{"689760":{"#nid":"689760","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Rethinking Civic Engagement: Lessons from Applying Behavioral Science in East Africa","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Sam Nunn School of International Affairs invites you to a discussion with \u003Cstrong\u003ESalim Kombo\u003C\/strong\u003E, engagement director at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, on the intersection of behavioral science and civic engagement in East Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDrawing on practical experience in complex political and social environments, Kombo will explore how experimentation and co-design can help civil society organizations overcome disengagement and shrinking civic spaces. This talk examines the behavioral barriers limiting participation and offers evidence-based strategies for designing more effective, context-sensitive programs that improve government responsiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EAbstract\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECivil society organizations (CSOs) operate at the frontline of civic engagement, often navigating complex political, social, and economic environments. In East Africa, CSOs face several challenges, ranging from a shrinking civic space, to increasingly disengaged populations to shrinking funding. CSO programming has also been ineffective in many cases leading to wasted resources, poor feedback loops and sub-par outcomes. This talk draws on practical experience working with CSOs in the region to unpack the behavioral barriers that limit civic participation as well as effective CSO programming. It explores how behavioral science has been applied through experimentation, co-design and communications to redesign engagement strategies, influence policy, improve public service delivery and improve government responsiveness to citizens\u0027 voices. This talk will also highlight key lessons on what works, what doesn\u2019t, and why, offering a grounded perspective on how to design more effective, context-sensitive civic engagement programs.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJoin the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs for a talk examining how behavioral science can help East African civil society organizations overcome shrinking civic space.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Join the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs for a talk examining how behavioral science can help East African civil society organizations overcome shrinking civic space."}],"uid":"36009","created_gmt":"2026-04-15 15:21:46","changed_gmt":"2026-04-15 15:25:37","author":"cwhittle9","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-04-28T17:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-04-28T18:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-04-28T18:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-04-28 21:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-04-28 22:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-04-28 22:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Habersham Building, Room G17","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEric Koob\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ekoob3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eekoob3@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}