…a new individual! David Baganda
M&E Specialist and Executive Director of DAVSPE Research and Visual Arts Centre Co. Limited
What happens when research is not simply written down, but made visible, understandable and useful to the people who need it?
For David Baganda, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Social Scientist and Executive Director of DAVSPE Research and Visual Art Centre Co. Limited, this is at the heart of his work. Based in Uganda, David brings together more than a decade of experience in applied research, development programming, monitoring and evaluation, policy advocacy and knowledge translation. His work is grounded in a simple but powerful idea: evidence should not sit on a shelf, it should help people understand problems, make better decisions and create change.
Through DAVSPE, David is helping to explore what this can look like in practice. The organisation works at the intersection of research, policy and visual communication, translating complex evidence and data into knowledge products that can speak to policymakers, development partners and communities alike. Its work spans areas including governance, climate change, the digital economy, education and technology, disability inclusion, gender and inclusive development. This intersection between evidence and creativity is what makes David’s approach particularly interesting. Rather than treating communication as the final step after research is completed, DAVSPE places visualisation and knowledge packaging much closer to the centre of the evidence journey. Through visual storytelling, accessible communication and culture-sensitive approaches, the aim is to make research easier to navigate and ultimately more likely to be understood and used.
David’s own research interests reflect this broader commitment to evidence-informed development. His professional experience includes social research, monitoring and evaluation, conflict-related studies, policy analysis and research translation. He has also contributed to discussions around sustainability and ESG reporting in Uganda, examining how emerging sustainability standards can be translated into practical institutional and policy action.
At DAVSPE, this thinking is being turned into a distinctive model of evidence engagement: research that informs, visuals that communicate, and knowledge that can travel beyond traditional research audiences. The organisation’s recent work includes collaboration with the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology to translate research from the National Repository Unit into actionable policy products aligned with Uganda’s National Development Plan IV and Vision 2040.
What makes David’s journey particularly relevant to the Africa Evidence Network is that his work reminds us that strengthening evidence ecosystems is not only about producing better research. It is also about finding new, creative and human ways to help evidence reach people, shape conversations and influence action.
