African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is an intergovernmental non-profit organization, founded in 1988 by

Calestous Juma Calestous Juma (9 June 1953 – 15 December 2017) was a Kenyan scientist and academia, specializing in sustainable development. He was named one of the most influential 100 Africans in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by the ''New African'' magazine. He w ...

in Nairobi, Kenya, promoting policy-oriented research on science and technology in development that is sustainable in terms of the economy, society, and the environment. It was the first African non-profit organization to combine policy research, science and technology.

History

Founded in 1988, ACTS was a pioneer in development research on innovative development policies related to applied science, technology, and innovation. ACTS research influenced policies on industrial property legislation and policy in Kenya, environmental impact assessment standards in Eastern and Southern Africa,

biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

and

bio-energy Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

in Kenya, Eastern and West Africa. ACTS has also influenced policies across Africa on issues such as

climate change adaptation Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...

and

mitigation Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of hazards that remain ''in potentia'', or to manage harmful incidents that have already occur ...

, agriculture, biotechnology,

biodiplomacy Bio-diplomacy is part of the biopolitics theory of professor Agni Vlavianos Arvanitis. According to her, bio-diplomacy is a framework, a political path of the diplomatic world, in organizing and discussing plans and actions for peace and interna ...

, and

biosafety Biosafety is the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health. These prevention mechanisms include conduction of regular reviews of the biosafety in laboratory settings, as well as strict guidel ...

Affiliations

ACTS is a member of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), which includes 150 data producers and users working towards sustainable development focusing on data that informs research ending extreme poverty and addressing climate change. The Canadian, Colombian, French, Ghanaian, Italian, Mexican, Moroccan, Nigerian, Philippine, Senagalese, United Kingdom and United States' governments are member-states of the network.

Awards

In 2013, ACTS was named as one of the top Environment Think Tanks globally. In 1991 the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (

CODESRIA The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is Pan-African research organisation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. The current President of CODESRIA is Dzodzi Tsikata. Background CODESRIA was established in 19 ...

) honored ACTS for its contribution to expanding the knowledge base for development in Africa with the Justinian Rweyemamu Prize, named after Tanzania's first major economics scholar,

Justinian Rweyemamu Justinian F. Rweyemamu (28 September 1942 – 30 March 1982) was Tanzania’s first major economics scholar. Considered by many as the outstanding representative of the post-independence African scholars, he was also a pan-Africanist, political st ...

Community-based actions

ACTS policy researchers engage with local communities to encourage communities to reflect on and learn from their own coping mechanisms when faced with flood-prone areas. They then choose best practice adaptations and develop long-term proactive strategies for flood mitigation which might include crop diversification.

Selected publications

ACTS published the groundbreaking study by Harvard professor, Calestous Juma and J. B. Ojwang entitled ''Innovation and Sovereignty: The Patent Debate in African Development.'' Juma directs the Harvard Kennedy School's (HKS) Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

. In his 1993 article, in which he examined legal processes regarding access and tenurial issues in regards to group and individual pastoral natural resource management in Turkana in Kenya, focusing on tree rights, Edmund G.C. Barrow made a case for indigenous property rights."This issue of Biopolicy International was published in conjunction with the

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, fore ...

(WRI). Financial support included the Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA), the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA), the

Danish International Development Agency Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...

(DANIDA), Initiatives Ltd., the

International Development Research Centre The International Development Research Centre (IDRC; french: Centre de recherches pour le développement international, ''CRDI'') is a Canadian federal Crown corporation that funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions ...

(IDRC), The World Conservation Union (IUCN),

Stockholm Environment Institute The Stockholm Environment Institute, or SEI, is a non-profit, independent research and policy institute specialising in sustainable development and environmental issues, with seven affiliate offices around the world. SEI works on climate change ...

(SEI), Swedish Society for the Conservation of Nature (SSCN), and the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(UNEP).

References

Ochieng, C. (2007). Development through positive deviance and its implications for economic policy making and public administration in Africa: the case of Kenya agricultural development, 1930-2004. World Development 35: (3) 454–479.
Ochieng, C. (2007) Re-vitalizing African agriculture through innovative business and organizational arrangements: promising developments in the traditional crops sector. Journal of Modern African Studies 45 :( 1) 143–169. Ochieng, C. (2007) The EU-ACP economic partnership agreements and the development question: opportunities and constraints posed by Article XXIV and special and differential treatment provisions of the WTO. Journal of International Economic Law 10: (2) 363–395. Ochieng, C & Houdet, J. (2015) eds. Responsible Exploitation of Natural Resources for African Development. ACTS Special Issue Paper Series 001. ACTS Press, Nairobi

External links

ACTS website
{{Authority control Non-profit organisations based in Kenya International development in Africa Sustainable development Sustainability and environmental management