We have evolved from a self-help group through a CBO to a Research and Innovation Facility. In 2016, the idea of a self-help group was initiated, and the first team of seven mobilized. This took place in the then Fort Portal Municipality, now Fort Portal City. The name given and agreed upon by the members was THE DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (THRAIF), and the first key activities were internal savings and credits. Upon agreement with members, THRAIF was registered in the West division of Fort Portal municipality (Rwenzori region) in December 2017 and attained CBO status. Here, more community-based programs were brought on board, including educational support (referred to as EDUCARE), and a secretariat was set up in March 2020.
In 2021, the need for wider operations beyond Fort Portal (encompassing the entire Rwenzori Region and beyond) led to registration at the Uganda national level. The national registration came with the refining of the name to THRAIF DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (THRAIF). From 2021 to 2024, more programs were brought on board, including training and education with a focus on livelihood improvement. In addition, the team grew to learn and lean on innovations for bolstering resilience based on successful as well as evidence-based adaptations that tackle the societal and natural hazards that confront societies. This appeared to be best done at the interface between academia and practice to make knowledge work in enabling community resilience. Discussions around this matter culminated in refining the name to THRAIF RESEARCH AND INNOVATIONS FACILITY. We use THRAIF Facility as a short name as well as THRAIF as our acronym.
What has been maintained throughout these changes is the non-profit status: THRAIF is a non-profit institution dedicated to scientific research for development and operates at the nexus of academia and practice. Consistent with our ambition, since late 2023, we have excelled in brokering science and technology while enabling feedback loops between scientific knowledge and practice with a focus on building resilient societies.
That is our brief history. The full and detailed one is in our booklet, THRAIF: A History of a Community Embedded Research and Innovations Facility (forthcoming).