Two members of the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID), researcher Alex Armand and teaching assistant of research Paul Atwell, gave a workshop in Kenya on accountability and transparency in the management of natural resource extraction in the country.

The activity was organized jointly with Strathmore University and is part of project of research 'Transparency and Accountability', supported by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie).

As Alex Armand explains, the goal of the workshop was to bring together Kenyan experts and policy makers from different areas "to discuss issues related to the development of the extractive sector in Kenya and related issues at subject of accountability and transparency".

The nine speakers included James Vancel, director of the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics; Elizabeth Mueni, director of the National Economic and Social Council; and Monica Gichuhi, former CEO of the Kenya Chamber of Mines.

"The result ," he says, "was the deeper understanding of the major issues and policies that provide the greatest impact on the lives of communities affected by high levels of extraction.

In addition to participating in the seminars, Alex Armand and Paul Atwell held several meetings with local agents, potential partners of project. The subsidy of the 3ie organization is a first step towards the development of a larger project .

"We will be working on the preparation of a complete project of assessment impact that will be submitted to 3ie at the end of April," explains Alex Armand. Over the summer, the institution will select the projects to be carried out next year.

The Navarra Center for International Development is one of the eight projects of Institute for Culture and Society, the research center at Humanities and social sciences of the University of Navarra.