Reimagining Research: Positioning for Impact, Relevance, and Sustainability

On Friday, 13^th February 2026, the Research and Innovation arm at Strathmore University Business School (SBS) organized a Research Retreat bringing together senior faculty and research entity leads for a moment of reflection, alignment, and strategic direction-setting.

Dr. Majid Twahir, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at SBS, opened the session by emphasizing the need to focus on structure, measurable outcomes, and intentional growth. He noted that research is central to the university’s overall vision and that increasing both the number of researchers and publications is critical to strengthening institutional impact.

Prof. Izael Da Silva, Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of research and Innovation at the University, reinforced the call to action with a simple but powerful message: “innovate, communicate, research is everything.”

Discussions focused on key areas, including the establishment and sustainability of research entities, strengthening the grant management lifecycle, and enhancing the overall research management lifecycle. A critical question emerged about artificial intelligence: how can the institution meaningfully integrate AI into its research ecosystem, and how can this integration be institutionalized rather than remain ad hoc?

The keynote address by Dr. William Muriithi, titled “What, How, When: Resetting the Research Culture,” challenged participants to reflect on how leaders initiate vision and how institutions position themselves strategically. He emphasized that this is not a moment for incremental improvement but for strategic repositioning. If the institution is to lead in Africa, its research culture must evolve from mere productivity to power. Key questions were posed: Are we publishing? Are we publishing for continental leadership? Are we visible beyond our immediate networks? Are we influencing policy?

The urgency for resetting the research culture stems from increasing competition among African business schools, donor shifts toward measurable impact, AI-driven disruption of research production, and growing pressure for interdisciplinary solutions. Anchored in the SU/SBS strategy of relevance, impact, and sustainability, the institution is uniquely positioned at the intersection of business and society, ethics, leadership, and Africa-centered scholarship.

Research culture, participants reflected, is defined by what an institution normalizes, rewards, tolerates, celebrates, and resources. The shift required is significant: from isolated excellence to compounded excellence; from personal networks to institutional networks; from ad hoc collaborations to structured research clusters; from small grants to scaled consortia; and from short-term outputs to multi-year research programs.

During hub presentations, Prof. Jacqueline McGlade shared the 2025 strategic highlights, emphasizing that data is the new currency in research and policy influence. Key initiatives include transforming Kenya’s agri-food systems and contributing to the Agroecology National Strategy in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD), the National Treasury, and ten counties; advancing True Value Multi-Capital Accounting with partners such as the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the World Bank, WBCSD, and WRI; strengthening carbon protocols aligned with GHG standards and ISO frameworks; and supporting AI Digital Twin technologies in collaboration with the Office of the President

Prof. Simon Nderitu outlined key 2025 initiatives under Research and Innovation, including the launch of the Community of Practice advisory and steering committee, collaboration with ETH Zurich on a carbon removal project, development of Kenya’s Crop Pesticide Landscape, creation of a Gross Margin Calculator, and AI-enabled advisory services for Kenyan farmers.

Dr. George Njenga presented the 2026 outlook for the Africa Economic Development Hub, focusing on strengthening existing and potential partnerships, expanding grant acquisition and fundraising efforts, and scaling executive training and workshops. He emphasized the need for dedicated office space and a focus on sustainability, noting that the goal is not only to train people for life but also to ensure that the programs themselves are sustainable.

Ms. Rosemary Okello reflected on the Africa Media Hub’s journey since the introduction of data-driven approaches, highlighting achievements such as media and sub-editor training, creation of engagement platforms, establishment of Data Village hubs, and community empowerment initiatives.

Dr. Caesar Mwangi, Executive Dean at SBS, spoke to the Business School’s vision of Transforming Africa and noted that research and innovation are essential levers for the African transformation.

Overall, the retreat served as a decisive moment of reflection and recalibration, a call to intentionally build a research culture that is structured, sustainable, AI-enabled, collaborative, and powerfully positioned to influence Africa’s development trajectory.

Article by Miriam Wafula and Juliet Hinga