Research & Innovation

Knowledge should not remain inside institutions.

It should move into society. Novara connects academic research, practical experience, industry knowledge, community knowledge and institutional learning around problems that matter.

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Our Approach

Innovation begins with problems, not with technology.

This is what separates Novara from organizations whose primary identity is robotics, coding, STEM education or AI. Technology is one of our tools. It is not our purpose.

A REAL PROBLEMWHAT IS ACTUALLY CAUSING IT?Post-harvest handlingMarket informationFinancingLogisticsProcessing capacityASSEMBLE THE RIGHT BUILDERSAgronomistsEngineersChemistsEconomistsDevelopersDesignersFarmersIndustryTHE SOLUTION COULD BE ANY OF THESEA machineSoftwareA new materialA businessA policy changeA facilityWe do not start with technology. We start with the problem.
The Questions We Ask

Before anything gets built.

What is happening?

Observed, documented, and described precisely.

Why is it happening?

The cause beneath the symptom.

What evidence exists?

What is already known, and by whom.

What is missing?

The gap that justifies the work.

What can be tested?

A hypothesis specific enough to be wrong.

What can be built?

The smallest thing that would prove something.

Does it create value?

Measurable, for someone specific.

What can be scaled?

And what should honestly be stopped.

Students participating in a lesson in a classroom
Research Outputs

Useful knowledge takes many forms.

Research outputs may include studies, datasets, technical reports, prototypes, software, publications, policy recommendations, business models and educational resources.

What matters is not the format but whether the knowledge reaches someone who can act on it.

Working With Universities

We do not intend to rebuild what already exists.

Kenyan universities already hold serious research and technical capability. Novara's role is to identify problems where those capabilities can be applied, assemble multidisciplinary teams, and create pathways from research into implementation.

The university provides

  • Students and graduates
  • Lecturers and research expertise
  • Laboratories where appropriate
  • Academic supervision

Novara provides

  • Problem identification
  • Project coordination and methodology
  • Industry and community connections
  • Documentation and pathways to implementation

Partners provide

  • Real problems and data
  • Implementation environments
  • Market knowledge
  • Commercial pathways

How a university partnership starts

Research With Us

Universities, funders and evaluators welcome.

Co-design a study, supervise a Builder team, or bring us a question worth investigating.

Start a conversation