R&D

We supported UNESCO in optimizing audience engagement with more than 5,000 people from 134 countries in order to draft the Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms.  As well as supporting the consultation at their Internet for Trust (i4T) conference in Paris, we developed a decentralized, distributed and deliberative consultation methodology to expand inclusion in the engagement. This process incorporated over 10,000 contributions from 58 consultations conducted over an 18-month period, building on what UNESCO has described as an ‘unprecedented’ consultation process in the UN system (The Guardian, 2023). The Decentralized Deliberative Consultation Methodology has engaged more than 1,600 individuals from 70 countries (with 54% participation from African nations) to provide feedback on UNESCO’s Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms. The guidelines aim to regulate digital platforms and mitigate online harm through peace, dialogue and understanding in the digital sphere.

We partnered with AUDA-NEPAD to develop the Citizen Engagement Platform (CEP), an ambitious project aimed at empowering African citizens to take an active role in shaping policies and driving innovation. Funded by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), this initiative aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which emphasizes the importance of citizen participation as key to achieving continental integration, peace, and prosperity. Over the past two years, we have worked to create a platform that enables both digital and non-digital engagement, allowing citizens across Africa to contribute to policy design and co-create solutions with governments. The platform operates on two levels: at the AU level, facilitating continent-wide engagement, and at the country or institution level, encouraging localized interaction. The platform is designed to host consultations by policymakers, engage citizens in discussions and collaboration, and support co-creation with developers and civic specialists. The platform has already facilitated over 30+ engagements and gained more than 2000+ registered users, demonstrating its potential for widespread impact. This is the first digital engagement platform of its kind developed by Africans for Africans. It incorporates context-specific features tailored to the unique needs of African citizens. Looking ahead, we aim to grow the platform into an open-source community where governments, developers, and civic organizations can collaborate to expand its reach and impact.

A guide for entrepreneurship policy-making processes, developed in collaboration with Smart Africa. The Guide offers a comprehensive series of steps that a policy maker could follow to develop, implement and monitor an entrepreneurship policy reform. This was developed in response to requests from policy makers across Africa.