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Tayarisha

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Research Excellence

Tayarisha conducts academically rigorous, Africa-centred research on the governance challenges and opportunities created by digital transformation. Our research examines how digital technologies are reshaping public institutions, democratic participation, service delivery, economic systems, and relations between the state, private sector, civil society, and citizens.

As digitalisation accelerates across Africa, questions of power, accountability, inclusion, ethics, regulation, and public value have become increasingly urgent. Tayarisha’s research responds to these questions by producing evidence-based analysis that supports better policy, strengthens public institutions, and contributes to more inclusive and developmental digital futures.

Our research agenda is organised around key thematic areas that reflect Africa’s most pressing digital governance challenges.

Our Research Themes

AI and Digital Governance in Africa

This research theme examines the governance of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making in African contexts. It focuses on how AI is being used in public administration, service delivery, social protection, education, justice, security, and other areas of public life.

The theme asks how African governments can develop ethical, inclusive, and accountable AI governance frameworks that support innovation while protecting citizens from harm. It also considers issues such as algorithmic bias, transparency, public sector capacity, human oversight, and the social consequences of automated decision-making.

Key areas of focus include:

  • AI regulation and public policy
  • Algorithmic accountability
  • Ethics and human rights in AI systems
  • AI in public service delivery
  • Institutional capacity for AI governance
  • African perspectives in global AI debates
Digital Public Infrastructure

Digital Public Infrastructure refers to the foundational digital systems that enable people, governments, and institutions to interact in the digital age. These systems include digital identity, payments, data exchange platforms, registries, and other shared digital services.

Tayarisha’s research in this area examines how Digital Public Infrastructure can be designed, governed, and implemented in ways that are inclusive, secure, interoperable, and accountable. The theme pays particular attention to the risks of exclusion, surveillance, vendor lock-in, weak accountability, and uneven access.

Key areas of focus include:

  • Digital identity systems
  • Digital payments and public service platforms
  • Data exchange and interoperability
  • Public, private, and hybrid governance models
  • Inclusion and digital rights
  • Trust, accountability, and institutional design
Digital Public Finance

Digital technologies are transforming how governments raise, allocate, spend, and monitor public resources. This research theme explores the implications of digitalisation for public finance, including tax administration, budgeting, expenditure tracking, anti-corruption systems, and financial accountability.

Tayarisha’s work in this area examines how digital tools can support more transparent, efficient, and accountable public financial management, while also considering risks such as cybersecurity threats, exclusion, data misuse, and the digitalisation of illicit financial flows.

Key areas of focus include:

  • Digital tax systems
  • Public expenditure management
  • Anti-corruption technologies
  • Revenue mobilisation
  • Digital financial transparency
  • Public accountability and fiscal governance
Data Sovereignty and the Geopolitics of Technology

Africa’s digital future is shaped not only by domestic policy choices, but also by global power relations. This research theme examines how African states, institutions, and regional bodies can exercise greater agency in global digital governance.

The theme focuses on data sovereignty, platform power, digital trade, technology dependency, global regulatory debates, and Africa’s role in shaping international digital rules. It asks how African countries can move from being rule-takers to active participants in the governance of global digital systems.

Key areas of focus include:

  • Data sovereignty and data governance
  • Platform power and digital markets
  • Digital trade and regional integration
  • Technology geopolitics
  • Africa’s role in global digital policy forums
  • Digital colonialism, dependency, and agency
Anticipatory Governance and Strategic Foresight

Digital transformation is fast-moving, uncertain, and often disruptive. Tayarisha’s work on anticipatory governance uses strategic foresight and futures thinking to help public institutions prepare for emerging digital risks and opportunities.

This theme focuses on how governments, cities, and public organisations can build the capacity to anticipate change, plan under uncertainty, and design adaptive governance systems. It supports more future-oriented approaches to policy, regulation, public sector innovation, and institutional reform.

Key areas of focus include:

  • Strategic foresight and futures thinking
  • Digital readiness
  • Long-term policy planning
  • Governance under uncertainty
  • Emerging technology scenarios
  • Institutional preparedness and adaptive capacity
Civic Tech and Public Innovation

Through its connection to the Civic Tech Innovation Network, Tayarisha also examines the role of civic technology and citizen-led innovation in strengthening democracy, participation, transparency, and accountability.

This research theme explores how digital tools can support civic engagement, public problem-solving, social accountability, and more responsive governance. It also considers the relationship between state-led digital transformation and citizen-driven innovation.

Key areas of focus include:

  • Civic technology ecosystems
  • Digital democracy and participation
  • Citizen-led innovation
  • Transparency and accountability tools
  • Public sector innovation
  • Collaboration between government, civil society, and technologists

Core Research Questions

Across these thematic areas, Tayarisha’s research is guided by a set of interrelated questions:

  • Who shapes the rules, standards, and infrastructures of Africa’s digital future?
  • How should power be balanced between governments, private technology firms, civil society, and citizens in digital governance?
  • How can digitalisation contribute to public value, social justice, and democratic accountability?
  • What forms of regulation are needed to support innovation while protecting rights, inclusion, and public interest?
  • How can African states and institutions strengthen their capacity to govern emerging technologies?
  • How can digital systems improve public service delivery without deepening exclusion or inequality?
  • What ethical frameworks are needed to guide digital transformation in African contexts?
  • How can Africa’s digital interests be advanced in regional, continental, and global policy forums?

Research Outputs

Tayarisha’s research is designed to contribute to academic knowledge, public policy, and practical governance reform. Our research outputs include:

  • Peer-reviewed journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Policy briefs
  • Research reports
  • Explainers
  • Opinion pieces and blogs
  • Public seminars and research dialogues
  • Flagship reports on digital governance and digital readiness in Africa

These outputs are intended to make complex digital governance debates accessible to researchers, policymakers, students, practitioners, civil society actors, and the broader public.

Research, Policy, and Public Value

Tayarisha’s research is not only academic. It is designed to inform policy, strengthen institutions, and support better decision-making. The Centre works with government departments, regional bodies, civil society organisations, universities, and private sector actors to translate research into practical insights. Through policy dialogues, public seminars, closed-door engagements, commissioned research, working papers, and strategic partnerships, Tayarisha aims to contribute to digital governance that is ethical, inclusive, accountable, and developmentally grounded.

Students and Emerging Researchers

Tayarisha is committed to supporting the next generation of digital governance researchers. The Centre works with Masters, PhD, postdoctoral, and early-career researchers whose work engages with digital governance, AI, public sector innovation, civic tech, digital public infrastructure, data governance, and anticipatory governance. Through research cohorts, seminars, supervision support, writing opportunities, and collaborative projects, Tayarisha creates opportunities for emerging scholars to contribute to Africa’s digital governance research agenda.

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