Busara is proud to announce the launch of the Behavioral Science for Governance Lab (BeGov Lab), a specialized hub dedicated to applied behavioral science, embedded partnerships, and real-time learning for better governance outcomes in Kenya. The Lab seeks to support Civil Society Organizations, government agencies, and other policy actors in using evidence and citizens’ needs to improve how they design and deliver programs, interventions, and services, while creating stronger opportunities to test, learn, and improve what works.
BeGov Lab is Busara’s response to the gap between the availability and application of evidence and meaningful participation of citizens in governance processes. The lab will support partners in diagnosing behavioral and operational barriers and testing social and behavior change interventions such as communication campaigns, trusted-messenger strategies, reminder systems, and feedback mechanisms. The Lab will also be a hub for rapidly designing and conducting research and experiments to generate and share insights on important governance and civic engagement questions, and to generate evidence on what works, for whom, and under what conditions. It will also provide civil society organizations, public sector institutions, and multilateral institutions with access to behavioral research, technical expertise, and practical methods for experimentation as well as provide training and capacity strengthening opportunities.
“Citizen participation is shaped not only by whether people care about an issue, but also by whether systems make it easy and worthwhile for them to act. The BeGov Lab will help policy actors design solutions that respond to how people behave in real-world settings,” said Brenda Ogutu, Engagement Director at Busara.
“Through the BeGov Lab, Busara aims to make behavioral science and experimentation more accessible to the people shaping public policy, helping turn evidence about how citizens behave into practical improvements in how governments and other institutions engage with them,” said Salim Kombo, Engagement Director at Busara.
The lab builds on Busara’s decade of work with civil society organizations and government agencies across East Africa.