Nairobi Workshop (March 2017)
The workshop held in March 2017 brought together researchers and practitioners from a number of the University of Leicester’s partners in Africa along with representatives from the Department for International Development (DFID), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
Over two days the participants discussed the ways the groups could work together to enhance the way that research and higher education can contribute to development in Africa.
The discussion of the role of innovation linking higher education, research and development was informed by a provocation paper .
The outcome document from the workshop highlighted the four main areas of discussion:
- The challenges of setting agendas in a dynamic global context;
- Building long-term, sustainable and equitable partnerships;
- Maximising impact and wider outcomes for all;
- Systems working together to link research and development progress.
The outcomes from the workshop and shared principles for working together were subsequently integrated into the University of Leicester’s Strategy for Global Challenge Research. The theme of working together to build long-term, sustainable and equitable partnerships led to the development of the Nairobi Alliance, linking the Universities of Nairobi, Rwanda, Malawi, Witwatersrand (South Africa) and the University of Leicester.