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About Policy Oracle
A regional think tank and consultancy, built to be useful.
A regional policy, strategy, advocacy and management systems think tank and consultancy.
Policy Oracle is a regional policy, strategy, advocacy and management systems think tank and consultancy. We offer corporate support in research, data analytics, policy development and analysis, capacity development, business development, social policy, political strategy, economics and technology optimisation.
We work with governments, non-governmental organisations, civil society, community-based organisations, international development agencies and the private sector to solve society's challenges with evidence and expertise.
With rapid change in economic and social dynamics, technology and business conditions, we help institutions strategise, retool, rescale, upskill or reskill, build capacity and innovate to meet the operational demands of their sector. We tailor our programmes and products to today's and tomorrow's needs, and we walk the whole journey with our clients.
We bring experience across the full suite of policy development, regulation, data analytics, service design and delivery, funding and evaluation. We hold ourselves to high standards of probity and integrity, and our services are available onsite and virtually.
At a glance
- Established
- Policy Oracle Limited, registered in Kenya, 2024, with engagements delivered since 2021
- Focus
- Policy, economics, research, monitoring and evaluation, and AI governance
- Reach
- Ten country offices across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa
- Clients
- National and subnational government, development partners and international NGOs
- Delivery
- Onsite and virtual, by project or on retainer
Our purpose
Above all, we exist to turn evidence into decisions, and decisions into results. That means being independent enough to tell clients what the data shows, practical enough to help them act on it, and committed enough to stay until the value is realised and the capability remains with the institution.
How we are organised
Senior-led work, a multidisciplinary bench.
We stay close to the work and set the standards of quality and integrity that govern every engagement.
Our team
Every engagement is led by senior practitioners and supported by an associate network assembled to match the assignment: policy specialists, economists, statisticians and data scientists, monitoring and evaluation practitioners, sector experts in health, climate, urban development and technology, and strategic communications professionals. Clients get the depth of a large firm with the focus and accountability of a dedicated team.
How we are governed
We hold high standards of probity and independence. Interests are declared openly, methods are documented so they can be scrutinised, and client information is handled with strict confidentiality. Our advice is guided by the evidence, not by what is easiest to hear.
Our approach
Five stages, each with an output you can use.
We follow a disciplined, evidence-led method that carries clients from the underlying problem to a result they can sustain. Every engagement is tailored to context, but the logic stays consistent, and each stage produces an output the client can use in its own right.
- 01
Understand
We begin with the real problem, not the presenting symptom. We map stakeholders, incentives, context and constraints, and agree with the client on the exact decision the work must serve.
- 02
Evidence
We collect and analyse robust qualitative and quantitative data, from surveys and independent field verification to administrative data, economic modelling and structured evidence review, and we document everything so the analysis can be scrutinised.
- 03
Design
We craft practical, human-centred solutions and translate them into clear policy, strategy or programme design. Priorities are mapped, trade-offs are explicit and options are costed, so decision-makers choose with their eyes open.
- 04
Deliver
We support implementation with actionable roadmaps, institutional arrangements, capacity building and knowledge systems, so the client can carry the work forward without permanent dependence on us.
- 05
Evaluate
We assess impact before and after, measure what works and what does not, and feed the learning back into better decisions. Evaluation is a source of improvement, not a compliance exercise.
Methods and tools
- Stakeholder and political-economy analysis
- Qualitative and quantitative research
- Survey and sampling design
- Independent field verification and record audits
- Remote sensing and GIS
- Econometric and statistical modelling
- Difference-in-differences and impact evaluation
- Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis
- Public expenditure and fiscal analysis
- Theory of change and results frameworks
- Data analytics and visualisation
Why Policy Oracle
Independence, depth and follow-through.
- A proven track recordDelivered for national government, county governments and international development partners since 2021.
- Independent and credibleTrusted for third-party verification because our evidence is defensible and our advice is honest.
- Regional insight, global standardsLocal political, economic and administrative context, held to international benchmarks of method and quality.
- End to endResearch, design, delivery and evaluation, without handing clients between disconnected specialists.
- A multidisciplinary benchPolicy, economics, data science, monitoring and evaluation, sector expertise and communications under one roof.
- Ahead on AI governanceA dedicated flagship practice for the question now facing every institution.
- Capability that staysWe build our clients' skills so the value outlasts the engagement.
- Flexible deliveryOnsite and virtually, by project or on retainer, across ten countries.
Our offices
Headquartered in Nairobi, working across ten countries.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.