📆24 February 2026
⏲️09:00 - 16:00 EAT
📍Mövenpick Nairobi Hotel & Residences
Mkungu Close
Nairobi, Kenya
Register
This event has been cross posted from the CGIAR Policy Innovations page.
About the event
Kenya’s leadership has placed agriculture and food systems at the center of the nation’s ambition to achieve inclusive economic transformation and High-Income Country (HIC) status. Major policy frameworks, including the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), Vision 2030, and national food systems transformation pathways, are already driving pivotal budget decisions at national and county levels. From fertilizer subsidy reforms to youth agripreneurship initiatives, these investments are designed to lower the cost of living, create jobs, and build long-term climate resilience.
As implementation accelerates, policymakers face increasingly complex choices regarding investment prioritization, sequencing, and the inherent trade-offs between productivity, resilience, inclusion, and nutrition. While CGIAR and Kenyan institutions have jointly generated a vast body of policy-relevant research, a critical gap remains in the systematic application of this evidence. Furthermore, as Kenya begins the vital work of conceptualizing its 'Beyond 2030' strategy, this dialogue seeks to provide the evidence-based building blocks for the nation's long-term trajectory. It offers a dedicated space for senior policymakers, implementers, and researchers to engage in an open, forward-looking exchange grounded in practical decision-making and the co-creation of a roadmap for Kenya’s future prosperity.
Strategic Objectives for the Dialogue
- Reflect on how existing evidence is currently informing national and county-level decision-making.
- Identify specific evidence gaps that constrain the effective execution of current programs.
- Articulate future research demand to support Kenya’s transformation into the next decade and beyond.
Dialogue Approach
The policy dialogue is designed as a dynamic, interactive exchange rather than a traditional presentation of completed studies. To ensure maximum relevance, discussions will be structured around real-world policy questions, practical implementation experiences, and immediate decision-making needs. Selected examples from existing co-created research will be used illustratively to ground the conversation, while deliberate space will be created to surface unanswered questions and identify critical future evidence needs.
The dialogue will emphasize:
- Mutual Learning: Fostering a reciprocal exchange where policymakers provide context on implementation realities and researchers share analytical insights.
- Co-creation: Collaboratively defining a forward-looking research agenda that is explicitly aligned with Kenya’s national policy cycles and "Beyond 2030" ambitions.
- Practical Orientation: Shifting the focus from data generation to data application, ensuring research is policy ready.
Expected Outcomes
To ensure the dialogue results in measurable progress, the session is designed to achieve the following four key benchmarks:
- Evidence Audit: A shared understanding of how existing research is currently contributing to agri-food policy and a clear identification of where the "uptake" of this evidence can be strengthened.Implementation Gap
- Mapping: A clear articulation of the priority evidence gaps that are currently hindering the effective execution of national and county-level policies.
- A "2027+" Research Agenda: A jointly defined set of priority research themes and strategic questions to guide the CGIAR–Kenyan collaboration from 2027 onwards, aligning with the "Beyond 2030" planning cycle.
- Institutional Synergy: Strengthened relationships and enhanced trust between policy-making bodies and research institutions, creating a foundation for ongoing, real-time consultation.
Logistics: Please be advised that attendees are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.
Agenda
9:20 -10:00: Opening Session
From ambition to execution: Reviewing success and framing future policy questions
10:30 – 12:30: Session 1
Panel: What Do We Know? Using Co-Created Evidence to Inform Current Policy
13:30 -15:30 Session 2
Panel: Where Are the Gaps in Evidence and Constraints in Policy Implementation
15:30 – 15:45: Closing Session
Next steps and what the hub will offer moving forward