Cultivating a new generation of African leaders
At ACRES, we believe that providing evidence is only half the battle. The other half is ensuring that the people receiving it have the skills, the confidence, and the institutional support to use it. We build the long-term human infrastructure required for better governance.
Our Capacity Building Unit is dedicated to closing the skills gap in Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM) by turning practitioners into champions who can lead from within.
The ACRES Competency Framework
Before you can build capacity, you have to define what ‘good’ looks like. We developed a comprehensive Competency Framework to map out exactly what an EIDM practitioner needs to succeed in the modern African context. We have found that effective leadership requires far more than just data analysis. It demands a blend of technical mastery to interpret complex data, the cultural intelligence to navigate diverse perspectives, and the collaborative leadership skills necessary to break down institutional silos. This framework ensures that our training is not just about learning facts, but about shaping the way leaders think and act.
A curriculum built for the real world
Generic training programs often fail because they don’t account for the high-pressure reality of policy work. We designed our EIDM curriculum to bridge this gap by moving beyond the classroom. Our approach combines transformational learning with long-term mentoring, ensuring that the skills stick.
By training both current officials and the next generation of students entering the workforce, we are hardwiring evidence-use into the professional culture of African institutions. This dual approach ensures that as senior leaders implement new data-informed policies, they are supported by a younger workforce that already speaks the language of evidence.
The Evidence to Policy (E2P) Training Programme
The challenges facing Africa demand solutions that are both timely and evidence informed. Our flagship E2P Training Programme is a pan-African initiative designed to turn researchers and policymakers into a unified force. In late 2024, we launched our 15-week intensive Entry-level program, bringing together practitioners from Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Tanzania to build a cross-border network of evidence champions.
In 2025, we expanded this into a 28-week Mid-level fellowship for senior policymakers from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Malawi. This level focuses on real-world application through capstone projects, where learners apply EIDM principles directly to their current government roles. These projects turn the classroom into a laboratory, solving actual policy problems while the training is still underway.
Strengthening the ACRES team
Sustainability starts at home. We ensure that every member of the ACRES team is an expert in our own methodology. Through structured internal orientations, we equip our staff with a deep mastery of our Rapid Response Service (RRS) and the Evidence-Informed Policy (EIP) Framework. This internal investment ensures that our partners; whether they are funders or policymakers, always receive the highest standard of support from an organization that practices exactly what it preaches.
