The African Centre for Technology Studies- ACTS has been ranked among the top 3 climate change think tanks globally in the 2016 think tank ranking. The ranking also shows that ACTS is the top think tank on climate change in Africa. The 2016 ranking assessed 244 think tanks, specialized in the research fields of climate change and climate policy.

The ranking is based on the authoritative and worldwide known assessment of the most cutting-edge institutions working in the field of climate change economics and policy, by the International Centre for Climate Governance (ICCG) under the “ICCG Climate Think Tank Ranking Initiative.

The ranking is based an analytical data structured around organizational activities, publications and dissemination.

Some outstanding climate change work that ACTS undertakes

ACTS currently leads high quality research, policy analysis, capacity building and partnerships on climate change. Some of the outstanding work that defines ACTS are as follows:

• ACTS is leading action oriented research on what works and work does not work for Africa focusing on low carbon technology transfer, climate change governance and innovation system building.
• ACTS has recently published and launched two books on climate change one on ‘Enhancing Community Based Adaptation’ and the other on ‘Climate and Environmental Justice in Africa’
• ACTS has worked with partners to design one of the first online tools, the NDC Explorer, for analyzing the  contents of Nationally Determined Contributions of all developing countries under the Paris Agreement
• ACTS is currently one of the climate change centres of excellence nominated to represent sub-Sahara under the International Network of Climate Change Centres of Excellence and Think Tanks for Capacity Building (INCCCETT 4CB)
• ACTS is pioneering the Africa Sustainability Hub – a North -South and South-South Partnership  bringing together leading global think tanks to create a platform for building capabilities of African researchers and policy makers to debate and research sustainable development issues affecting Africa
• ACTS is helping African governments negotiate at the UNFCCC by providing technical and managerial support to the Africa Group of Negotiators
• ACTS is helping governments formulate suitable climate change policies and programmes through convening stakeholder engagement roundtables
• ACTS is the Secretariat of the Ecosystem Based Adaptation for food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) which brings together all stakeholders and government agencies to share lessons on enhancing adaptation for food security in Africa. 

ACTS researchers are also playing leading roles in informing global sustainable development research and policy agendas. The staff serves as council members and advisors in the following initiatives: Elsevier Foundation, Elsevier sustainable development resource centre, Future Earth, Meles Zenawi Foundation and Kenya National Council for Persons with Disability in Kenya (NCPWD); UN committees among others.   

Since 2015, ACTS staff have been invited to speak in over 40 panel discussions on climate change at international and regional levels. In 2015 alone, ACTS activities on low carbon development and climate change were discussed in several print media and televisions interviews locally and internationally.

Dr Cosmas Ochieng the Executive Director of ACTS reiterated that the centre is occupying a critical space in mediating Africa’s climate change and sustainable development agenda.

These comments were echoed by Dr Joanes Atela – the head of climate change programme who emphasised that ACTS is pioneering transformative models of partnerships, research and policy aimed at brokering knowledge between the international community and the African context.

Other members of the climate change team Mr Kennedy Mbeva, Ms Winnie Khaemba, Mr Charles Tonui, Dr Aschalew Tigabu and Mr Rubin Makomere among others voiced their desire to continue building ACTS into a centre of excellence for spurring Africa’s performances in the post-2015 SDGs.

For more about the ranking, please refer to http://www.thinktankmap.org/Page.aspx?Name=Ranking_2016