The journey to the official launch of our new strategic plan began all the way back in June 2021 when we were able to bring on board a strategic planning consultant, On Think Tanks (OTT), thanks to an operational capacity-building grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
OTT carried out an intensive “listening tour” of Mawazo with key stakeholders and staff to better understand underlying issues, strengths, and contextual factors as well as a “brand review” building on the draft strategy, past board discussions, and other documents. They also conducted a programme analysis to better understand our current activities and use of staff time and budget.
With additional support from grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Mawazo brought on board a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Consultant, Charles Warria. Between February and September 2022, Charles supported the strengthening of our MEL and data management frameworks which included several intensive brainstorming sessions with Mawazo staff to get a clear picture of our Theory of Change and logical framework.
The result of over one-and-a-half years of transformation, brainstorming, and internal reviews has led to the creation of Mawazo’s new Strategic Plan for 2023-2026. This plan consolidates Mawazo’s programming and vision for a world in which the voices and big ideas of early career African women shape the future of the continent and the world.
A key strategic assumption behind the new strategic plan is Mawazo’s belief that African women conducting PhDs are driven, creative, analytical and critical thinkers who bring a unique perspective to research and development. And that thinkers with these strengths are key to driving innovative, holistic, sustainable development on the continent and beyond.
Read our Strategic Plan here.
|