The African Resilience Institute (ARI), an initiative of Three Pines Charitable Association, advances the ideas, policies and capabilities needed to build resilient development pathways across Africa
Development has often been planned around assumptions of relative stability. Today, those assumptions are increasingly difficult to sustain. Climate disruption, technological change, shifting economic relationships and geopolitical uncertainty can alter development conditions rapidly and simultaneously, generating new risks, opportunities, and complex choices that African governments, institutions, and societies are often ill-prepared for.
ARI was established to enhance the capacity of African countries to sustain long-term progress under these changing conditions, navigate difficult trade-offs, seize emerging opportunities, and avoid development pathways that generate new vulnerabilities. By integrating research, policy engagement, foresight, institutional development, and practical learning, we examine what resilience means for African development and how it can be embedded in the decisions that will shape the continent’s future.
To originate, generate and advance African-rooted ideas and credible evidence that deepen understanding of resilience and its implications for development.
ARI will examine interconnected risks, transitions and opportunities; develop conceptual frameworks, diagnostics and scenarios; and translate learning from comparative research and practical experience into accessible knowledge for policymakers, practitioners and the public.
To inform and shape public policy so that resilience is embedded in development choices, strategies, investment decisions and implementation.
ARI will translate evidence into practical policy options and tools, support decision-makers in assessing vulnerabilities and trade-offs, convene dialogue across sectors and levels of government, and promote approaches that align near-term action with long-term transformation, equity and public benefit.
To strengthen the institutions, leadership and practical capabilities needed to anticipate change, navigate uncertainty and shape transitions in ways that advance Africa’s development.
ARI will support strategic foresight, adaptive planning, cross-institutional coordination, evidence-informed decision-making and continuous learning, while working with governments, regional bodies and public-interest organisations to test solutions and embed durable capabilities within their systems.
Generating evidence, ideas and insights on resilience, emerging change and transitions.
Translating knowledge into policy options and engaging decision-makers to influence policy and practice.
Bringing together diverse actors to exchange ideas, build shared understanding and shape responses to complex challenges.
Strengthening the capabilities of people and institutions to anticipate, navigate and shape change
Testing promising ideas and approaches in practice and using experience to inform policy and wider application.
Building collaborations that connect knowledge, capabilities and influence across Africa and globally.
An innititive of Three Pines Charitable Association, ARI is being built as an independent, mission-driven African institution committed to strong governance, intellectual integrity and public benefit. Its governance arrangements are designed to safeguard the Institute's independence, provide strategic oversight and ensure accountability for its mission and resources. ARI brings together leadership, researchers, fellows, practitioners and partners with diverse expertise and perspectives relevant to the resilience challenges confronting African societies. ARI does not possess a separate legal personality.
