation.
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gRcg0QbtT_eYsY…
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Busara
Tafakari 2026: You are here: Humans and stormy times is Busara’s annual yearbook and a strategic pause in a fast-moving world. This edition treats uncertainty as a system rather than a shock, and explores what it means for research, ethics, public participation, policy, finance, democracy, and digital life when stability can no longer be assumed.
Across its pages, one message holds steady: humans are still here, the work is still here, and clarity matters most when certainty is scarce.
Celebrating our Tafakari authors and their contributions:
Francis Meyo — Message from leadership
Ayo Adeloye — Holding steady when everything else moves: what we learned about our people, trust, and change
Emiliano Diaz Del Valle — Yes, things are uncertain, but that is also part of the system.
Patricia Omedo — From pages to people: Tales that connect, inspire, and reveal our shared humanity
Kawira Mungania — Putting the IS in crisIS: it is always around but can make us fly
Michael Onsando — The highest stakes game of all. Why the work must go on
Fadila Jumare — Let’s not waste it: how learning about food waste can help us deal with uncertainty.
Joel Wambua — Launching the Busara Scientific and Ethics Review Committee (BSERC): what if we asked the researched communities to judge if research on them is ethical?
Gitanksh Sethi — When times wobble, double down on getting the basics right: three unglamorous ideas for our work
Jaspreet Singh — Understanding People in 2025: A Guide to Research Methods for Uncertain Times
Robert Nyaga — Research that matters: The power of community-driven research
Brenda Ogutu — How to get humans on board for better policies? A public participation cheat sheet for policy makers
Mohammed Alhaji — Partnerships with donors can improve if we remember that donors are also people
Betty Syanda — Money still matters: future-proofing humans under climate stress through next-generation inclusive finance.
Raya Shatry — The development sector feels uncertain–has it misunderstood its own risk?
Hitha M — For the love of clicks. Thinking about attention and integrity in a dynamic digital age
Engy Saleh — Recommitting to community: learning from ESA Africa 2025 on how we go forward
Juhi Jain — The things that stay to ask the questions that emerge: Focusing on daily practices to manage uncertain futures
Laura Schun — Challenging resilience: the next big questions on how to read the signals
Mareike Schomerus and Gideon Too — Follow your heart: understanding new models of democracy
Each essay offers a different lens, but together they build a shared argument: impact in stormy times comes from judgment, participation, ethics, and decisions that survive real life constraints.
Download the full Tafakari 2026 yearbook here:
busara.global/our-works/tafakari-yearbook-2026/
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Busara
Happy New Year 2024!
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