Contact Info
- Rosami Court, Muringa Road, Kilimani, Nairobi
- +254 (720) - 896 025
- landrite@pamojatrust.org
- Mon - Fri: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
🏛️ PASGR & Pamoja Trust Initiative
UTAFITI SERA
Evidence Driven Policy Communities — Embedding Social Safeguards into Policy and Practice Through Evidence-Informed Approaches.
📍 Urban Governance
📑 Social Safeguards
🤝 Policy Communities
📊 Research Uptake
🏛️ Overview & Schematics
📚 Publications & Resource Repository
🌟 Impact & Key Outcomes
🏛️ Overview & Schematics
💡 Background & Origin
In May 2015, PASGR received a seed grant from the Dutch Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development (INCLUDE) to conceptualize and design an innovative approach for using research to inform policy. PASGR organized a Research-Policy Actors Forum in September 2015 that examined the challenges of research-to-policy uptake; assessed knowledge needs of policy actors; and identified strategies to build dynamic research-policy communities.
The forum recognized that low research uptake can be resolved when researchers and policy actors work together, recognizing the interest, power, and motivations of multiple stakeholders through political negotiation, consensus-building, and multi-channel communication.
| MAY 2015Conceptualization & Seed Grant Awarded by the Dutch Knowledge Platform (INCLUDE) to pioneer a novel evidence-to-policy mechanism. | SEPT 2015Research-Policy Forum Assessed policy knowledge needs, power dynamics, political negotiation, and media engagement. | 2017 & BEYONDThe Eureka Moment Coined “Utafiti Sera” (Swahili for Research Policy) & established the core Theory of Change platform. |
🎯 Our Approach & Interlinking Objectives
Our approach integrates rigorous research and evidence creation with active advocacy and influencing. Responsive to national, sectoral, and regional policy levels, Utafiti Sera sets the agenda for high-quality dialogues, supports policy design, reviews existing frameworks, and champions policy implementation.
01 Vibrant CommunitiesEstablishing and sustaining active research-policy communities of practice bringing researchers, decision-makers, civil society, and urban poor advocates together. | 02 Evidence Generation & SynthesisGenerating new empirical evidence, synthesizing existing knowledge, and packaging findings into actionable policy briefs, documentaries, infographics, and op-eds. | 03 Direct Advocacy & ChampionsEngaging key policy actors and decision-makers through direct roundtables, workshops, advocacy campaigns, and strategic policy champions. |
A Flexible Dual-Route Model
⚡ SHORTER ROUTE High Political Will & Buy-InWhere political will and effective buy-in exist, Utafiti Sera adopts a direct, rapid-response model to immediately feed research evidence into policy adoption and implementation. | 🔄 LONGER ROUTE Complex Contexts & Coalition BuildingIn contexts requiring preliminary groundwork, Utafiti Sera executes structured networking, additional research, advocacy planning, and champion mobilization. |
🏛️ The Utafiti Sera “House” Concept
We use the concept of a “House” to represent a place, forum, vehicle, and process for shared knowledge and experiences to enhance research evidence uptake.
🔄 As a “Process”A sequence of structured activities enabling a community of interest and practice to co-produce knowledge and drive collective action. | 📍 As a “Place”A dedicated space for key stakeholders with interest, power, and capacity to make informed policy decisions and take action. | 💬 As a “Forum”A non-partisan platform for knowledge engagement, outreach, and in-reach across diverse theoretical and political perspectives. | 🚀 As a “Vehicle”A transmission mechanism and motor for conveying shared evidence, consensus, and field lessons directly into policy design. |
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Schematics of Utafiti Sera
Official Conceptual Diagram
The schematic architecture below illustrates the interconnections between key stakeholders, evidence synthesis, packaging, communication channels, outcomes, and policy champions across both Short and Long routes.
SCHEMATICS OF UTAFITI SERA
UTAFITI SERA
1. Key Stakeholders:
- Research Organizations
- Think Tanks
- External Organizations
- Central and Local Government
- Media
- Policy Makers
- CBOs, NGOs and Interest Groups
2. Mapping & Synthesising Evidence
- New Research Evidence on policy problem
- Synthesis of existing research evidence
3. Packaging of Research Evidence
- Policy briefs
- Infographics
- Video documentary
- Newspaper articles
4. Communication Channels
- Policy Debate
- Meetings
- Forums
- Advocacy/Campaigns
- Social Media
5. Outcomes
- New Policies
- National debate
- Program Design
- Implementation changes
Policy Influencers / Champions
Figure: Official Utafiti Sera Schematic Diagram mapping stakeholder interaction, research synthesis, communication channels, and policy outcomes.
⚙️ How Utafiti Sera Houses Work (7-Step Model)
Operationalizing a House involves a sequence of seven systematic steps from political economy analysis to policy champion mobilization and inter-house networking.
📚 Publications & Resource Repository
Browse all Utafiti Sera research briefs, change stories, case studies, documentaries, podcasts, and policy manuals produced by Pamoja Trust & PASGR.
Resources
Browse our repository of papers, articles, briefs and research documents.
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🌟 Impact & Key Outcomes
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Impact & Transformational Outcomes
Evidence-to-Policy Results
Utafiti Sera bridges the divide between empirical research and real-world policy enactment. Through structured policy communities, multi-stakeholder negotiation, and evidence synthesis, Pamoja Trust & PASGR have institutionalized social safeguards and elevated urban poor voices across national and county decision-making.
📜 35+ Policy Frameworks National & County Urban Governance Laws, Guidelines & Spatial Plans | 🏡 120,000+ Residents Protected Informal settlement dwellers with tenure security & eviction protections | 📊 50+ Evidence Publications Policy briefs, empirical studies, documentaries & technical manuals | 🤝 15+ Communities of Practice Active research-policy forums linking researchers, champions & government |
Strategic Areas of Impact
🏘️ Housing Rights & Anti-Eviction FrameworksSpearheaded the formulation and adoption of guidelines for alternative eviction settlement procedures. Institutionalized community-led enumeration as official evidence for slum upgrading projects. | 🏗️ Social Safeguards in Mega-InfrastructureEmbedded human rights and social safeguard requirements into urban transport and infrastructure projects, preventing displacement without fair compensation and resettlement. | |
🏛️ Institutionalizing Research-Policy CoalitionsEstablished non-partisan “Houses” where researchers, legislators, municipal planners, and urban poor federations regularly co-create policy solutions. | 📈 County Spatial Planning & Local GovernanceAssisted county governments in incorporating informal settlement data into County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) and spatial planning frameworks. |
Featured Case Studies & Milestones
NATIONAL IMPACT Policy Uptake Protection of Informal Settlement Land Rights & Eviction GuidelinesThrough Utafiti Sera policy roundtables, Pamoja Trust brought government actors, civil society, and legal experts together to draft comprehensive eviction and resettlement guidelines. 📑 Policy Brief #04 | COUNTY LEVEL Community Data Community-Led Settlement Mapping for Budget AllocationEmpowered informal settlement communities to map their own infrastructure needs. Utafiti Sera packaged this data into municipal briefs, directly influencing county budget disbursements. 📊 Participatory Mapping |
Voices from the Policy Community
“ Utafiti Sera provided an unmatched platform where policy makers and community leaders sat on the same table with empirical research in hand. It shifted policy discussions from political speculation to evidence-based consensus. Urban Governance Researcher | “ By treating informal settlement data as credible research evidence, Pamoja Trust enabled us to advocate directly to county planners with metrics that could not be ignored. Community Federation Leader |