NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 2- The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) has made a $2million (Sh160.7million) grant to the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) for its Phase III projects, the overall goal of which is to support the government’s efforts in economic policy analysis.
KIPPRA will use the funds to enhance its capacity to produce quality research and policy support to the government and other stakeholders as well as strengthen its partnerships and networks with other institutions.
The institute will also use the money to strengthen capacity of government, private sector and civil society in policy formulation and analysis and enhance its communication capacity to enable it respond to national policy issues.
Speaking while signing the agreement, KIPPRA Executive Director Dr Moses Ikiara said the grant was timely given the country’s economic resurgence, adding the funds would significantly strengthen its capacity.
“KIPPRA is the cradle of policy research in Kenya, with the special ability to analyse and synthesise; to weigh various alternatives for solving complex problems under varying environments, to recommend specific course of action in keeping with the economic and socio political realities of our country,” Dr Ikiara said.
KIPPRA, which is 11 years old, has a vision of being the leading public policy research and analysis institution in Africa and beyond and an international centre of excellence.
The think-tank has added immense value in shaping the country’s economic development policies. Since 1994, ACBF’s total investment in KIPPRA is estimated at $5.3 million (Sh426.1 million).
Over the last twenty years, ACBF has supported 27 policy institutes in 22 African countries.
Underlying the Foundation’s commitment to this focus area is the conviction that excellent policy units and think tanks are a strategic way of addressing Africa’s development challenges.
