Because of the Carnegie Corporation’s sustained support to the ALC, we now have an “impact triangle” that seamlessly connects our inter-generational knowledge community - of scholars and policy practitioners - and the knowledge they produce with problem-solving opportunities in real life.
'Funmi Olonisakin, Professor of Security, Leadership and Development and Principal Investigator
17 October 2023
Carnegie Corporation invests in Africa's future research and impact leaders
Major grant won by African Leadership Centre for ongoing research
The African Leadership Centre has received a research grant of £1.5m (US$ 1.85m) from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
This grant will support the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) research and impact generating work with emphasis on implementing its ongoing research agenda.
Through this grant, the Centre, along with its sister centre, ALC Nairobi, will develop skilled and inspired early career researchers with a clear research path and a well-articulated impact agenda.
Fellowship programmes in both Nairobi and London have previously trained over 100 African scholars for both academic and policy oriented careers.
The money will also help the ALC in consolidating intellectual productivity as a result of research projects enabled by a small grants programme across the Centre’s six research clusters.
This grant award comes at a critical time. It will support ongoing interdisciplinary and impactful research on critical themes including, Global Africa, leadership, digital transformation and futures in Africa.
Dr Eka Ikpe, Director of the King's African Leadership Centre and Co-Investigator
Dr Ikpe said: “It will also support the consolidation of the Centre’s agenda of building intergenerational knowledge communities that are inspired to catalyse transformative change through funded postgraduate Fellowships and the Leading Practitioners Reflections programme.
“I am grateful to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its continued and dedicated support and confidence in the Centre.”
Carnegie Corporation of New York is one of America’s oldest grant making foundations, with a focus on international peace, and the advancement of education and knowledge.
The ALC explores issues of peace, leadership, development and security. Together with their partners, they seek to generate knowledge, inform and influence debate, teaching and learning, as well as policy discourses in both Africa and globally.
In addition, the ALC has a sister centre in Nairobi, Kenya that works closely with the team to deliver joint teaching and research programmes. Established in 2010, the centre is an educational trust and in partnership with King's and the University of Nairobi.
Part of the Carnegie grant will be used to update the ALC DataLab, a platform dedicated to providing open data analyses, scalable data explorations, and robust data visualizations for security, peacebuilding and development related-themes across the African continent.
“It is a project borne out of the need for a veritable and reliable data warehouse, with great ease of access for policymakers, researchers and interested scholars across the African continent. We are harnessing the tools of big data and other cutting-edge digital technologies to provide this access,” says Dr Ikpe.
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Director, African Leadership Centre
Vice President (International, Engagement & Service)