By Jerry Okal and Jack Makau

The Evidence Fund Early Market Engagement (EME) event, organised by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), gathered a diverse group of policymakers, researchers, academics and practitioners together in Nairobi earlier this year.

The aim was to enhance discussions on inclusive and locally grounded research and evaluation approaches. The focus of this engagement was to clarify research priorities and the application process of the evidence fund, showcase exemplars for creative ways of research dissemination, and explore ways of shaping equitable research partnerships – and redefining the ways in which knowledge is sourced, appraised and valued.

The Evidence Fund (EvF), supported by FCDO’s East Africa Research and Innovation Hub (EARIH), is increasingly recognised as a vital tool for promoting evidence-based decisionmaking in alignment with the UK’s development goals. Emmeline Skinner, FCDO’s adviser on evidence, innovation and inclusion, set the tone for this session by discussing the challenges within the current funding landscape. She emphasised the importance of utilising limited funding to achieve greater impact and build stronger local research ecosystems.

Localising research?

Emmeline raised several critical questions, including:

> How can we collectively address the power dynamics that influence funding for research organisations?
> Who determines the research agenda, and what topics should we focus on?
> How can we ensure that local knowledge and priorities are taken into account?
> Is the research being utilised in local contexts?
> In what ways can southern researchers and experts be meaningfully engaged in the research process?
> How can we effectively integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in research, and what barriers do researchers face?
> Finally, what actions can be taken to address these challenges?

To provide some initial reflections on possible ways forward in response to the questions raised by Emmeline, two representatives from ACRC, Jack Makau and Wavinya Mutua, shared their insights about community-led led research initiatives collaboratively produced with local action research partners and ACRC researchers in Nairobi.

ACRC approach to localising evidence

“We are examining complex issues in urban environments.”

Jack Makau, ACRC’s Nairobi city manager, spoke clearly and precisely about the consortium’s ongoing research agenda, which is aimed at transforming various aspects in five focus cities in Africa: Nairobi, Accra, Harare, Kampala and Lagos. He emphasised that the localisation of research is not a luxury but a necessity for developing relevant and sustainable interventions.

Collaboration with waste workers in Mathare

Following this, Wavinya Mutua, ACRC’s community knowledge team lead in Nairobi, painted a vivid and sobering picture of the informal waste economies in Mathare Sub-County, highlighting the groundbreaking work her team has done to uncover the often-overlooked layers of the waste labour economy.

“We identified waste workers in the six wards of Mathare Sub-County … I developed a basic waste value chain. Amongst these waste workers (co-researchers), there are vulnerable or marginalised individuals, including children and those struggling with substance abuse, as well as waste pickers.”

“First, we mapped the waste value chain, noting the role of waste workers at each stage. At the bottom of this value chain, we found highly vulnerable individuals – including children, street-connected people, and those struggling with substance abuse – working as waste pickers or temporary waste collectors. From this mapping, we identified 18 waste workers across the six wards of Mathare Sub-County, who then formed a co-research team.”

Participatory methods

Wavinya elaborated on the participatory methods used to determine research questions around community priorities collectively. These included intentional time spent in Mathare sharing tea or conversing, transect walks and site visits. These approaches deepened trust and improved the quality of evidence gathered. Additionally, the waste workers’ expertise shaped the data collection process.

Specifically, the waste pickers in the team contributed knowledge on the waste market, which motivated the co-research team to expand the scope of data collected on the local waste market.

“We now have data on price variations for 18 waste categories sold across Mathare Sub-County, as well as data on ten additional categories of waste that are either unsold or handled by one or two local aggregators.”

Supporting the process

Data analysis was also a community-driven process. Analysis of dumpsites in Mathare was done using a settlement map, while waste prices were manually recorded and drawn on graph paper. The analysis process exposed significant literacy asymmetries within the team, pushing the team lead to experiment with different approaches when it came to data dissemination.

“Members with significant literacy gaps struggled with formal presentations, though they comfortably shared knowledge in more relaxed settings. Therefore, they have taken leadership roles in community-to-community dissemination work, where the setting is more informal. We also organised a documentary where waste workers shared their daily experiences. Because the research itself had already shifted their work, they ended up presenting a considerable amount of findings – again, without the pressure of a formal audience.”

Wavinya’s reflection underscored a frequent challenge in participatory research: not only gathering data with communities, but also involving communities in unpacking what the data means and communicating it back in accessible and meaningful ways. This process required resources to support co-researcher leadership, openness to genuinely learn from the community, and a willingness to embrace alternative methods of collecting, presenting and disseminating data.

These observations painted a clear picture of an informal ecosystem that, though often overlooked by policymakers, is crucial to the city’s functioning and operation. Her research reveals that community waste workers act as vital nodes in an informal waste economy – one driven by necessity rather than intentional design. Additionally, her research revealed that when the research agenda is set locally, it is far more likely to generate direct and meaningful community impact.

What is surprising is that early engagements with relevant staff within the Nairobi City County Government point out the importance of this work in adding to existing knowledge about how waste value chains work. Professional and academic analysis conducted previously has missed out some important and highly vulnerable groups of workers. There is an ongoing discussion with local authority staff to draw out the policy and programming implications of this research.

Next steps on the Evidence Fund

The event featured an interactive segment that encouraged participants to consider the essential elements of equitable research partnerships. During roundtable discussions, several key messages emerged: the main barriers preventing local institutions from participating in evidence for policy (EvF) opportunities are often structural. These include bureaucratic procurement processes, limited access to international networks, and funding models that predominantly benefit large institutions in the global North.

Participants urged FCDO and PwC to simplify research support application processes, enhance outreach efforts to organisations rooted in the community, and incorporate flexible application processes to accommodate non-traditional suppliers. The message was clear: inclusive evidence ecosystems must be built with – not merely for – those they seek to serve. As one table concluded:

“Valuing local knowledge means sharing power, not just data.”

The Evidence Fund has expressed a willingness to embrace change. With advocates like Jack and Wavinya leading the way, the event established a strong foundation for a more equitable and effective research model – one that values community knowledge derived from lived experiences, rather than relying solely on insights from within institutional confines.

This early market engagement showcased promising signs that are likely to influence the funding and design of future research initiatives in the East African region. To sum up the resolutions from the meeting, one participant remarked:

“The future of evidence lies in relationships, not just research.”

Photo credits: Nairobi waste co-research team

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Molly Adawo, member of the Nairobi waste co-research team

From 7-8 August 2025, the Mathare solid waste co-researchers – consisting of waste workers from Mathare subcounty in Nairobi – travelled to Naivasha, approximately 100 kilometres away, 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.

The aim of this exchange was to deepen understanding of waste systems in cities, learn about the lived experiences of other waste workers and reflect on alternative pathways for capturing waste within the circular economy.

Day 1: Learning and sharing

The first day was all about connecting and exchanging knowledge. We met fellow waste workers from Naivasha, introduced ourselves and shared our experiences on how waste is currently managed in both Mathare and Naivasha. There were three key lessons from the first day.

1. Waste zoning: This was one of the most striking systems we discovered. Naivasha town is divided into two areas: the Central Business District (CBD) and the estates.

> In the CBD, the County Government is responsible for waste collection.

> In the estates, community waste groups under the umbrella body Naivasha Grassroots Waste Management (NAGAWAM) handle waste.

NAGAWAM organises trucks to transport valuable waste to sorting yards and the valueless waste to dumpsites. The estates themselves are further divided into smaller zones – each group works only within its assigned zone, and no one is allowed to collect waste outside their area. This zoning reduces conflict, enhances accountability and ensures every part of the estate stays clean.

2. Waste collection payment rates: An interesting part of Naivasha’s system is that landlords are considered waste generators. They are responsible for ensuring payment for waste collection, which is usually passed onto their tenants. The rates are standardised:

> Single-room house – KSh 100/- monthly

> Double-room house – KSh 200/- monthly

> Three-bedroom house – KSh 300/- monthly

> Businesses – KSh 300-500/- monthly, depending on the size and type of business

This structured payment system ensures that waste groups have a steady income to fund their operations. 

We also learned more about the role of NAGAWAM in maintaining the efficiency of the waste sector. It coordinates groups, negotiates with authorities, organises trucks for waste transport and provides a structure that keeps operations smooth.

Note: We believe a similar approach in Mathare – with fair and transparent rates – could improve efficiency and provide resources for better waste collection services.

3. The nexus between age, gender and waste collection: A particularly inspiring discussion was around the relationship between older waste pickers and youth. In Naivasha, these two groups often work side by side – the older pickers bring experience, networks and wisdom, while the youth contribute energy, fresh ideas and technical skills. Mutual respect is fostered through mentorship and clear role definition, creating an environment where both generations can thrive.

Women play a more prominent role in Naivasha’s waste sector. They are prioritised for jobs like segregation in the yards. In contrast, in Nairobi, many women scavenge independently, selling waste without the same level of support.

We were also touched to see how waste workers in Naivasha expand their roles beyond just collection. Some become trainers, teaching others about sorting and safety, while some take on advocacy roles, engaging with local governments.

Additionally, there are those who become innovators, transforming waste into products that can be sold.

Note: In Naivasha, scavengers are better integrated into formal systems. In Mathare, on the other hand, many still work independently, which makes collaboration, safety, and bargaining power more difficult to achieve.

Day 2: Field visits and practical lessons

On our second day, we ventured into the field for hands-on experiences. We visited well-maintained areas and observed sorting activities in the yard, comparing them to what we do and see in Mathare. We also witnessed creative reuse of materials and sustainable innovations, such as:

Yard owners in Naivasha do not wait for government trucks, which are mandated to move waste. Instead, they pay for private trucks to avoid delays, keeping operations fast and efficient.

Another positive dynamic observed was the symbiotic relationship between waste pickers and authorities in Naivasha. The authorities support waste pickers by protecting them from harassment. In turn, waste pickers ensure public spaces remain clean and well-managed.

What stood out the most?

There were a number of standout learnings from our time in Naivasha, including:

> Only 10% of waste ends up in dumpsites – 90% is reused or recycled.

> The power of organising – working in groups is more effective than working alone.

> The creativity and innovation in transforming waste into valuable resources.

> No holding sites in Naivasha – all waste is taken directly to the yards.

> The proven benefits of zoning: reduced conflict, better waste collection coverage and enhanced accountability.

> The harmony between waste workers and authorities.

> The speed and independence gained when yard owners hire their own trucks instead of relying on government schedules.

> A reliable waste fee collection system through landlords ensures consistent funding for waste operations.

Our next steps

This exchange has expanded our perspective and confirmed something important: most waste is not useless; it is a resource waiting to be transformed. We now return to Mathare, inspired and ready to:

> Apply zoning and mapping systems to organise waste collection.

> Foster collaboration between older and younger waste pickers.

> Create fairer opportunities for women, youth and marginalised groups.

> Introduce creative reuse of waste and compost manure production.

> Explore low-cost, sustainable horse carts.

> Improve our engagement with authorities to ensure support and recognition.

By working together and adapting these lessons to our context, we believe Mathare can move closer to a cleaner environment, a stronger waste economy and a more united waste picking community.

Photo credits: Nairobi waste co-research team

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Embracing reality as a pathway to innovation

“Vitu kwa ground ni tofauti” (things on the ground are different). For the AR researchers, these differences have opened up new avenues for learning and redesigning interventions.

In Mukuru, the first phase of sewer line installation faced hurdles, including non-compliance. Enforcement efforts were difficult without institutional backing, as some structure owners refused to connect to the sewer infrastructure even though tenants were keen to access the improved services. This experience created the opportunity for AMT, which is leading this initiative, to involve the County Public Health Department from the very beginning in the expansion phase. This early engagement legitimised the process and helped secure stronger compliance from structure owners, paving the way for better long-term public health outcomes for all.

In the school feeding programme, the lead agency, LVCT Health, anticipated engaging with children as primary beneficiaries of the programme. Despite having ethical clearance, the LVCT action research team was unable to obtain permission from the Ministry of Education, which restricted access to children’s voices. While this initially felt like a barrier, it opened up new opportunities to engage parents in a more comprehensive way. Their views on nutrition and household realities have influenced programme outcomes in significant and unexpected ways.

In the land rights project, initial efforts to collect comprehensive building profiles across Mathare faced hostility and mistrust, particularly in villages affected by government housing projects and demolitions. Residents feared the data could be misused, and some villages became inaccessible. By scaling back and focusing on areas where residents were ready to engage, the action research team from Strathmore University and AMT built stronger relationships and trust. This adjustment safeguarded the project and laid a more sustainable foundation for future collaboration.

Far from being barriers, these realities have become entry points for adaptation and innovation.

Harnessing power dynamics for constructive change

Nairobi’s informal settlements are fraught with layered interests and overlapping authorities, from local politicians and administrators to informal service providers, landlords, structure owners and village elders. Rather than creating a deadlock, these dynamics have opened valuable opportunities for the AR teams to refine strategies and build new alliances. Each project has demonstrated that navigating power is about identifying champions and fostering shared ownership of solutions.

In Mukuru, the water and sanitation project encountered informal vendors, local administrators and politicians – all with a stake in service delivery. While vendors initially sought to protect their businesses, negotiations revealed ways to integrate them into more inclusive service models. Administrators and elected leaders became allies in aligning community priorities with official mandates.

In the school feeding programme, researchers found that headteachers emerged as unexpected champions. Their ability to persuade parents and boards of management was pivotal in winning support for the feeding interventions. By stepping into this leadership role, educators helped bridge the gap between government policies and the everyday needs of children, showing how trusted local actors can transform programmes.

In Mathare, questions about who controls and benefits from public spaces surfaced during the waste management research. Instead of fuelling conflict, these debates sparked a participatory mapping process that brought together youth, women’s groups, elders and service providers. The process clarified competing claims and strengthened local ownership of interventions, turning contested space into a platform for collaboration.

In the land rights work, the interplay between tenants, structure owners, landowners, elders and state institutions highlighted the complexity of land governance in informal settlements. By engaging with each layer of authority, the research team opened multiple avenues for dialogue. This inclusive approach is laying the groundwork for advocacy that acknowledges diverse interests while promoting greater tenure security for residents.

Together, these experiences underscored a key lesson: in Nairobi’s informal settlements, power is rarely fixed. When continually mapped and constructively engaged, shifting dynamics can become powerful drivers of reform.

Rethinking data as a shared resource

Across the AR projects, questions of consent, data ownership and data use have encouraged researchers to experiment with new ways of building trust and accountability.

In the school feeding programme, parents raised concerns about who benefits from the information collected and whether findings would be shared back with the community. This prompted the establishment of stronger feedback loops, ensuring that data collection is not a one-way process but one that reinforces community ownership.

In Mathare’s waste management work, residents worried that information on settlement conditions might be used to justify evictions. Rather than shutting down the research, this concern sparked deeper conversations about transparency, accountability and the safeguards necessary to protect vulnerable groups.

In the land rights research, data challenges were especially pronounced. Collecting information on land ownership and structure proprietorship in Mathare touched on highly sensitive issues, as many structure owners feared the data could be misused. Accessing titling records from the Lands Ministry proved to be the greatest hurdle, constrained by both legal requirements and the risk of exposure. The national Ardhisasa land data system requires prior consent from landowners before parcel details can be retrieved. In Mathare, where ownership is highly contested, such consent could not be obtained. Moreover, informal settlements have historically been targets of irregular land transfers, many of which have led to ongoing legal disputes. For these reasons, the Lands office was unlikely to release titling details at the scale of Mathare, where more than 400 parcels are in question.

Despite these obstacles, the AR team leveraged academic credentials and built strong relationships to gain access to some titling data, while also cultivating interest from the Lands office in participating in the project. To fill remaining gaps, the team reverted to the older postal land search system and combined it with careful community engagement to reconstruct ownership patterns. They are now experimenting with anonymisation and storytelling tools that safeguard privacy while still amplifying the realities of tenure insecurity.

In each case, data became a platform for dialogue, trust-building and collective responsibility. By reframing data as a community asset rather than just a research output, these projects are laying the foundation for more ethical and accountable research practices in Nairobi’s informal settlements.

Building new systems from the ground up

Experimentation across the projects is pointing toward fresh models that are already shaping practice and policy.

In Mukuru, dismantling exploitative water and sanitation cartels and transitioning to utility-managed systems is improving both governance and public health, not just in Mukuru, but for the entire city of Nairobi. This shift was not accidental. For years, Mukuru residents paid a “poverty penalty” – buying water at up to 800% higher prices than those in wealthier neighbourhoods. By documenting these inequities and linking them to frequent cholera outbreaks in the city, researchers and community advocates reframed the issue as a public health emergency that affected the entire city. Their advocacy helped persuade county and national leaders to act, culminating in the declaration of Mukuru as a Special Planning Area.

New infrastructure, combined with community mobilisation and technical planning, created the momentum to replace cartel-controlled services with utility-managed systems. The AR team is carrying these decade-long lessons into Nairobi’s draft Water and Sanitation Policy, which will extend the benefits of co-created models to other informal settlements across the city. Mukuru thus illustrates that systemic reform is a process and never a single act. It requires years of technical groundwork, consistent community organising and strategic framing to convince decision-makers that reform is in everyone’s interest.

In school feeding, the pilots in informal schools are demonstrating affordable models that can complement and expand on the County government’s Dishi Na County school feeding programme. By engaging parents and headteachers directly, this AR initiative is showing that community-driven models can inform broader policy and ensure that no child is left behind.

In Mathare, the waste management team is proving that community-led service delivery can be effective. Participatory mapping of public spaces and sanitation needs is creating inclusive approaches that challenge the exclusionary logic of urban service delivery, while also providing evidence for adaptation planning in the face of climate shocks.

In the land rights work, new tools for documenting informal tenure are opening doors to more equitable land governance. By navigating the requirements of the conventional land data system and strengthening local trust, the project is demonstrating that sensitive data can be transformed into a powerful tool for advocacy without exposing communities to harm.

Each of these innovations shows how small-scale experiments, when linked to evidence, mobilisation, and advocacy, can open pathways to systemic change.

Mapping progress

So, what does research in Nairobi’s informal settlements look like? It looks like adaptation turned into innovation. It looks like power relations harnessed for progress. It looks like sensitive data reframed as a community asset. And it looks like small pilots sparking wider reform.

Above all, it looks like a collaborative journey – one where researchers, communities and policymakers walk together to find opportunities in challenges and pathways to justice in places too often overlooked.

For ACRC, the Nairobi writeshop affirmed that research is about co-creating hope, equity and new possibilities for African cities.

Photo credits: Amollo Ambole

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Giving residents a seat at the table

The project seeks to develop a robust institutional framework for Community Land Management Committees. The newly initiated Community Land Management Committees (a community-driven effort in Mathare) are being developed to emulate the Community Assemblies outlined in the Community Land Act. These committees will serve as vital platforms for structured discussions with all the relevant stakeholders, including the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, Nairobi City County Government, National Land Commission and the National Government Administrative Officers. Their precise structure will be finalised before the project concludes, offering a replicable and adaptable model for community land management in other informal settlements.   

We are already collaborating with Ghetto Foundation, a grassroots community-based organisation in Mathare, which is establishing representative committees across the villages. Through these community-led committees, the residents of Mathare can finally consolidate their gains in securing land claims and strategically organise for collective action. This means empowering them to advocate for their rights within their settlements and directly with other stakeholders.

Ultimately, our goal is to bridge the information gap and eradicate existing land information asymmetries that have long plagued Mathare, by providing crucial information and practical tools, and empowering residents to take the lead. We envision charting a course towards a future where formal and informal land ownership is recognised, development thrives and the people of Mathare can finally build on solid ground.

Header photo credit: Know Your City TV Kenya. An aerial drone shot over Mathare, Nairobi.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Co-producing a replicable community model

The overarching goal of the initiative is to develop a replicable, community-led model for sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure that integrates social enterprise financing, inclusive governance and systemic policy engagement. By proving the viability of this model in Okerube, the project aims to serve as a proof of concept for scaling similar interventions across Lagos and other African cities.

Importantly, the project views informal settlement residents not as passive beneficiaries, but as active agents of change. By demonstrating what is possible when communities lead, the project contributes to a reimagining of urban development – one that is inclusive, resilient and just. Ultimately, the project seeks to achieve the following objectives:

> Improve water and sanitation service delivery in Okerube through participatory planning and infrastructure development.

> Empower women as key governance actors by strengthening the capacity and legitimacy of existing women-led WASH committees.

> Test and document a scalable water and sanitation social enterprise model that can be replicated in other informal settlements.

> Address systemic barriers to water and sanitation access by engaging with local political and governance institutions.

> Bridge formal and informal governance structures, ensuring integration rather than replacement of local innovations.

Our bottom-up approach to change

The implementation strategy combines action research, capacity building, policy engagement and community advocacy over a period of 15 months. The project will be implemented in four selected CDAs within Okerube: Iranlowo-Oluwa, Ifesowapo, Ona-Ara and Ogo Oluwa. These areas represent the densest population clusters and commercial hubs, with an estimated combined population of 600,000 people. To operationalise this initiative, the project seeks to undertake:

> Participatory mapping: Using GIS and community transect walks to document existing water points, sanitation facilities and governance actors.

> Infrastructure development: Constructing dual-purpose facilities – boreholes with public toilets managed by women’s committees.

> Capacity building: Training women’s water and sanitation committees in system maintenance, financial management and advocacy.

> Peer exchange: Learning from successful models in other Nigerian states and countries.

> Advocacy and public engagement: Highlighting community voices through media and engaging stakeholders at the city and local government levels.

A multi-layered approach will be adopted to ensure a holistic and context-responsive solution to the complex urban WASH challenges facing the CDAs. This approach integrates targeted interventions aimed at establishing:

1. Community governance: Empowering CDAs and women-led water and sanitation committees to act as formal governance actors. Their inclusion in decision-making will drive equity and accountability in service provision.

2. Social enterprise model: Moving beyond charity-based water and sanitation provision, the project will introduce a financially sustainable model. Revenue from water and sanitation services will be reinvested in operations and community initiatives. Options like “pay-per-use” or tiered payment systems will be tested.

3. Infrastructure resilience: Boreholes will be connected to multiple distribution points to enhance access and reduce dependency on failing facilities.

4. Gender mainstreaming: Women and girls disproportionately bear the burden of inadequate WASH services, ranging from exposure to gender-based violence and school absenteeism. This project ensures their leadership and protection are built into all phases of planning and implementation.

5. Policy and institutional engagement: Working with local governments and agencies such as the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO), the project aims to influence WASH policy and foster city-level uptake of successful models.

6. Documentation and learning: Findings will be documented through community storytelling, photography and academic reporting. These will inform broader ACRC learning and contribute to city-wide and regional policy dialogues.

Contribution to broader wash reforms in Lagos

This initiative is timely, aligning with ongoing urban reforms, including Nigeria’s devolution of funding to local governments and Lagos State’s recently launched WASH Policy and Implementation Plan. It also builds on the lessons of past donor-led WASH efforts that failed due to inadequate community involvement or lack of maintenance planning.

The project contributes to a broader rethinking of how African cities can leverage local agencies for systemic reform. As such, this is not just a WASH project, but a governance and empowerment intervention with the potential to redefine how infrastructure is delivered in some of the most underserved parts of the urban world. By drawing on local knowledge, embracing innovation and confronting structural inequities, the Okerube project offers a hopeful blueprint for a more inclusive urban future.

Photo credits: Rasheed Shittu. Okerube Women Water Committee and an ACRC community engagement in Okerube, Lagos.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Holistic strategy

A consortium comprised of SDI Kenya, Nuvoni, Ghetto Foundation and Mathare Social Justice Centre has united to spearhead a holistic waste management strategy for Mathare. The primary objective is to advocate for the Nairobi City County Government’s declaration of Mathare as a Special Planning Area (SPA), leveraging on the transformative success of the Mukuru SPA – particularly its provision of sustainable service delivery, such as simplified sewer systems.

This proven model of urban change offers a blueprint for impactful development in Mathare. Critically, waste management action research will serve as the initial entry point within this broader initiative, paving the way for sustainable, long-term community transformation in the settlement.

Community-led solutions to waste management

SDI Kenya, through the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC), is aiming to co-develop solutions with Mathare community members, by devising a holistic waste management system in the area. This project seeks to contribute towards transforming Mathare’s entire waste management system by connecting the following three main thematic areas:

> Solid waste management (SWM)
> Sewer and liquid waste infrastructure
> Productive public spaces

The project seeks to understand and transform Mathare’s waste management landscape by assessing existing solid and liquid waste systems and co-designing practical, low-cost solutions. It also focuses on revitalising underused or contested spaces, to transform them into multifunctional, green and inclusive public areas, enhancing residents’ quality of life.

The initiative will be piloted in Mathare’s 4B village, serving as a proof of concept for interventions across the three sub-components. If successful, the pilot will offer a tried-and-tested model for scaling up these interventions to other villages within Mathare and potentially to other informal settlements.

The intervention will leverage on existing initiatives in Mathare to support and strengthen its implementation. For instance, through the Mathare 4B, Kiamaiko ward adaptation planning and Mathare-Gitathuru ecosystem adaptation planning, we have the Mathare River Adoption Campaign that works directly with community members to clean up the Gitathuru and Mathare Rivers. This network comprises various waste management groups, particularly from the Mathare 4B settlement in Mathare Valley. It engages in activities such as river cleaning, waste sorting, segregation and urban farming, all of which contribute to improved waste management and enhanced livelihoods.

Harnessing lessons for scale-up, driving meaningful change

The project builds upon foundational community knowledge research by ACRC on the solid waste value chain in Mathare. Integration of insights from the community knowledge workstream will sharpen the design of sustainable interventions that strengthen the waste value chain and improve livelihoods for waste pickers. Moreover, the project connects with a parallel land titling project, also under the portfolio of ACRC action research projects in the city. Understanding land ownership dynamics will be vital in establishing viable locations for implementing interventions.

Anchored on catalysing the designation of Mathare as an SPA, this project champions integrated, community-led solutions. It seeks to establish Mathare as a model for scalable, sustainable and community-driven waste management systems that will strengthen local governance and boost residents’ climate resilience by 2026. Ultimately, the initiative will demonstrate how a mobilised community, pursuing public good and collaborating with all levels of government, can drive meaningful change.

Photo credits: Know Your City TV Kenya. Images showing adapatation planning, community forums, public spaces, waste dumping sites and the polluted river in Mathare, Nairobi.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Co-creating with the Ajegunle Ikorodu community

Strengthening climate resilience in Ajegunle Ikorodu will be attained in two key stages. First, through building on existing community structures, including resilience plans and strong social networks. Second, by prioritising the inclusion of marginalised groups and fostering cross-sector collaboration between experts and local actors. The initiative seeks to break the silo mentality within the community and embraces a learning-by-doing approach through pilot initiatives. Ultimately, it aspires to influence policy by leveraging on proper documentation, fostering policy dialogues and using storytelling to shape Lagos State’s climate and informal settlement strategies.

The participatory climate resilience project will be co-designed with residents, local leaders, researchers, NGOs and government actors in Lagos. It aims to co-create scalable, people-centred solutions that address the climate challenges already facing Ajegunle Ikorodu – including sea-level rise, tidal surges, erosion and extreme heat. The approach is a departure from top-down interventions, which impose external solutions on communities. Rather, this project will build on local knowledge, priorities and informal systems to develop a resilience framework that can be scaled to similar urban contexts across Lagos, Nigeria and beyond.

A six-step community-led process

The project outlines a six-step process to co-create a scalable, community-led framework for building climate resilience and urban reform in Ajegunle Ikorodu:

1. Community engagement and trust building through town hall meetings, stakeholder mapping and participatory forums to ensure inclusive representation.

2. Climate vulnerability and asset mapping using participatory GIS, Ideamaps data ecosystems, storytelling and fieldwork to document local risks and capacities.

3. Solution co-design workshops to bring together residents, technical experts and government officials to develop locally appropriate solutions.

4. Intervention identification and capacity building by finding appropriate solutions (such as nature-based drainage systems and heat-resilient shelters) while training local actors towards sustainable implementation strategies.

5. Monitoring, learning and feedback loops using real-time feedback mechanisms to adapt the process and refine the emerging framework.

6. Scaling strategy and policy engagement to package outcomes into a model for replication and engagement with relevant Lagos State Ministries, Departments and Agencies for uptake and integration.

Ajegunle Ikorodu, like many similar coastal informal communities, is both at risk and full of potential. With several climate policies and action plans in Lagos State, it becomes imperative to move from margins to models, because resilience should start at the roots. Therefore, “From Margins to Models” is not just a project. It is a movement toward equity, inclusion and climate justice, where those most affected by the climate crisis and impacts are prioritised and empowered to become co-creators of the solutions.

By working together from the ground up, we can build a future that’s not just resilient but truly inclusive. If this model of community-driven, scalable climate action succeeds here, it can offer a blueprint for resilience across Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa and beyond.

Photo credits: Peter Elias. Scenes showing drivers and impacts of flood in Ajegunle Ikorodu, Lagos.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Wavinya Mutua, community knowledge project lead

An ACRC research team consisting of waste workers in the informal settlements of Mathare, Nairobi – including waste collectors, aggregators and scavengers – has been undertaking a study to understand how local residents are involved in the waste value chain.

Waste work is seen as dirty and undesirable, often done out of necessity rather than choice. This directly speaks to the marginal positioning of waste workers within communities. Waste workers may be organised into informal or formal associations, as in the case of community organisations that collect waste from households. Waste collection community organisations frequently have a weak organisational base but a strong collective identity.

However, some waste collectors work alone – such as waste scavengers, who are often older women. This means that their knowledge is rarely well recognised and recorded. Interventions often fail to successfully integrate all moving parts and people within the waste value chain.

Our study has involved mapping waste flows, including at dump sites and waste markets. The community knowledge team has developed a tool for community-led data collection, analysis and dissemination. Both data collection and analysis have taken place and the team is currently working to disseminate the research findings.

Going forward, this knowledge will be used in four ways:

1. To amplify the voices of waste workers in city-level conversations

The research process – from work planning to data analysis and dissemination – has been designed to equip the workers with a deep understanding of issues around and solutions to solid waste management across an entire jurisdiction, rather than within their specific working area. The plan is to integrate workers into solid waste fora, thereby supporting the cohesive integration of community voices into relevant conversations and actions.

2. To inform an ACRC action research project in Mathare, which is currently being finalised

This project includes a component on improving waste management. There is a need to raise the standard of waste management services at the neighbourhood level, which would improve living conditions and reduce flooding. There is also an extensive waste value chain and potential for those working within it to improve their earnings.

3. To increase the earnings of waste collectors

Within the team, understanding the prices of different categories of waste has already shifted how the co-researchers aggregate and sell waste. We hope to disseminate this information to other waste collectors, scavengers and aggregators within the settlement, aiming to help collectors and scavengers to identify sellable waste, as well as the best market prices within their jurisdictions. For aggregators, this may increase competition and open up new markets.

4. To help understand a city through the lens of its communities

Given that all residents generate waste, and a significant amount of it ends up in informal settlements, understanding the movement of waste is also an avenue to understand the complexities of both communities and Nairobi city as a whole.

The significance of both the research approach and the research outputs is still emerging.

In the experience of waste workers, professional agencies (such as NGOs) who adopt a participatory development approach typically take one or two elements of the value chain and seek the involvement of those working to improve that particular element.

In many instances, professional agencies involve the more visible waste workers, such as waste aggregators or waste collectors, who are organised into community organisations. This approach excludes other pivotal waste workers, such as scavengers and even drug addicts. We found that addicts were often paid small amounts to dispose of waste into the river and therefore any comprehensive solutions to addressing river pollution must recognise, understand and include them.

The team of waste workers see things differently and want to have an active role in the design of interventions. Aware that the value chain is highly fragmented, with vast differences in income arising from the same raw material, they are seeking a systemic understanding of the profitability of different parts of the value chain, ultimately to improve the quality of waste management services and the income they can generate.

Beyond the communities, city and national elites often use the trucking of waste to generate rents, as the city subcontracts all work pertaining to transport of waste and dumpsite removal. Therefore, holistic and cross-system approaches to waste management will also directly impact income generated by elites.

The rest of the value chain is shaped by communities in informal settlements and the residents of Nairobi city – from waste generators and waste scavengers to waste collectors and low-volume aggregators. Solutions to Nairobi’s waste issue are highly political, but also heavily community led.

The work presents a challenging, complex and rewarding opportunity to understand how citizen mobilisation can help shape long-term elite commitment and city policies.

Header photo credit: Wavinya Mutua

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Patricia Liola Tona Katto

The African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) Visiting Writers Scheme provides young African scholars in the consortium with the invaluable opportunity to develop their writing and researching skills, through four weeks of mentorship from a senior researcher at a supporting institute. In November 2024, I had the pleasure of undertaking the programme at the Global Development Institute (GDI) in Manchester.

A key strength of the scheme is its flexibility. Recognising my need to balance professional and personal responsibilities, the ACRC team graciously accommodated my application for a hybrid model of participation, with two weeks of the scheme in Manchester and two weeks working remotely from Uganda. This flexibility highlighted ACRC and GDI’s dedication to inclusivity, making it possible for me to fully engage in the programme while honouring my commitments at home.

Manchester has an incredibly vibrant and lively environment. Though November was quite cold, it was difficult not to feel warmed by the friendly atmosphere within the Arthur Lewis Building, where the ACRC team and my mentors – Nicola Banks and Sam Hickey – were based.

As a researcher for the youth and capability development domain in Kampala during ACRC’s foundation phase, I had previously collaborated with Nicola and Sam. Their expertise was pivotal in shaping our research, which explored youth engagement with political systems and urban development in Kampala, within ACRC’s conceptual framework and theory of change. This work culminated in a draft working paper, co-authored with Nansozi Muwanga, analysing youth political representation in Uganda.

Encouragement from Nicola and Sam, following our presentation of this research at the Development Studies Association (DSA) Conference in June 2024, motivated me to apply for the Visiting Writers Scheme to further develop the paper.

The scheme provided a unique opportunity for me to engage with Sam and Nicola’s leadership in a professional, hands-on, one-on-one context. Nicola was exceptionally supportive, offering invaluable insights that greatly enhanced my professional and personal development. She facilitated introductions to several researchers at the GDI, who provided constructive advice on a wide range of topics.

Furthermore, both Sam and Nicola offered meticulous feedback on my draft working paper, drawing on their extensive expertise in publication and Ugandan politics to guide me in making effective improvements.

Additionally, Diana Mitlin, the CEO of ACRC, generously dedicated time to connect with me, sharing insights from her distinguished career in urban development to assist me in navigating my evolving professional trajectory.

At its core, the Visiting Writers Scheme has been a transformative experience for me, fostering a dynamic exchange of knowledge between myself and the host institution. The insights I gained extended far beyond the technical knowledge acquired from attending lectures at GDI and the invaluable feedback on my draft working paper. I was fortunate to connect with a diverse group of researchers at GDI, whose shared experiential knowledge enriched my understanding and perspective. This collaborative knowledge sharing not only reflects ACRC’s commitment to supporting the next generation of African scholars but also highlights the importance of building meaningful connections within the organisation. My time in the scheme has truly deepened my appreciation for the power of collaboration and mentorship in advancing my career.

Participating in the Visiting Writers Scheme has been an immensely rewarding experience. I strongly encourage fellow scholars to embrace this invaluable opportunity for personal development, knowledge sharing and academic growth. The insights, connections and support I received have significantly enriched my career, and I believe that others will find similar benefits in participating in this transformative programme.

Header photo credit: Chris Jordan. Patricia Liola Tona Katto presenting at the DSA Conference in June 2024.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Diana Mitlin, CEO of the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC)

A recent conference on African Urbanism has provided a useful space for me to reflect on what the African experience has brought to my work and that of my colleagues. This has included academic scholarship, professional and policy engagement and activism. Given their potential to improve development in Manchester and the role the University plays in this, two lessons are immediately worth sharing.

1. Grassroots action and community mobilisation

My first engagement with the richness of grassroots actions in African neighbourhoods to address interventions was in 1993, when I took part in a meeting of informal settlement leaders in Cape Town. These were, for the most part, residents who had been ignored by the organisations which represented residents legally entitled to live in Black townships. It was also shortly after activist Chris Hani was assassinated by a right wing extremist. The meeting had originally been planned to be held in an informal settlement but in this traumatic context, the scale of unrest meant that community leaders from elsewhere were not comfortable visiting informal neighbourhoods.

What was immediately apparent was the depth of community care – with activists who interspersed discussion by articulating their grief and fears, and a coming together in regular song throughout the meeting. Also evident was their ability to both recognise the significance of the accountability of leaders to members, and their interest in new tools and approaches to open up alternative development options.

Over the next months, the community leaders – already active in following up ideas about SDI savings groups (originally crafted in India) – agreed to network their groups and create the South African Homeless People’s Federation.

And over the next two decades, the ideas shared in this meeting have spread across Africa – with other informal settlements in Asia and Latin America also experimenting with these tools and methods. In 1996, the network Slum/Shack Dwellers International was born, linking these national federations into a transnational group.

An articulate representation of what this approach offers to poverty reduction was explained to me by a women in a small town in Namibia, Omaruru, during a group discussion about the experiences of SDI organising:

“Before I was a member of the savings scheme, I was alone. Now I have a friend in every house on the street. When Namibia became independent, I did not feel independent. Now I can go into the office of the governor.”

Much of the academic literature on SDI focuses on the experiences and consequences of externally funded development interventions. But relatively little captures the experiences in smaller towns or more isolated neighbourhoods, where there is relatively less professional support and fewer opportunities for externally funded interventions.

One core premise of SDI is that poverty reduction programming needs to be reworked from below:

• Organising processes need to be redesigned to strengthen accountable community groups (often via saving schemes).
• Groups need to be networked to enable citywide strategising and avoid residents’ associations being played against each other (by federating).
• Mobilisation needs to be built across all residents in each neighbourhood and across the city (though data collection with settlement profiling and household enumerations).
• Peer-to-peer learning (to build confidence, capabilities and reduce the power of professionals).
• New modalities of poverty reduction need to be designed, tested through implementation and refined (involving co production with local authorities and other state agencies).
• The community networks need sensitive and strategic professional support to link to city council officials, to:
  • Document learning for external audiences.
  • Raise funding from donors for networking, data collection and project experimentation.
  • Provide or contract project professional expertise, and supporting learning (absorbing failures, anticipating difficulties and blockages that will emerge).

African approaches inspiring Manchester community organising

Annual visits of SDI Federations to The University of Manchester from 2011 linked to GDI’s teaching programming provided a platform for the sharing of these ideas with community groups in Manchester. Over time a local network, Community Savers, has developed with its own support NGO (CLASS).

Community Savers has been supported by multiple engagements with SDI – first from South Africa and then spreading to Kenya – which have catalysed community leadership in Manchester (and now also in Sheffield) in a way that replicates processes in Africa. While I am always nervous to claim that things are unique, what is clear is that for a group of mainly women leaders – who have long resided in low-income neighbourhoods, and previously been ignored by many external agencies – this organising methodology is different from what has previously been offered and makes sense to them.

From 2016, a group of women’s led community groups in Greater Manchester began a more deliberate path of peer-to-peer learning with Kenya. Supported by the emergence of a small professional team and the formation of a charity, CLASS, these ideas have been taken forward.

In just eight years, nurtured by this reversal of learning hierarchies, African practices have catalysed a strong, vibrant, community-led movement in both Greater Manchester and Sheffield. Just as in Africa, academic expertise has been used (where appropriate) to challenge exclusion and enhance the legitimacy of community demands – and amplify the scale of the community voice.

The African context – with limited community accountabilities, inadequate public services and socially distant local authorities – has nurtured approaches to addressing poverty and inequality, which maintains relevance when transferred to the UK.

2. The potential of urban reform coalitions

My second example is homegrown African learning about urban reform coalitions, which are challenging poverty and inequality in the continent. This practice is potentially of interest to The University of Manchester, as it builds a new strategy for a civic universitythat is suited to the challenges of urban development the 21st century.

City-based coalitions have previously been associated with business and local authority elite deals to strengthen economic opportunities in cities. Yet these are often at the expense of low-income groups, who may be displaced by infrastructure improvements, and who are rarely included in these deliberations.

African practices have built on innovations within and beyond Africa to experiment with coalitions and alliances that seek to find new development options to strengthening inclusion and accountability. Universities are important here. They act both as hosts and/or support processes located outside academia. Examples include the Urban Action Lab at Makerere University in Kampala, the Sierra Leone Urban Resource Centre in Freetown (linked to Njala University as a catalyst), the Urban Informality Forum in Harare (with the University of Harare as co-founders), and the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development at the University of Lagos. More short-term efforts include the Mukuru Special Planning Area which included academics from the University of Nairobi and Strathmore Law School (Kenya) as well as UC Berkeley (US). And now, institutionalised efforts include Municipal Development Forums in Ugandan towns and cities.

These initiatives share common features. They are orientated to a more just and inclusive city that address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and more. They recognise that informality – both in terms of the economy and residence – is a way of life for the most marginalised and disadvantaged urban residents. More than 56% of residents live in informal neighbourhoods across sub-Saharan Africa, and in most cities, more than 80% of workers are informally employed or informal entrepreneurs. It is clear why this is a major area of attention.

Such coalitions include multiple stakeholders – including the private and public sectors – who all have an interest in improving urban performance. The common experience in the examples above is that local government responds well to these initiatives. Governments are reassured by the inclusive multistakeholder approach to addressing poverty and inequality, and redefining economic growth options so they benefit all. Academics provide essential knowledge, and help to reassure all parties that there is space for debate and discussion of potentially contentious issues.

Such coalitions are changing the dynamics between academics, professionals and local authorities, and the communities whose development is the purpose of these platforms. Experience suggest that they contribute in multiple ways, two of which we highlight here.

1. Accountability
Academics and professionals are rarely accountable to the communities for the work that they do. Communities are frustrated with being researched with no tangible increase in development options. They feel used – conscious that they are providing the knowledge that academics use to write papers and secure personal advancement – without being either recognised or benefited. And they wonder who determines research priorities and why their communities’ needs and interests are not addressed in these knowledge processes. Bringing diverse community groups together through coalition meetings, and sharing information across these networks improves the accountability of academics and professionals to the disadvantaged marginalised groups they seek to help. These spaces are not so that communities can comment on academic priorities, they are there to co-create a new way of engaging around a common agenda.

2. Information and knowledge
The mantra “information is power” is widely repeated. Less frequently repeated is the use of disinformation and partial information to disempower, manipulate and control. Many grassroots leaders are denied the information they need to act effectively and strategically in addressing the needs and interests of their members and other residents or workers. Participation in urban reform coalitions helps community leaders because they are connected to well-informed individuals. The academic presence helps to ensure that coalitions are public platforms placing information and knowledge, with the public space facilitating a rich discussion.

What can we in Manchester learn from this African experience?

I suggest two main insights to consider.

First, the UK context is one where academic and professional expertise has failed to address structural poverty and been seen to fail. The populist turn to politics is associated with an anti-expert narrative, offering promises of inclusion that are not dependent on knowledge and evidence. The danger of this is self-evident.

Local reform coalitions can provide a tangible basis that challenges this narrative and the practice of expert failure. A closer engagement, incorporating multiple stakeholders, results in a rich dialogue between academics and organised communities.

Knowledge priorities from communities can be presented, discussed and potentially addressed. The engagement of the local authority helps to ensure that a more equitable relationship is nurtured between such communities and the councillors and city hall. The presence of academics serves to legitimise and amplify the community voice.

Neighbourhoods proximate to the university may be invited to change their relationships, address their frustration with their elite neighbour and define new options for collective development, student education, individual employment and co-management of space through this collaboration.

Second, discourses of the civic university in Manchester to date have often been centred on the relationships between the university and local government. As shown by the examples from Africa, there is an alternative practice in process – one with a more inclusive understanding about who should shape development priorities and solutions.

The rapid urbanisation process in Africa has highlighted major spatial and social inequalities. But it has also provided an opportunity for academics who want to address them to raise their game, through inclusive urban reform coalitions.

Coalitions provide an opportunity to aggregate academic efforts, and make space to respond to the interests, demands and needs of other residents in the city. In Manchester, as in African cities, there are a multitude of individual academics who prioritise these themes in their work. However, institutional processes have often fractured rather than aggregated their efforts – resulting in marginal benefits to those living in local neighbourhoods.

The extensive experiences of African academics and urban reformers shows us what is possible, and how engagement with both local communities and councils can transform inner cities for the better.

This blog post originally appeared on the Global Development Institute’s blog and is republished here with permission. Read the original article.

Header photo credit: Hannah van Rooyen. Diana Mitlin along with ACRC colleagues and community leaders in Mukuru Viwandani informal settlement, Nairobi in 2022.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.