Connecting responsible citizens, responsive institutions and practical action for the common good.
Our Work
CRAG works to make civic responsibility visible, relevant and practical across public life. Our work recognises that responsible citizenship depends on both individual action and the wider policies, institutions, public systems and social norms that enable people to act with integrity, participate meaningfully and care for the common good.
We therefore work across two connected levels: strengthening citizens’ understanding and practice of civic responsibility, while advocating for systems that encourage, protect and sustain responsible public conduct.
Our Current Thematic Priorities
Civic responsibility is CRAG’s permanent institutional mandate. Our thematic priorities are the current areas through which we apply that wider mandate. They may expand as the organisation grows and as new public-interest needs emerge.
Democracy, Elections and Governance
CRAG promotes civic responsibility throughout Kenya’s democratic and electoral life. We encourage citizens to participate in public affairs in informed, ethical and accountable ways, while also advocating for institutions, political actors and public systems that protect electoral integrity, meaningful participation and responsible governance.
Our work extends beyond election day. It considers how citizens make political choices, engage leaders, participate in governance, resist transactional politics, contribute to public dialogue and sustain accountability throughout the full electoral cycle.
Climate Responsibility
CRAG approaches climate change as both a public-policy challenge and a matter of shared civic responsibility. Environmental stewardship is reflected in the everyday decisions of citizens, communities, institutions, businesses and public leaders, as well as in the systems that shape how natural resources are protected and managed.
Our work seeks to strengthen public understanding, responsible environmental practice, citizen participation in climate action and support for policies and institutions that enable communities to respond to climate risks and protect the common good.
How We Work
CRAG combines evidence, citizen engagement and practical public-interest action. These approaches are interconnected and are adapted to the needs of each thematic area, campaign, research assignment or partnership.
Advocacy
We bring civic responsibility into public debate and advocate for responsible action by citizens, leaders, institutions and other public actors.
Research and Evidence
We generate and use research, public opinion, lived experience and careful analysis to understand civic challenges and support evidence-led action.
Citizen Voice and Engagement
We create opportunities for citizens and communities to express their priorities, contribute ideas, take part in public conversations and influence decisions that affect them.
Civic Education and Capacity Strengthening
We help citizens, communities, institutions and partners strengthen the knowledge, skills and practical capacity required for responsible participation and public action.
Policy Engagement and Public Dialogue
We connect evidence, citizen experience and public-interest thinking with policy processes, institutional practice and constructive dialogue.
Partnerships and Convening
We work with citizens, civil society, government, academia, media, the private sector and other institutions to build shared understanding and support practical collective action.
Campaigns and Key Initiatives
CRAG’s campaigns and initiatives translate its wider civic responsibility mandate into focused programmes and platforms responding to specific public-interest challenges.
Break the Cycle
Break the Cycle is CRAG’s current flagship campaign under the democracy, elections and governance thematic area. It addresses transactional political participation across Kenya’s electoral cycle and promotes informed, issue-based and accountable civic engagement.
The campaign examines the relationship between citizens, political actors and the systems that sustain transactional politics, while supporting practical pathways towards more responsible political participation.
County Policy Labs
County Policy Labs is a practical, action-oriented initiative that brings together evidence, citizen voice, local leadership and policy thinking to support county-level problem-solving.
The initiative seeks to help citizens, communities, county leaders and policy actors identify pressing local issues, develop practical responses and translate promising ideas into implementable action.
Agenda Yangu
Agenda Yangu is an emerging citizen-centred platform being developed to help Kenyans identify and articulate their priorities, engage critically with election manifestos and track whether public commitments are implemented after elections.
The initiative seeks to strengthen issue-based political participation by giving citizens a practical role in shaping the agendas presented to candidates and holding elected leaders accountable for delivery.
Work With CRAG
CRAG welcomes collaboration with citizens, communities, public institutions, civil society organisations, researchers, universities, media organisations, private-sector actors and development partners committed to advancing civic responsibility and the common good.