Cite as:
Okune, Angela, Philip Ochola Mak'Anyengo, Sylvester Wachira Ndaiga, Sidney Ochieng, Rhoda Omenya, Chris Orwa, Nanjira Sambuli, and Varyanne Sika. 2018. "iHub Research (2011 - 2017): A Critical Technology Action Research Group Within Nairobi's Flagship Tech Innovation Hub." In STS Across Borders Digital Exhibit, curated by Aalok Khandekar and Kim Fortun. Society for Social Studies of Science. August.
Source: iHub Research
Beginnings
Infrastructures
Frameworks
Education
Topics
Engagements
Futures
Conditions
Events
People and Projects
Meta Level: iHub Research
Okune, Angela, Philip Ochola Mak'Anyengo, Sylvester Wachira Ndaiga, Sidney Ochieng, Rhoda Omenya, Chris Orwa, Nanjira Sambuli, and Varyanne Sika. 2018. "iHub Research (2011 - 2017): A Critical Technology Action Research Group Within...Read more
iHub Research was officially launched in 2011 at the one-year anniversary of the iHub, one of the first co-working spaces in sub-Saharan Africa. As an example of a non-traditional research organization, iHub Research bridged a gap between the academy, private sector, public sector, and technology entrepreneurs, producing work that while not explicitly identified as “STS,” in practice, was in line with the values and areas of interest of the field. As a non-academic research center striving to produce knowledge relevant for its community which could also be read by the academy and other stakeholders, we believe iHub Research should be considered a fundamental example of a key site of knowledge production offering critical perspectives on technology in Africa by and for the technology community in Kenya and beyond.
STS Across Borders digital collections are focused through ten questions that can be asked across all STS Formations so as to provoke comparative insight.
BEGINNINGS: What stories have been told about the beginnings of this STS formation?
CONDITIONS: What external conditions have influenced this STS formation?
INFRASTRUCTURES: What scholarly infrastructure has supported this STS formation?
EVENTS: What events have marked the development of this STS formation?
FRAMEWORKS: What (methodological/ theoretical/ political/ ethical) frameworks have had strong influences on this STS formation?
PROJECTS: What people, projects, and products exemplify how this STS formation has developed over time?
EDUCATION: What educational programs have been built within and through this STS formation?
ENGAGEMENTS: How has the work of this STS formation moved beyond the university?
TOPICS: What topics have been prominent in this STS formation in different periods?
FUTURES: How is the future of this STS formation envisioned?
STS Across Borders is a special exhibit organized by the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) to showcase how the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) has developed in different times, places...Read more
In one of our strategy brainstorming sessions, we were advised by a well-intentioned American professor not to call what we were doing "research" because it would be held to particular (academic) standards and metrics that might not be appropriate for the work we were trying to do. The way I...Read more
What do you think was unique about the type of work that iHub Research conducted?
The tech scene in Kenya came to life I believe from 2010 when techies in Kenya had a space to come together and do great stuff as opposed to working as lone wolves (cue the 'alone I go faster,...Read more
AO: Unfortunately, because we did not have the budget to cover the $2,000 USD fee to make the paper open access, this excellent paper by Wachira and Anne is now behind...Read more
What do you think was unique about the type of work that iHub Research conducted?
It wasn't as supervised as most academic institutions. Also as it was an open research space, we had people with diverse and unique skill sets just walk in and start working...Read more
What do you think was unique about the type of work that iHub Research conducted?
... More personally, as a recently graduated Engineering student who had studied abroad (Malaysia), iHub Research presented an opportunity to develop...Read more
How did your initial work with iHub R help to bring you to where you are today? What were important lessons or values did you picked up along the way?
My work at iHub Research was instrumental in building my expertise and understanding of the unfolding impacts of ICT...Read more
How did your initial work with iHub R as well as your experience building out the data science lab help to bring you to where you are today? What were important lessons or values that you picked up along the way?
I joined iHub Research as data mining consult to provide machine...Read more
How did your initial work with iHub R help to bring you to where you are today? What were important lessons or values did you picked up along the way?
I owe everything about where I am today to iHub R. It gave me an internship and then allowed me to stay on and work on...Read more
AO: I made this powerpoint for a two-hour workshop outlining qualitative research at the iHub on May 13, 2011. This was the first of a series of several workshops that iHub hosted on a weekly basis touching on a wide range of topics related to research. Other workshops included one on grant...Read more
AO: This post, published in March 2016 via Medium was part of the iQuarterly publication by iHub Research and sheds insight on the rationale behind the major topics of work undertaken by iHub Research.Read more
AO: Part of iHub Research’s growth and popularity can be explained by its various modes of distributing research findings outside of traditional academic papers. iHubR used different ways of sharing information, whether by holding public events around research findings (e.g. #NRBuzz), guest lecturing to local university students, a quarterly newsletter, or preparing blog posts in easily understandable writing. Through these mechanisms, iHub Research engaged with varied public audiences.
AO: This blog post by Faith Morara and Nanjira Sambuli raised awareness about a draft convention, dubbed the "African Union Convention on Confidence and Security in Cyberspace,” that was put forth by the AU in 2014. The post highlights the role that iHub Research played in helping to raise...Read more
AO: This media interview with Voice of America is one of the better examples of nuanced reporting on our Base of the Pyramid research in 2013. I am including it in the exhibit because it illustrates one important part of the work we did at iHub Research - public outreach and sharing - and also a...Read more
RO: The iHub Research newsletter is something I am particularly proud of. Creating this quarterly newsletter was agonizing because I think it was a concept that was not owned by the team. But growing it from a simple layout to putting it on a newsletter template to improve its outlook and...Read more
Chris Orwa (July 2018): "Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence the two technologies that are fast garnering interest in Kenya and Africa. For Blockchain, it promises to eradicate corruption which is endemic in the continent – developers and entrepreneurs are hoping to cash in on this craze and...Read more
Nanjira Sambuli (July 2018): "There seems to be growing interest in researching innovation within STS, in academic institutions, as well as by multinational tech companies like Google (setting up an AI lab in Ghana), IBM Research (and their first Africa research centre in Nairobi), Microsoft (...Read more
Sidney Ochieng (July 2018): "So much blockchain, this is very much still in the hype stage; I’m still not sure of the practical uses. Lending is huge but it is very focused on personal small loans, but movement to other sectors. There’s farmtech and of course there is a lot of excitement...Read more
Angela Okune (June 6, 2018): I think that future research related to science and technology in/from/on Africa should look at research infrastructures, that is, the technical, legal, political, economic and social infrastructures that have been and are being established to produce...Read more
Wachira Ndaiga (July 2018): " The need for verifiable data on and insights into the Kenya market and region strikes me as a key factor, the dearth of which is ...Read more
Chris Orwa (July 2018): " "iHub Research success came from the gap in the market for relevant research for the general community. One pillar that led to rise of iHub Research was the mode of distributing research findings. Instead of academic papers, the idea of holding events around...Read more
Angela Okune (May 2018): "A productive tension for iHub Research was navigating the balance between producing relevant work in the service of the Kenyan technology sector while simultaneously acting as a grounding point of reference to remind technology evangelists that technology does...Read more
Nanjira Sambuli (July 2018): "Existing within one key node of the tech ecosystem in Kenya – the iHub- was a strong value proposition for iHub Research [because it enabled] direct, constant and consistent engagement with the innovators, as well as building links with communities of would-...Read more
AO: This post, published via Medium to attract a broader audience, was part of the iQuarterly 2016 publication by iHub Research and reflected on lessons learned from almost 5 years of working for/on/with iHub Research.Read more
AO: This was an important post that we as a research team revisited several times. It highlights some of the ethical issues about doing tech research with groups whose issues may not have any type of tech solution. It also raises the question of your responsibility as a researcher to intervene....Read more
AO: This project is an example of the type of market research work we conducted with technology companies such as Google, Philips, and IBM. Given our position "on the ground" in Nairobi, we had a strategic advantage over any Silicon Valley-based research companies who had their own learning...Read more
AO: This brief update I wrote for the iHub board members in coordination with the rest of the iHub Research project managers gives a quick snapshot of the projects we were working on in mid-2014.Read more
AO: This blog post by Erik Hersman (co-founder of iHub) helps to outline why iHub was thinking of getting involved in supporting local research. It cites an...Read more