What Evidence Informs Urban Policy in East Africa, and How Does It Get There?

This study examines the flows of evidence that inform urban policy in three rapidly urbanizing East African countries: Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Using a broad definition of evidence that encompasses data, scientific knowledge, experiential insights, and contextual understanding, the research traces how different types of evidence move between local, national, and regional policy actors through three critical urban policy themes: multi-level governance and fiscal devolution, industrial strategy, and informality. The methodology employed a mixed approach combining grey literature review of policy documents (2020-2025), analysis of the inaugural Africa Urban Forum (2024), and analysis of dialogues at a meeting of the Tanzania Urbanisation Laboratory (TULab) in 2025. This multi-phase approach enabled examination of evidence flows across different scales and institutional contexts.The findings reveal significant disconnects between evidence generation and policy formulation. While substantial evidence exists on urban informality, local governance innovations, and appropriate industrial strategies, much of this knowledge fails to influence policy due to institutional barriers and misaligned evidentiary pathways. National governments predominantly rely on evidence from international consultancies and multilateral agencies that favour quantitative, macro-economic data suitable for large-scale infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, rich qualitative evidence from NGOs, universities, and urban communities—often more relevant to the lived realities of urban residents—struggles to penetrate policy processes.The research concludes that realizing Africa's urban potential requires not just better data, but fundamentally reformed evidentiary processes that enable bottom-up knowledge to inform top-down planning. This includes new platforms for multi-level evidence exchange, embedded urban policy advisors, and enhanced regional capacity for evidence synthesis. Without addressing these evidentiary biases, East African cities risk missing opportunities to harness urbanization for inclusive economic transformation.