More Insights – Busara

Behaviorally informed political economy analyses: How behavioral science can enrich the process of thinking and working politically in development

Development efforts travel a complex terrain: where local needs and resources, political interests, power dynamics, and cultural history cross paths in exciting, but often confusing ways. Many vital services may…

Plot twist: Young people are eyeing the fields after all—and are more interested in agriculture than you think

For a long time now, research across Africa has painted a familiar picture: most young people are disinterested in farming and aren’t dreaming of a future behind a plough. Farming,…

Africa is not a country, but what if we made it one? Channeling African similarities for comprehensive solutions.

Growing up in Nigeria, I vividly remember how we would get beaten for incorrectly listing the seven continents of the world in our elementary Social Studies classes. One was not…

There’s a “we” in Nairobi Evidence Week. Creating resilience in evidence based policy through collaboration.

People who work to translate research evidence into effective policy have long critiqued the yawning chasm that separates the research and policy worlds. On one side of the chasm are…

A land called localization: understanding the gap between theory and practice of implementing food loss and waste solutions in the Global South.

We bring ourselves to language. A big part of the way a word is understood is the people and context within which it is used. If you talk about the…

The work is not done: creating new paths to an equitable world in uncertain times

There are many valid perspectives from which to criticise the development sector. A lot of the work in the space, for example, fails to achieve the intended expectations. One could…

Buttons, boxes, and biases: The illusion and desire for control

Have you ever found yourself desperately pressing the "close door" button in an elevator, convinced that your actions are speeding up the process? If so, you’ve experienced the illusion of…

Bringing the economy closer to home. Using urban exploration to unlock economic opportunities for underserved communities in Nairobi

Plato’s allegory of the cave from his work Republic asks us to imagine a group of prisoners chained in a cave whose only view of the outside world is a…

Can dialogue foster active citizen participation in Kenya? Reflecting on the People Dialogue Festival

The People Dialogue Festival (PDF) was birthed as a follow up to the political truce between the former President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga which…

Making the connection: changing the system of gender-based violence in Guatemala

This article is part of Busara’s Tafakari 2025 yearbook. You can download the whole yearbook here. In global development, the quest for measurable impact often gravitates towards quantifiable outcomes: the number…