Annual Report

2024 marked a year of impactful initiatives and collaborations for CSEA, focused on advancing sustainable development and shaping important policy discussions across Africa. We strengthened both global and national partnerships through strategic meetings with key stakeholders, including California’s Secretary of Transportation, Dr. Toks Omishakin and Dr. Christopher Bielecki Counselor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) at the U.S. Consulate General in Nigeria. Other significant meetings included engagements with representatives from UNDP Nigeria, Mr Charles Ushie, the country director of PLAN International Nigeria and the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau (SAN). We also engaged with the Deputy Head of Mission & Political Counsellor from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, as well as a delegation from the International Trade Centre ahead of the launch event of the West African Competitiveness Observatory in Abuja. Our research continues to address critical challenges such as food insecurity, tobacco control, public procurement reforms, and macroeconomic resilience. Notable funded projects include the Soil Value Baseline Study by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), and the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of flooding in Maiduguri, Borno State, commissioned by UNDP, as well as the research project on the implications of implementing the AfCFTA on tobacco control policies in West and Central Africa, commissioned by ACBF. We have also continued to receive the award to provide the Macro-fiscal brief for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The year 2023 marks 15 years since CSEA was established. To start the year, the Centre moved to its new building equipped with modern facilities. The new office building continues to enhance the perception of stakeholders and potential funders that visit the office. CSEA staff are also better motivated to work due to a more conducive work environment

CSEA recorded commendable progress in 2022 despite the challenges in the global economy. To maintain the successes and progress achieved over the years, CSEA continued to build on its consistency in providing actionable recommendations that influence policy choices. In particular, we provided research to support governments navigate the post-covid environment

2019 was a dynamic and successful year for CSEA with several notable accomplishments, capping over a decade of producing evidence-based research and analysis in Africa. It also marks a significant period for the Centre, as the Institutional funding provided by the Think Tank Initiative (TTI) of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) ended.

A major highlight for the year under review is the Centre’s award as a Center of Excellence by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). As a Center of Excellence, CSEA and UNCTAD will
collaborate closely on research, capacity building and dissemination of research outputs. This strategic partnership will significantly enrich CSEA research work and increase its reach to a wider audience.

In 2019, we embarked on a year-long strategy of repositioning our research objectives to align with the hanges in the development space, in response to emerging opportunities. Thus, CSEA explored other relevant areas of research including- climate change, gender, and social inclusion policies. This increased the Centre’s success towards receiving a record number of awarded research projects in 2019.

This year’s annual report comes amidst big changes around the global development policy space. These developments have also been accompanied by rapid changes in the research funding landscape. For CSEA, it marks a significant era as the Institutional funding provided by the Think Tank Initiative (TTI) of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) ends. For the past decade, CSEA has been a beneficiary of this funding, which provided major institutional support that enabled the Centre position itself as an evidence-based and high-performing research Centre in Africa.

In order to maintain the successes and progress achieved over the years, CSEA continued to build on its consistency of providing actionable recommendations that influence policy choices. Specifically, the Centre restructured and strengthened its research capacity, organizational structure as well as its policy linkages, communication and outreach to ensure that its research output is channelled into the policy space.

In the year under review, CSEA recorded significant policy impact using evidence from research conducted. However, the recent changes in the policy space underscored the need for the Centre to align its research to priority areas -such as climate change, gender, and social inclusion policies- with several funding opportunities. In response to these emerging opportunities, CSEA began to explore other relevant areas of research. For instance, the Centre carried out a pilot study on livelihood assessment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps to assess their existing livelihood strategies propose the most effective ways to help such individuals to rebuild and strengthen their livelihoods. This study has provided a platform for CSEA to explore more research and expand its capacity on this important development issue.