Nov 22, 2009
Strathmore University, Kenya
STRATHMORE GOVERNANCE CENTER
The Governance Center at Strathmore University ( Nairobi, Kenya ) was launched in Nairobi on September 17th, 2008 at the workshop, “Risk Management in the Domestic Supply Chain of Health Commodities in Kenya .” ( View Governance Center Opening Slideshow and Agenda for Launch Conference (pdf))
Though concerned broadly about all dimensions of governance, the Strathmore Centre is particularly interested in "governance in Africa", that is, in governance issues that reflect the specific circumstances of the African continent. Its objectives as laid out by the Vice Chancellor Strathmore University, Prof. John Odhiambo:
“The main agenda of the Governance Centre is to conduct research The Centre also aims to develop a governance resource centre, and to partner with other organizations that share the objective of improving governance in Kenya .
The Center can facilitate the improvement of governance by defining measures of good governance and developing indices to assess and rate governance in a wide variety of institutions. The Centre will endeavor to focus on highlighting good governance practices and providing solutions rather than just pointing out negative practices.”
Mission of the Strathmore Centre
SGC seeks to promote good governance in the public, private and civic sectors of the Eastern African region by carrying out research and analysis on governance issues, by facilitating dialogue within and across those sectors, and by identifying educational needs and developing appropriate tools and programmes to meet those needs.
Areas of Research
The Strathmore Centre ’s research is primarily focused in eight areas:
Governance in the Health Sector
The Centre carries out research into all aspects of governance in the health sector in Kenya , looking at the institutions that provide health care, the entities that support healthcare institutions and the very structures, processes and activities on which the delivery of health care depends for its integrity and effectiveness. In 2008, SGC organized a workshop on the theme: ‘Risk Management in the Domestic Supply Chain for Health Commodities’. See further details here.
African Ideals and Institutions
Research projects in this field will seek to understand those African ideals and their shaping of institutions that embodied and expressed them with a particular focus on government by consensus may produce results that are very relevant to true political legitimacy.
African Legal Systems
Through its project on Legal Pluralism in Eastern Africa the Centre seeks to examine the ways in which the customary norms and practices of African societies have interacted with Western and Islamic legal systems through time. By so doing the project seeks to understand the dynamics and principles of contemporary transitional justice and their impact on the social, political and cultural factors affecting present-day governance in Africa.
Civil Society
Research projects in this area will look at the manifold contexts within which civil society has existed and exists in Africa, particularly its relation to the state, ethnicity and kinship.
Local Government
Research seeks to gather evidence about the ways in which local authorities govern "in practice" with a view to understanding how best to improve that practice.
The Non-profit/non-government Sector
The Centre seeks to study the ways in which good governance enhances the effectiveness and impact of the services provided by non-profit and non-government organizations (both foreign and indigenous) in all areas of activity (education, health, religion, agriculture, culture, social services, etc.).
Water Resources
Seeking to go beyond technical solutions, research projects in this field will focus particularly on rigorous analysis of governance structures, such as better regulatory instruments and procedures, and clear and coherent ethical guidelines regarding human capacity and water resource allocation and planning objectives.
Sports Development
The project will analyze the enormous regional potential of sports development in terms of social integration and responsible citizenship. The project will include a comparative study of the existing policy of the Kenya government and that of other countries with the aim of providing possible solutions to governance deficiencies that undermine performance and growth.
Staff
Dr.Antoinette K.Kankindi
Dr Antoinette K. Kankindi, PhD and MCGO (Governance) from the University of Navarra, Spain and LLM from the University of Kinshasa, DRC is a Congolese citizen. She joined Strathmore University in 2004 where she lectures in Social and Political Philosophy. She was appointed Director of the Hills Governance Centre at Strathmore in May 2009. Before pursuing her postgraduate studies in Philosophy ( Rome and Pamplona), she worked as legal advisor for Chevron Overseas Co. in Kinshasa. She later assumed the same responsibility in the Chilean Embassy for national and foreign policies.
Lilian Munene - Research Administrator
Lilian comes to Strathmore Governance Centre from the University of Oxford where she worked for various departments including the Finance Division and Wellcome Trust Department for Human Genetics. At SGC she plays a key role of providing support for research funding applications and awards management.
Anne Ndung’u - Administrative and Research Assistant
Anne has worked with Thomson Reuters as an Archivist and as a producer for Africa daily and Africa Journal before joining the Strathmore Governance Centre. As Administrative and Research Assistant, she is responsible for the day to day running of the SGC and assist Research Associates of the centre with their research activities.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Strathmore Governance Center
Strathmore University
Madaraka Estate
Ole Sangale Road
P.O. Box 59857
0200 City Square
Nairobi, Kenya
Dr.Antoinette Kankindi (Director, Strathmore Governance Center, Strathmore University)
Email: AKankindi@strathmore.edu
