November 4-7, 2025 (DIANI, Kenya) Through our PASSAGE Project we convened 12 collaborative partners, including policy developers, practitioners and academic institutions for the project’s second annual planning meeting.
At the opening session, the team leaders from institutions co-implementing the project said:
“We are in a region that is vulnerable to drought therefore continued research and refined efforts enhance anticipatory action. Information needs to be accessible, packaged and disseminated where it is needed in order to prepare for adverse events.” -Dr. Dereje Wakjira ICPALD Director.
“It is essential for us to be collectively telling the story of the work that is being done and track how /where the research is being used.” -Dr. Bruce Currie-Alder, CLARE Program Leader.
“We assert commitment to the success of this program. Cross-border collaboration is necessary to impact communities by making use of our durable solutions as opposed to focusing solely on emergency response.” -Pierre Kremer, Deputy Regional Director IFRC.
During the four-day meeting, participants planned for the next 14 months of the project cycle; translated existing research evidence into actionable outputs; strengthened work package coordination and accountability for joint delivery of results; aligned work plans, budgets and timelines.
In the small group sessions, discussions centered on specific changes in behavior, relationships, actions and policies that PASSAGE project collaborators would like to influence through project activities. The fruitful discussions highlighted the need to:
- Influence relevant policies for change
- Focus on partnerships that are practical at the root of things
- Report on achievements, insights and future planning
- Integrate cross-cutting themes into project work: Research for impact (R41); Monitoring, evaluation, learning (MEL); Gender, equality, inclusivity (GEI)
- Assign tasks and timelines for accountability
The meeting consolidated a clear and combined direction for the final year of PASSAGE, strengthening coherence across work packages and sharpening the focus on deliverable outputs. Partners refined their evidence and narrative approaches, improved alignment with institutional adoption pathways, and agreed on fully costed workplans for 2026.
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Background
PASSAGE partners collaboratively deliver a holistic approach to anticipatory action, integrating science, policy and practice. This is achieved by co-developing risk narratives and anticipatory action plans informed by predictive, multi-hazard early warning systems that can effectively build the resilience of pastoral communities.
This project is funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) /Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
