Utafiti Wellness Research
EVIDENCE TO ACTION
EVIDENCE TO ACTION
From evidence to action: a five‑year roadmap for translating research into measurable health and wellness outcomes across Africa.
Utafiti Wellness Research Association (UWRA) is at a pivotal moment. Having successfully launched our Research Translation Fellowship, established six core departments, and reached over 5,000 community members, we now set our sights on the next five years of strategic growth, deepened impact, and organizational excellence.
This Strategic Plan 2026–2030 articulates our ambition to become the leading research translation organization in East Africa, bridging the persistent gap between academic knowledge and community health outcomes. It is grounded in evidence, shaped by community voices, and driven by an unwavering commitment to health and wellness for all.
Across Africa, millions of research findings—from clinical trials to epidemiological studies—remain inaccessible to the communities and policymakers who need them most. This "evidence‑action gap" costs lives. Promising interventions never reach scale. Policy decisions are made without adequate data. Communities continue to face preventable health challenges without the benefit of proven solutions.
UWRA was founded to close this gap. Our strategic plan directly addresses five interconnected challenges: limited research translation capacity, weak community‑research linkages, insufficient innovation pipelines, fragmented knowledge sharing, and constrained partnership ecosystems. Over the next five years, we will transform these challenges into opportunities for sustainable impact.
Our strategy is built on five interconnected pillars that guide every decision, investment, and partnership.
To produce, synthesize, and translate high‑quality research evidence into accessible, actionable formats for communities, practitioners, and policymakers.
To equip emerging researchers, health professionals, and community leaders with skills to generate, use, and translate evidence effectively.
To co‑design, implement, and evaluate evidence‑informed health interventions with and for communities across Kenya.
To design, test, and scale innovative health technologies and service delivery models for low‑resource settings.
To build and sustain strategic partnerships that amplify our reach, deepen our impact, and ensure organizational sustainability.
We track our progress through ambitious yet achievable targets across each strategic pillar.
fellows trained across 3 cohorts
publications, policy briefs and summaries
community members reached through programs
fellows, 100,000+ community reach, 50+ partners
Foundation strengthening, Cohort 2 launch, masterclass development
Scale programs, expand partnerships, launch innovation pipeline
Deepen impact, regional expansion, sustainability frameworks
Evaluation, strategic review, next 5‑year planning
Our programs and research translation efforts concentrate on the following health priorities, selected for their burden of disease and potential for evidence‑informed intervention.
Strengthen our internal systems, governance structures, and operational efficiency to support strategic growth. This includes investing in staff development, financial management systems, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and organizational culture that embodies our values.
While maintaining our headquarters in Nairobi, we will gradually expand our reach to other East African countries, beginning with Tanzania and Uganda by 2028, building regional partnerships and adapting our models to local contexts.
Leverage technology to enhance our research translation, learning delivery, and community engagement. This includes developing a digital learning platform, an open‑access knowledge repository, and mobile‑based community feedback systems.
Embed robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems that enable continuous improvement. We will conduct annual strategic reviews, commission independent evaluations, and share lessons learned transparently with stakeholders.
Our strategic plan is ambitious. Achieving it requires partners, supporters, and collaborators who share our vision of evidence‑informed health and wellness for all.