A Practical Model for Building Resilience Across Africa
Our research portfolio represents a profound, multi-country studies focus on generating evidence-based insights to understand and strengthen resilience across diverse contexts. Grounded in local contexts, our work employs innovative methodologies to generate evidence that informs policy and transforms practice.
For instance, in Uganda, we conducted a micro-analysis in Karamoja, Acholi, and Southwestern regions which revealed how latent factors like historical marginalization, post-conflict legacies, and land pressure uniquely shape resilience, challenging one-size-fits-all solutions.
A substantial portion of our research and program evaluations, often funded by USAID, investigated critical intersections such as climate change and food security, the role of religious engagement in local development, and the effectiveness of psychosocial support in conflict settings like South Sudan and Somalia.
From assessing off-grid solar markets in Uganda and Senegal to exploring climate-smart agriculture and integrated risk management in Uganda, our portfolio connects environmental, economic, and social dimensions.
We specialize in rigorous, mixed-methods evaluations in some of the world’s most challenging settings.
For example, in South Sudan, we have conducted impact assessments of emergency education and Multi-Year Assistance programs which have measured the tangible benefits of integrating psychosocial support and longer-term funding, providing critical evidence for the humanitarian-development nexus.
Similarly, the research we have done in Somalia’s Accelerated Education Program and the anti-trafficking initiatives in Sierra Leone and Guinea have developed context-appropriate tools to navigate fragility and inform protection frameworks.
Furthermore, RAN’s research extends into evaluating development programs and urban challenges, such as gender-based violence (GBV) in informal settlements.
Innovative methodologies like “photovoice” are used to empower marginalized groups, such as women and girls, to document their lived experiences during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and GBV.
We also pioneer complexity-aware Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) frameworks across Africa and use ecosystem diagnostics to map 21st-century, and develop solutions to latent systems challenges across Africa and across various disciplines.
Participatory action is evident and critical, which is also exemplified by the ARESRO project which uses foresight analysis workshops across eight African nations—from Ethiopia to Senegal—to strengthen education system resilience.
RAN also demonstrates a steadfast commitment to capacity building for the partners as well as fostering equitable partnership. Through initiatives like LASER-PULSE, RTAC, and the DIEM Open Science grants, we convene and empower a continent-wide network of researchers, ensuring that African higher education and research institutions lead in the co-creation of sustainable, evidence-based solutions for their communities.
