Busara

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to learn more about the people behind the work at Busara, what their divisions are working on, and the questions their projects are helping us explore. From Quinta Otieno’s insurance game and Gitanksh Sethi’s work on the economic consequences to innovative lab games for insomnia, Participatory Action Research and pediatric palliative care, low-cost message testing and AI platforms, systems mapping and social network analysis, and the work behind Busara ISERC, the sessions gave us a window into the breadth of expertise across the organization. We also heard from Hitha M and Emmanuel Ajibade on using our voices, reminding us that the work we do is shaped not only by the research itself, but also by how we communicate, collaborate, and bring others into the conversation. Our plenary session with Rahab Kariuki and Mutiga Wanjohi from the Mastercard Foundation brought another important perspective: research is not MEL. The discussion challenged us to think about what evaluation needs from behavioral science and, importantly, to keep our behavioral science lens at the center of the work we do. We also had the chance to meet Busara’s board members, Syon Bhanot, Lynn Eisenhart, James Vancel and Neela A. Saldanha, who shared their experiences with Busara, lessons from their own careers, and their perspectives on where the organization can go next. And while there was plenty to learn, there was also plenty of room to connect, ask questions, and get to know the people we work alongside a little better. The learning continues. So does the conversation.

Yesterday, we explored what happens when knowledge, evidence and practice move beyond us in five parallel sessions, where participants explored how learning can travel inward across Busara, outward to partner institutions, upward to power holders, in from communities, and back to communities. ✅ From learning to lasting impact, Pauline Wanjeri explored how everyday knowledge moves from Lab Games and biweekly conversations to Slack, the Behavioral Lens, LinkedIn, and beyond, turning individual learning into organisational knowledge and institutional memory. ✅ Will your practice survive change? Richa M. challenged participants to think about what happens when evidence-based practices encounter staff turnover, new funders, tighter budgets, or entirely new contexts. ✅ Can you challenge the system while working with the system? Lydia Ferdinand drew on six years of supporting civil society advocacy in Tanzania to explore how differences in access, trust, and credibility can shape collective action and advocacy. ✅ Who still lets us in? Daniel Kibet examined what shrinking research spaces means for access, representation, selection bias, and the evidence we ultimately produce. ✅ Closing the research loop, Debrah Anyango brought the conversation back to communities, exploring why sharing research findings with the people who contributed their knowledge can strengthen trust, accountability, and the practical use of evidence. The learning continues throughout the week of Tara Mistari.

The world doesn’t change on ideas alone; it changes when ideas meet action. At Busara, our knowledge does more than inform programs. It challenges assumptions, shapes policies, and supports better decisions across sectors. This week, you’ll explore articles, LinkedIn reflections and pulses, groundworks, events and conferences attended and organized by Busara, and webinars that ask deeper questions and offer practical insights on human behavior. We begin with articles that are on our website created by our team. See the full list in the comment section below 👇.

Tara Mistari officially kicked off yesterday with a plenary led by Lara M. Katumbi from the BRACE team, “Steal this practice: A speed-dating session on how we work together.” Through fast, one-to-one exchanges, participants shared the habits, boundaries, rules of thumb, and ways of working that have quietly changed relationships with colleagues, communities, and funders. The conversations then continued across parallel sessions exploring how we can better understand and influence complex systems: ✅ Behavioural Systems Mapping, led by Emiliano Díaz del Valle, introduced the concepts, connections, and feedback loops that shape persistent behaviours, alongside a walkthrough of a digital mapping tool. ✅ The Behavioral Systems Map, led by George Gitau Wanjiru, MPhil. (Cantab), unpacked what happens when sophisticated tools meet real-world practice, including the assumptions, translation, and cognitive effort that determine whether recommendations actually get used. ✅ Practice what we preach, led by Zach Mills, Quinta Otieno and Malhar Acharya, turned the behavioural lens inward to explore how Busara can apply behavioural science to the systems, processes and everyday interactions that shape how we work. From stealing useful practices to questioning our assumptions and designing tools people can actually use, day one gave us plenty to take back into our work. And the learning continues throughout the week of Tara Mistari.

Subject: Out of Office? (Lol, absolutely not. We're at Tara Mistari) To: Everyone trying to reach us right now From: The Busara Team Date: Monday, 5th – Friday, 9th Hello there, If you are currently reading an auto-responder from us, first of all, congratulations on checking your email. Second of all: please accept our deepest apologies, because we are officially locked in for the Tara Mistari Research Festival and cannot hear you over the sound of us leveling up our brilliance. To answer your burning questions: ✅ Are we working hard? Absolutely. During our annual research festival, Tara Mistari, we will go deep into writing workshops, thought-provoking talks, and learning about each other's work. ✅ Why does this matter? By integrating these learnings and sharing insights across the organization, we make everyone better at what they do, bringing sharper, more innovative solutions to the work we do with you. ✅ Will your emails be answered? Eventually. Since seeing is believing, please see the pictures to witness what happens when you mix brilliant minds, big goals, and zero chill. Rest assured, we’re coming back sharper, brighter, and ready to take on the world. Until then, please enjoy the secondhand FOMO. Warmest regards (from somewhere much more fun), Busara #BusaraLife #TaraMistari #TeamBuilding #BehavioralScience #WorkHardPlayHard #SorryNotSorry

From cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma to the barriers young women face in agricultural programs, the latest thinking featured in The Behavioral Lens newsletter looks at how context, systems, and everyday program decisions shape human behavior. In the newsletter, Lara M. Katumbi revisits the question of what we mean when we call a behavior “irrational,” drawing on research examining economic preferences such as trust, altruism, and reciprocity across Kenya, China, and Iran. She also explores findings that challenge our assumptions about who cooperates and why. Another feature in the newsletter turns to young women in agricultural programs in Uganda, asking a deceptively simple question: who actually gets to participate? Timing of training, access to information, decision-making, land, income, and even the journey to market can all influence whether a program reaches the people it intends to serve. These are the kinds of questions we explore through the behavioral lens: connecting behavioral science and real-world evidence to the systems, policies, and programs that shape everyday decisions. Subscribe to The Behavioral Lens and get research, insights, and fresh perspectives from Busara and our partners delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/dxKU5QHd

A research protocol can be scientifically sound and still leave important ethical questions unanswered. From Busara’s own practical experience in the research and ethics agenda, here are some of the things to consider before submitting a protocol: ✅ What unintended social or psychological risks could emerge from a study? ✅ Who could be affected beyond the people formally enrolled as participants? ✅ Does the review process have the behavioral science expertise and contextual knowledge needed to understand those risks? ✅ How can researchers treat participants as people with preferences, concerns and expectations rather than simply as sources of data? ✅ What happens after a protocol receives approval? The thinking behind Busara ISERC, including its emphasis on behavioral science expertise, community input, accountability and efficiency is its risk based approach, designed to give minimal risk protocols an appropriate route through review while directing greater scrutiny towards research with more complex ethical considerations. Our carousel breaks down some of these ideas into questions researchers can consider before they submit. Visit the Busara ISERC website to submit your protocol https://lnkd.in/dHB7e_nU

You’ve met Ziwa. Now, here’s why the researchers chose to let her tell the story. In Part 1 of Coming at it sideways: Designing research outputs with the same empathy we use to design research, we explored how a storyboard helped researchers think about the experience of people answering questions about a school milk program that did not yet exist. We then followed Ziwa into the storybook, where a simple packet of milk opened up a much bigger story about caregivers, teachers, dairy farmers, transporters, county officials, financing, infrastructure, and the systems that keep school milk programs running. But there was another question behind the storybook: once the research was complete, how could the findings be presented in a way that helped people actually engage with them? In Part 2, Shalmali Ghaisas, Wairimu (Nimo) Muthike, and Nengapate Kuria reflect on that question and what happened when they moved beyond the traditional research report. Ziwa, a five-year-old Kenyan child whose name comes from maziwa, became the narrator. Through her everyday experience, readers could encounter the complexity behind school milk without having to navigate all of that complexity at once. The storybook was never intended to replace the full research report. It created another way into the evidence for people who might need to understand it, remember it, or act on it. And the team also found a challenge in their own approach. As the story moved into program history, methodology, county logistics, transporter incentives, and survey findings, Ziwa’s voice sometimes became less visible. That became an important reminder: choosing a human-centered format is only the beginning. The person at the center of the story needs to remain visible throughout. Read Part 2 through the link below to explore the thinking behind Ziwa’s story and what it reveals about designing research outputs with the same empathy we bring to research itself. https://lnkd.in/dJ_CJkbD

School milk feeding programs in Kenya have a long history, from Maziwa ya Nyayo to more recent county-led initiatives. But as Busara’s research shows, the story is not only about putting milk in children’s hands. It is also about the caregivers, teachers, dairy farmers, transporters, and county officials who help keep these programs running. The research found that 80% of respondents considered current school milk feeding programs successful, with reported increases in enrollment and decreases in dropout while programs were running. Yet consistency remains a major challenge, with 50% of respondents identifying irregularity as a key barrier. The findings also point to the role communities can play. More than 40% of parents and community members were willing to contribute money and time towards a community-led program, while caregivers, transporters, and dairy farmers also showed willingness to participate. But willingness needs the right systems behind it. Reliable financing, coordinated delivery, adequate infrastructure, and communication between stakeholders and programs that can adapt to changing enrollment numbers all matter. This World School Milk Day, Ziwa’s story offers a closer look at the people and systems behind school milk feeding in Kenya and what research tells us about strengthening them. Read the Ziwa storybook to explore the findings, community perspectives, and recommendations: https://lnkd.in/dqxXz8X6 Special acknowledgement goes to the research team: Wairimu (Nimo) Muthike, Shalmali Ghaisas, Marilyn Moin, Violet Moraa and Winnie Kimani

A packet of school milk can look simple. But getting it into a child’s hands consistently involves people, systems, decisions, and a lot more complexity than meets the eye. This World School Milk Day, we are looking at what Kenya’s school milk feeding programme can teach us about something researchers often overlook: how we design the journey from evidence to the people who need to use it. In Coming at it sideways: Designing research outputs with the same empathy we use to design research, Wairimu (Nimo) Muthike, Shalmali Ghaisas, and Nengapate Kuria reflect on how they approached this challenge from both sides. When researchers asked caregivers and other actors to respond to a school milk programme that did not yet exist, they created a storyboard to help participants picture the programme before responding. Later, when it was time to communicate the findings, they created a storybook narrated by Ziwa, a five year old Kenyan child, to help readers engage with the complex systems behind something as familiar as a packet of milk. Read the full publication through the link below or in the comments and explore the story behind Ziwa, the storyboard, and the lessons they revealed about helping evidence travel further. https://lnkd.in/d8aMT2RT