What does it take to build active citizenship? Is it citizens who vote and engage with their leaders? Leaders who listen? Or institutions that are responsive to citizens’ needs? These questions have shaped Busara’s work on governance and civic engagement for more than a decade. They have pushed us to look beyond whether citizens participate and ask a deeper question: what enables people to exercise their agency, and what makes their participation meaningful? To help us explore these questions, we recently convened government, civil society organizations, researchers, community-based organizations, and development partners for the Active Citizens Forum in Nairobi on 19–20 August 2026. The Forum provided a space to reflect on a decade of learning, share practical approaches to strengthening citizen agency, and ask what it takes to move from participation as an event to active citizenship as an ongoing practice. The Forum also marked the launch of Busara’s Behavioral Science for Governance Lab (BeGov Lab), opening a new chapter in our work to understand and strengthen citizen agency across East Africa and beyond. 

The Forum was both a celebration and a moment of reflection, marking ten years since Busara began exploring citizen participation across East Africa. An earlier challenge Busara encountered while researching citizen participation was feedback from civil society organizations that citizens often remain disengaged even when governance decisions directly affect their lives. This evolved into a decade of applied behavioral science, experimentation, capacity strengthening, and partnerships with governments and civil society organizations seeking to better understand the incentives and barriers that shape citizen agency.

That journey opened a new chapter with the launch of the BeGov Lab, which represents Busara’s commitment to bringing behavioral science closer to governance practice by creating a space where ideas can be tested, partnerships strengthened, and evidence translated into practical solutions for more responsive institutions. But before looking ahead, the Active Citizens Forum reminded us of several important lessons.

(i) Listening is where active citizenship begins 

Over the two days, a remarkably simple message emerged: citizens want to be heard, but, more importantly, they want to know that being heard makes a difference. Too often, public participation is treated as a procedural exercise. Governments organize forums, collect submissions, and fulfill participation requirements, yet citizens are left wondering what happened to their ideas after the meeting ends. The conversations at the Forum challenged this approach by emphasizing that meaningful participation begins with listening to people’s lived realities and creating institutions that are capable of responding. 

Frankline Mukwanja, Executive Director of the Center for Multiparty Democracy in Kenya. captured this challenge in his keynote address, where he reflected on the foundations of democracy. His message was clear: democracy depends not only on citizens who raise their voices, but also on institutions and leaders willing to respond to those voices. In his words,  “democracy needs institutions that respond to the needs of citizens, leaders who act on citizens’ interests and citizens who can raise their voices on policy issues.” This reflection was also pointed out by Mr. Godfrey Akumali, Acting County Secretary at Nairobi City County Government. He spoke candidly about the transformation governments must undergo: from historically closed and bureaucratic institutions to systems that genuinely learn from citizens. Rather than assuming what communities need, governments must invest in understanding citizen priorities and making sense of the vast amounts of information generated through everyday engagement. For example, rather than assuming that simply building a market will move street traders off the streets, governments need to engage with traders to understand why they operate in particular locations and work with them to design markets that reflect their needs, including locating them where their customers are. This shift, from designing solutions for citizens to designing them with citizens, is at the heart of meaningful participation and responsive governance. The discussion was brought to life through a fireside conversation with representatives from Nairobi County’s Departments of Research and Policy and Public Participation. This conversation highlighted ongoing efforts to build systems capable of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating citizen feedback so that participation becomes connected to evidence-informed decision-making.

(ii) Evidence is important, but so is timing and relationships 

Another question that emerged throughout the Forum was: Where does the citizen’s voice go after it has been heard? This question led to a broader reflection on the role of evidence in turning participation into action. Evidence matters, but only when it travels. Producing rigorous research is important, but evidence can only create change when it reaches the people and institutions with the power to act on it. This was rightly pointed out by Anna Bwana, Executive Director of Twaweza East Africa, who reminded participants that evidence is only one of the bridges between citizens and decision-makers. For research to influence policy and practice, it must move through relationships, trust, timing, and a clear understanding of where and how decisions are made. This means engaging decision-makers throughout the research process, not simply presenting findings once the research is complete, and ensuring that evidence is relevant, accessible, and connected to the realities of the people it is intended to serve.

(iii) Learning by doing: Applying behavioral science in practice 

While many conversations focused on governance principles, the Forum was equally practical. Busara hosted several interactive workshops demonstrating behavioral tools developed over years of research and practice across East Africa. These sessions allowed participants to experience firsthand how behavioral science can strengthen civic engagement and social accountability initiatives. In a session on Low-Cost Message Testing (LCMT), participants explored how to test social and behavior change communication strategies and advocacy messages before rolling them out. Rather than relying solely on intuition, organizations learned how behavioral testing can help identify which messages are more likely to resonate with communities, without requiring large campaign budgets. You can access this toolkit using this link.

Participants also engaged with Busara’s Behavioral Systems Mapping approach, learning how systems thinking can help identify the actors, relationships, incentives, and feedback loops that shape governance challenges. Closely linked was a Social Network Analysis workshop that demonstrated how mapping relationships within communities and institutions can uncover influential actors, information flows, and opportunities for more effective engagement. You can access Busara’s Social Network Analysis playbook here.  Another hands-on session introduced Participatory Action Research methods, including Story Completion. Participants collaboratively developed narratives around shared challenges. The exercise illustrated an important principle of participatory research: communities are not simply respondents; they are active contributors to identifying problems and designing solutions. You can learn more about this and other methods by checking out the PAR toolkit here. These workshops reflected Busara’s broader approach of combining experimentation with practical capacity strengthening so that organizations can apply behavioral insights within their own governance work. 

(iv) What can a public goods experiment teach us about active citizenship? 

Perhaps one of the most memorable experiences at the Forum was Busara’s behavioral laboratory experiment. In a Public Goods Game, participants were invited to decide how much to contribute from their individual resources to a shared pool. Each participant faced the same dilemma encountered in everyday civic life: should I prioritize my own immediate interests, or contribute towards something that benefits everyone? As the experiment unfolded, participants observed how cooperation is influenced by trust, fairness, reciprocity, and expectations about other community members’ behavior. When people believe others will contribute, they are often more willing to cooperate themselves. Conversely, uncertainty and mistrust can weaken collective action. The experiment offered a powerful reminder that active citizenship is not only about knowledge or awareness. It is also shaped by behavioral and social conditions that influence whether individuals believe cooperation is worthwhile. For policymakers and practitioners, understanding these behavioral drivers is essential for designing programs that strengthen collective action within communities.

(v) Active citizenship through shared interests 

One of the greatest strengths of the Active Citizens Forum was learning directly from organizations experimenting with different models of citizen engagement. The Uhuru Institute for Social Development reflected on its decade-long partnership with Busara and shared lessons on citizen identity through cooperatives, organization, advocacy, and accountability. A presentation by Leonard Okello, the Chief Executive Officer at the Institute, emphasized that active citizenship grows when communities recognize their collective power and organize around shared interests. Together with Busara, the Institute also showcased the Cooperative Resilience Measurement Index (CRMI), demonstrating how evidence can help member-owned organizations understand and strengthen resilience beyond financial indicators.

(vi) Youth agency and participation 

Youth participation emerged as a major theme. Twaweza East Africa facilitated conversations on building tomorrow’s agency today and collaborated with Busara to launch a Community of Practice on Youth Engagement. The initiative seeks to create an ongoing space for organizations to exchange learning, generate evidence, and collectively explore how young people can participate more meaningfully in Kenya’s civic and political life. Shujaaz Inc through its Mic Yetu initiative, demonstrated how storytelling, youth-led research, digital platforms, and trusted community networks can create authentic opportunities for young people to engage. Their session challenged traditional definitions of participation by showing that many young people are already active in civic conversations, even if those forms of engagement are often overlooked. Similarly, the Africa Youth Leadership Forum (AYLF) and Futureelect showcased spaces for young people to discuss leadership, political aspirations, and the realities of seeking public office. These conversations highlighted the importance of supporting emerging leaders with knowledge, networks, and opportunities to participate in more inclusive and issue-based politics. The Forum also reminded us that citizen agency can take many forms. It can emerge through elections, budget processes, storytelling, research, leadership, or collective community action.

(vii) Citizen agency is not confined to policy papers and public meetings

Through an interactive session hosted by artists, Pawa254 demonstrated how artivism can transform complex governance issues into accessible and emotionally engaging civic conversations. Through art, communities can question power, challenge exclusion, and create new spaces for political expression while raising important conversations around representation. In a separate session, Bajeti Hub shifted attention towards public finance by asking an equally important question: can citizens meaningfully influence budgets? Through regional budget hubs and community champions, the organization showcased how citizens can engage more effectively in budgeting processes when they are equipped with evidence and connected to both national and county governance systems. Returning to the question of citizen data, Afrobarometer demonstrated the value of citizen-generated data for understanding public service delivery and governance challenges across Africa. Rather than stopping at presenting data, participants worked through how evidence can be translated into specific behaviors, underlying barriers, and practical interventions. Population Council Kenya added another important dimension by sharing lessons from longitudinal research on evidence uptake. Their session reinforced the importance of working with communities, researchers, and policymakers throughout the research process so that resulting policies and programs remain relevant, trusted, and sustainable. We were also reminded by Global Rights Alert that successful community engagement often begins by recognizing the structures already present within communities. Instead of imposing external solutions, their approach focuses on strengthening trusted local actors and helping communities navigate formal governance systems using existing relationships and knowledge. Together, these interventions illustrated that citizens are not simply waiting to be empowered; they already possess agency, networks, and lived expertise.

(viii) Technology as an enabler of active citizenship

Technology featured prominently throughout the Forum, but not as a silver bullet. Instead, digital tools were presented as mechanisms to improve accountability and strengthen the connection between citizens and institutions. Nuru Trust Network, with Sauti Stack innovation, encouraged participants to consider what happens after citizens submit feedback in public participation processes. They explored how technology can help communities track issues and understand whether institutions have acted on their contributions. Mzalendo Trust showcased BungeMeter, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can make parliamentary information more accessible and help citizens better monitor the performance of their representatives. Sema focused on another behavioral challenge: why do people remain silent? Through anonymous technology-enabled feedback systems, participants explored how fear, distrust, and the belief that nothing will change often discourage citizens from speaking honestly. One insight stood out: people are far more likely to provide meaningful feedback when they believe institutions will respond. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Kenya extended this conversation into urban governance through an interactive community-driven planning platform that enables citizens to explore city spaces, submit structured feedback, and track government responses. Across these sessions, technology was consistently framed as an enabler rather than the solution itself. Digital platforms only strengthen participation when they are designed around people’s realities and connected to institutions willing to listen and act.

For us then, the Active Citizens Forum was more than a convening. It was a space to reflect on a fundamental question: what does it take to move from citizen participation as an event to active citizenship as an ongoing practice?

What we are taking forward

First, citizens must be treated as partners, not passive recipients. Whether through community monitoring, participatory research, youth-led storytelling, or public finance engagement, the strongest interventions start by recognizing that knowledge and agency already exist within communities. Second, feedback must lead somewhere. Citizens need to understand how their voices are received, considered, and acted upon. Closing the feedback loop is essential to building trust and sustaining participation. Third, we need to meet people where they are. This means recognizing that participation does not happen only in formal forums. Young people may engage through digital spaces, storytelling, social networks, art, and collective action. Fourth, technology is a tool, not the solution by itself. AI, digital platforms, dashboards, and feedback systems can expand access and improve accountability, but they must be designed around people’s realities, including unequal access to technology. Finally, collaboration is essential. No single organization or institution can solve the complex challenges surrounding citizen agency. The Forum demonstrated the value of bringing government, civil society, researchers, communities, funders, and innovators into the same conversation. 

Busara’s new strategy marks a shift from research to evidence-informed policy and practice, grounded in the understanding that human behavior is dynamic and that meaningful innovations take time to become embedded within complex systems. Governance systems, in particular, are interconnected and shaped by relationships, norms, rules, and feedback loops that continuously influence how actors interact and how change occurs (Diaz Del Valle et al., 2024; Wright & Meadows, 2012). This complexity underscores the need for closer collaboration among policy actors and citizens. Creating spaces where relationships can form, knowledge can be exchanged, ideas can be tested, and people can learn from one another is essential to enabling lasting change. In this context, Busara launched the Behavioral Science for Governance Lab (BeGov Lab) that will serve as a space for collaboration, experimentation, capacity strengthening, and shared learning. It will convene partners to better understand complex governance challenges, showcase promising innovations, test behavioral solutions, learn what works and what does not work, and identify pathways to scale effective approaches. In doing so, the Lab brings Busara’s work on behavioral science, collaboration, and capacity strengthening full circle while opening a new chapter focused on incubating, testing, and scaling innovations that strengthen civic participation and improve governance outcomes. The Active Citizens Forum reminded us that building active citizenship is not a linear journey. It requires experimentation, listening, and institutions that are willing to learn and change. It also requires humility to recognize that some of the most important solutions may already exist within the communities we seek to serve.

As we look ahead, we hope to keep the conversations going, deepen partnerships, and translate the ideas shared at the Forum into action. We invite partners to walk with us on this journey.  If you are interested in collaborating with the BeGov Lab, visit our website to learn more about our work and how you can partner with us. You can also read the full report on our website to learn more about the Forum.

Further reading:

1. Adaba, K. A., & David, B. (2024). Across Africa, public trust in key institutions and leaders is weakening (Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 891). Afrobarometer. https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AD891-PAP20-Africans-trust-in-key-institutions-and-leaders-is-weakening-Afrobarometer-31oct24.pdf 
2. Diaz Del Valle, E., Jang, C., & Wendel, S. (2024). Behavioral systems: Combining behavioral science and systems analysis (Busara Groundwork No. 8, Research Agenda). Busara. https://doi.org/10.62372/FMJL3064 
3. Ogutu, B., & Garcia, F. (2024, August 31). From a hashtag to a movement: The role of online information ecosystems in driving citizen engagement. Busara. https://busara.global/blog/from-a-hashtag-to-a-movement/ 
4. Hallsworth, M., Egan, M., Rutter, J., & McCrae, J. (2018). Behavioural government: Using behavioural science to improve how governments make decisions. The Behavioural Insights Team. https://www.bi.team/publications/behavioural-government/ 
5. Too, G. (2024). How can citizens’ voices enhance governance? Reflections from applied behavioral science research on what motivates citizen participation in East Africa. (Busara Groundwork No. 16) [Lessons learned]. Busara. https://www.doi.org/10.62372/NBDJ8943 
6. Uraia Trust. (2025). Nationwide study on voter apathy during the Kenya 2022 general election: Final report. https://uraia.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/VOTER-APATHY-STUDY-2022-FINAL.pdf 
7. Whitehead, M., Jones, R., Howell, R., Lilley, R., & Pykett, J. (2014). Nudging all over the world: Assessing the global impact of the behavioral sciences on public policy. Economic and Social Research Council. 
8. Wright, D., & Meadows, D. H. (2012). Thinking in systems: a primer. Taylor and Francis.