Before the week comes to an end, we would like to sincerely thank you all again for your participation in Tuesdays bilateral workshop on Kenyan-Swiss science diplomacy activities. In relation to the study objectives, some of the messages we have taken away are:

Key messages

• The concept of science diplomacy has gained recent strong momentum in Kenya, with the current government acknowledging the importance of STI-based approaches in order to enhance public confidence, solve social problems and enhance government efficiency
• Institutional long-term engagements can lead to mutual benefits at the research level, such as change of research practice, access to research and research beneficiaries and also generated high-level networks of persons educated in the bilateral collaborative setting
• The concept of science diplomacy carries more relevance for SDC than initially assumed; Switzerland leverages research to inform global policy, lobbies for impactful science benefiting Kenya and other CGIAR countries and strengthens intergovernmental relations through scientific cooperation
• The Kenyan–Swiss cooperation around arms control, biosecurity and biosafety demonstrates that these topics (and dual use-research) go well beyond the bilateral context; sharing best practices and building a global network of experts are essential, and Kenya has joined this effort. Education and outreach in those domains have been highlighted as important in the national and global context.
• Challenges and opportunities identified include funding disparities, the need for better science–policy integration, co-created initiatives and improving Switzerland’s visibility as a core funder of agricultural research. Additionally, the general importance of effective science communication was highlighted.

Follow up
We would also like to apologize for running overtime. For those who had to leave before we could provide a follow-up, we would like to outline the next steps here:

• The outcomes of the whole study will be summarized in a policy brief and report
• There will be a final event – a Round-table and collaborative discussion of findings from the overall study as a hybrid event
•  We would like to share the contact details (specifically your email address) within this group

As default, we will keep you informed about all dissemination and networking activities mentioned above.