Latest News + Insights
Building partnerships in development: What needs to change?
The International Development Committee recently launched an inquiry into the future of the UK’s international aid and development assistance programmes. We believe the design and experiences of ACRC offers important insights and our CEO Diana Mitlin submitted written evidence to the inquiry.
Reevaluating research partnerships: Insights from the Early Market Engagement Forum in Nairobi
Jack Makau and Wavinya Mutua from ACRC’s Nairobi city team shared their insights about community-led led research initiatives at FCDO and PwC’s Evidence Fund Early Market Engagement (EME) event earlier this year.
Is Lagos moving in circles on local government autonomy?
In July 2024, Nigeria’s Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Yet a lack of autonomy over the years has impacted local service provision across all LGAs in Nigeria, leaving them unable to satisfactorily provide core urban services, such as primary education, sanitation, waste management and primary healthcare.
Learning in Lagos
As a consortium, we’re trying to learn what catalyses inclusive urban reform across African cities. But what does that really mean in practice, as well as in theory?
Nairobi learning exchange on waste management: Growth and next steps
From 7-8 August 2025, the Mathare solid waste co-researchers travelled to Naivasha for a two-day learning exchange. This was a journey filled with eye-opening lessons, inspiring stories and practical ideas that we have brought back home.
Podcast: Fortifying food systems in Lagos
Ismail Ibraheem, Taibat Lawanson, Folasade Adeboyejo and Deji Akinpelu discuss opportunities for improvements across the food system in Lagos, which could help make the city healthier and more liveable.
Water, water, everywhere: Challenges and opportunities for inclusive water delivery in Lagos
Potable water is a luxury good in Lagos – a city with so many ambient water sources that planning around them has yielded a rather quirky layout. The enduring, seemingly intractable challenge for the city is how to convert this abundant natural resource into safe drinking water for residents.
Learning from the ground: Action research in Nairobi’s informal settlements
What does research in informal settlements in Nairobi look like? This was the guiding question for a recent learning writeshop that brought together action research (AR) teams working across Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Resilient urban markets: Surprises from Ggaba Market fieldwork in Kampala
The Kampala action research project on inclusive markets and resilient communities in Ggaba Market seeks to tackle the interlinked issues of flooding, waste management and sanitation in urban markets.
What can FCDO and other donors learn from ACRC’s approach to development?
This is the fifth in a series of blog posts focusing on how urban reform happens, and where ACRC fits into change processes. This post outlines what donors can learn from ACRC’s approach to development.
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