Express Interest
WRTI
68 Active Partnership Organisations

Kenya's wildlife science,
built on collaboration.

WRTI's scientific impact is multiplied through partnerships with research institutions, conservation organisations, government bodies, international agencies, and funding partners across Kenya, Africa, and the world.

Express interest in partnering View current partners
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Research Collaboration
Joint studies, co-publication, shared field access
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Conservation Partnerships
Programme collaboration, field partnerships
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Funding & Donor Relationships
Grant funding, institutional support, philanthropy
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Data Sharing Agreements
Structured data access and exchange
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Training Partnerships
Student exchange, institutional training agreements
68
Active partner organisations
28+
Countries represented
214
Co-authored publications
42
Joint research projects
KES 2.8B
Partnership funding secured
Partnership Typologies

Six ways to collaborate with WRTI.

WRTI's partnership framework accommodates a wide range of collaboration models — from informal data sharing to multi-year joint research programmes.

University / Research Inst. WRTI Joint research n=847 pubs=214
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Research Collaboration
Joint research projects, co-authorship, shared field access, and co-supervised postgraduate students — with universities, research institutes, and independent researchers.
Access to WRTI's 12 field research centres and active monitoring programmes
Co-authorship on publications in WRTI's research programme
Shared access to WRTI's national wildlife datasets
Co-supervision of postgraduate students
KWS / NGO WRTI Shared field zone
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Conservation Partnerships
Field and programme-level conservation partnerships with NGOs, conservancies, and community organisations — sharing field resources, data, and conservation capacity.
Joint conservation programme design and implementation
Shared field infrastructure and data collection
WRTI scientific credibility for partner programmes
Access to WRTI's monitoring data for partner areas
Donor / Foundation Funding WRTI Research Impact Annual impact reporting KES 2.8B lifetime funding
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Funding & Donor Relationships
Grant funding, institutional philanthropy, project-specific funding, and endowment contributions — enabling WRTI's research, monitoring, and training programmes.
Direct impact on Kenya's national wildlife intelligence
Named recognition in publications and programme materials
Annual impact reporting and site visits
Access to unpublished research briefings
WRTI National DB 2.4M records Partner Organisation Open Registered Agreement 📋 DSA
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Data Sharing Agreements
Structured data access and exchange with organisations that need ongoing access to WRTI's national wildlife datasets — beyond what is available through open access.
Access to restricted and registered-tier datasets
Quarterly or annual data updates as monitoring refreshes
Custom data extraction and format packages
Priority access to new datasets before public release
WRTI Training Students Faculty Partner University 🎓 Joint degree
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Training Partnerships
Student exchange agreements, joint degree programmes, institutional training contracts, and faculty exchange — with universities and professional training institutions.
Student placement at WRTI field centres
Joint degree recognition (MSc with Egerton University)
Bespoke institutional training for partner staff
Faculty and researcher exchange programmes
WRTI Expertise County Gov Dev Agency Private Sector NGO Community Conservancy Academia
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Technical Assistance Partnerships
Longer-term technical assistance relationships — embedding WRTI expertise within partner organisations, government agencies, or development programmes over a sustained period.
Named WRTI scientist secondment or embedded advisory
Institutional capacity-building and systems support
Long-term monitoring programme establishment
Technical standard-setting and quality assurance
Partner Directory

68 organisations. One shared mission.

Become a partner
All Government Universities Conservation NGOs International Private Sector Showing 12 partners
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Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
Government Wildlife Agency · Strategic Partner
WRTI's primary government counterpart and strategic partner. Joint national census programme, wildlife monitoring coordination, research permitting authority, and joint policy development. KWS is WRTI's most significant operational partnership.
Census & MonitoringPolicyResearch PermittingField Access
Partner since 1976 84 joint publications
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Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife
Government Ministry · Policy Partner · Parent Ministry
WRTI operates under the State Department for Wildlife within the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife. Provides national policy leadership, strategic direction, and mandate for WRTI's national wildlife research and training functions.
Policy DevelopmentStrategic MandateNational Framework
Parent since 1976 22 joint publications
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Egerton University
University · Academic Partner · Degree-Awarding Institution
Egerton University awards the MSc Wildlife Management & Conservation offered jointly with WRTI. The partnership includes faculty collaboration, joint postgraduate supervision, and shared laboratory facilities.
Joint MSc DegreePostgraduate SupervisionFaculty Exchange
Partner since 1994 38 joint publications
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African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)
Conservation NGO · Research & Conservation Partner
Multi-year conservation partnership covering joint field programmes in Laikipia and Mara, GIS capacity support, shared community engagement, and co-funded landscape conservation initiatives across Kenya.
Field ProgrammesGIS CollaborationCommunity ConservationCo-funded
Partner since 2004 26 joint publications
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IUCN — Species Survival Commission (SSC)
International Conservation Body · Scientific Partner
WRTI contributes national population data to multiple IUCN SSC Specialist Groups including the African Elephant, African Lion, Cheetah, African Wild Dog, and Giraffe specialist groups. Joint Red List assessment support.
Red List DataSpecialist GroupsGlobal Assessment
Partner since 1998 18 joint publications
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WWF Kenya / WWF International
Conservation NGO · Funding & Programme Partner
Partnership covers WWF funding support for WRTI's elephant and rhino monitoring programmes, shared conservation advocacy using WRTI data, and co-implementation of landscape conservation initiatives in the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem.
Funding PartnerElephant MonitoringRhino Programme
Partner since 2001 14 joint publications
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World Bank — Kenya Landscapes Programme
Development Finance · Funding Partner
WRTI provides the wildlife monitoring and evaluation framework for the World Bank's Kenya Landscapes and Livelihoods Programme, contributing baseline data, monitoring methodology, and mid-term evaluation reports.
Programme M&EBaseline StudiesDevelopment Finance
Partner since 2016 6 joint reports
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University of Oxford — WildCRU
University Research Centre · Research Partner
Collaborative large carnivore research partnership with Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. Joint GPS telemetry studies, shared methodology development, and co-supervision of WRTI and Oxford DPhil students.
Carnivore ResearchDPhil SupervisionMethodology
Partner since 2010 32 joint publications
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Panthera — Wild Cat Conservation
Conservation NGO · Species Research Partner
Joint carnivore research partnership for lion, leopard, cheetah, and wild dog across Kenya's protected and unprotected areas. Co-funded camera trap arrays, shared GPS collar data, and joint publication programme.
Carnivore ResearchCamera TrapsGPS CollarsCo-funded
Partner since 2012 24 joint publications
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UNEP — UN Environment Programme
International Agency · Policy & Data Partner
WRTI contributes Kenya's national wildlife intelligence to UNEP's global biodiversity monitoring systems, including the World Environment Situation Room. Joint capacity-building for national biodiversity accounting.
Global Biodiversity DataPolicy ReportingCapacity Building
Partner since 2005 10 joint reports
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Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF)
Private Land Conservation · Conservation Partner
Conservation partnership covering all 22 ranches in the Laikipia ecosystem. Joint wildlife monitoring, HWC mapping, camera trap grid coordination, and community engagement programmes across 2.2 million acres of private conservation land.
Private LandHWC MappingCamera TrapsCommunity
Partner since 2008 16 joint publications
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University of Nairobi — Faculty of Science
University · Academic Partner
Student placement and co-supervised postgraduate research, with particular focus on conservation genetics, ecology, and environmental science. Joint seminar series and faculty collaboration on research grant applications.
Student PlacementCo-supervisionJoint Grants
Partner since 1988 28 joint publications

Showing 12 of 68 active partner organisations.

Become a partner — express interest
Collaboration in Practice

What partnerships produce.

Discuss a similar collaboration
WRTI · Egerton University · World Bank
2016–2024
University Partnership · Development Finance · Training

Wildlife monitoring capacity development programme for Kenya's county wildlife management units

World Bank-funded programme delivered by WRTI and Egerton University to build wildlife survey and monitoring capacity in Kenya's 18 wildlife-rich counties. Training, equipment, and methodology support.

480 county wildlife officers trained across 18 counties
18 county-level wildlife monitoring units established and equipped
County wildlife databases feeding into WRTI's national BIS
WRTI · IUCN SSC · Oxford WildCRU
2018–2023
Research Collaboration · International Partnership

African wild dog population and disease status assessment: East Africa-wide multi-institutional study

A five-year East Africa-wide assessment of wild dog population status, disease prevalence, and corridor requirements, led by WRTI in partnership with IUCN and WildCRU. First comprehensive East Africa-wide wild dog assessment since 2008.

First East Africa population estimate for African wild dogs in 15 years
Disease surveillance of 48 packs across Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia
5 peer-reviewed publications · 1 IUCN Red List assessment update
WRTI · University of Nairobi · DCI Wildlife Crime Unit
2019–Present
Research · Forensics · Government Partnership

Kenya Wildlife Forensics Programme: building national wildlife crime evidence capacity through partnership

A national forensics partnership embedding WRTI's genetics laboratory into Kenya's wildlife crime investigation chain, training DCI wildlife crime investigators, and providing court-admissible forensic analysis.

Court-admissible forensic analysis in 48 wildlife crime cases
62 DCI wildlife crime investigators trained in forensic evidence handling
WRTI's genetics database expanded by 2,400 reference specimens
Data Sharing

Structured access to Kenya's
wildlife data.

WRTI's national wildlife database contains 2.4 million species occurrence records, 47 years of population monitoring data, and 214 structured datasets. Access is structured across three tiers depending on data sensitivity, research purpose, and organisational relationship.

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Tier 1 — Open Access (214 datasets)
Freely available without registration · Download immediately
214 WRTI datasets are available for immediate download without registration. These include national census summary results, species occurrence records, ecosystem health indices, and all WRTI publications. Open data is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0 — cite WRTI as the source.
National Wildlife Census results (summary)
Species occurrence records (aggregated)
Biodiversity index scores by ecosystem
GIS boundary layers — ecosystem zones
All WRTI publications (PDF)
Kenya wildlife corridor maps
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Tier 2 — Registered Access (68 datasets)
Free registration required · Approved within 5 days
68 datasets require registration with WRTI and approval of a simple data access request. Approved users receive access to enhanced datasets including individual-level occurrence records, field survey transect data, and population trend microdata. Requires institutional affiliation.
Species occurrence — point-level GPS coordinates
Survey transect raw data
Population trend microdata
Satellite imagery analyses
Camera trap detection events
Habitat suitability model outputs
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Tier 3 — Restricted Access (Data Sharing Agreement)
Formal agreement required · Reviewed within 21 days
Certain sensitive datasets require a formal Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) before access is granted. These datasets include precise GPS collar tracking locations, individual animal identification records, and rhino location data (which is security-sensitive). DSAs are reviewed by WRTI's Data Governance Committee.
GPS collar tracking data (individual locations)
Black rhino individual location records
Wildlife crime forensic genetic data
Breeding and demographic records
Unpublished monitoring results
Anti-poaching patrol data
Request a data sharing agreement.

For organisations requiring ongoing, structured access to WRTI's restricted or registered-tier datasets — including quarterly updates as monitoring data refreshes.

1
Submit a data request specifying the datasets, intended use, and your organisational credentials.
2
WRTI's Data Governance Committee reviews and approves within 21 days.
3
Data Sharing Agreement signed. Data package delivered in agreed format.
4
Ongoing access arrangements for annual or quarterly data refreshes where applicable.
Submit a data access request Browse open datasets
Data governance: data@wrti.go.ke
WRTI Data Policy 2021 applies to all access agreements.
Funding & Donors

Support Kenya's national
wildlife intelligence.

Discuss a funding partnership

WRTI's research, monitoring, and training work is enabled by a combination of government funding, competitive grants, and institutional philanthropy. Funding partnerships directly enable the conservation intelligence that drives policy and management across Kenya's wildlife ecosystems.

KES 2.8B
Total partnership funding secured since 2000
12
Active donor & funding partnerships
38
Research projects enabled by partner funding
94%
Of WRTI research outputs are open access
How WRTI acknowledges funding partners
·Named acknowledgement in all publications arising from funded research
·Annual impact report specific to your funding programme
·Site visits to funded field research centres with named researchers
·Partner logo on WRTI website and in funded project materials
·Early access to research findings before public release
·Invitations to annual WRTI symposium and conservation events
Current funding opportunities
🐘 Elephant Corridor Restoration Programme
KES 45M target

Three-year programme to monitor, map, and support the restoration of three critical elephant corridors in the Amboseli-Tsavo landscape. GPS tracking, community engagement, and corridor habitat assessment.

Funding gap: KES 18M · Matching commitment from KWS available
🧬 Genetics Lab Expansion
KES 28M target

Capital funding for expanded Next-Generation Sequencing capacity and secure sample biobank, enabling WRTI to process 10× more forensic cases and expand the national genetic reference database.

Funding gap: KES 22M · CITES-accredited facility
🎓 WRTI Scholarship Fund
Rolling endowment

Endowment funding for partial scholarships enabling outstanding Kenyan and East African students to complete WRTI's MSc Wildlife Management programme who could not otherwise access postgraduate training.

Each scholarship: KES 480,000 · Full or partial contributions welcome
☁️ Climate-Wildlife Monitoring Initiative
KES 60M target

Five-year programme to establish a national wildlife-climate monitoring system — linking drought monitoring, NDVI satellite data, and population monitoring across WRTI's 12 field centres.

Funding gap: KES 38M · UNEP co-funding discussions underway
Discuss a funding partnership →
Express Interest

Start a conversation with WRTI.

🤝
Expression of interest received.
Thank you for your interest in partnering with WRTI. Our partnerships team will contact you within 5 working days to explore collaboration possibilities and discuss the best partnership model for your organisation.

Partnership expression of interest

Tell us about your organisation and the kind of partnership you have in mind. Our team will respond within 5 working days to explore possibilities.

WRTI's partnerships team will contact you within 5 working days. All information is held confidentially.

What happens next
1
We review your expression of interest and confirm receipt within 2 working days.
2
A member of WRTI's partnerships team arranges a scoping call within 5 working days.
3
If there is good alignment, we develop a draft Memorandum of Understanding or collaboration agreement.
4
Partnership is formalised and joint activities begin according to agreed plan.
Partnerships contact
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Email
partnerships@wrti.go.ke
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Direct line
+254 (0)20 600 4004
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Response time
Within 5 working days
"Our partnership with WRTI has given Panthera access to the most comprehensive large carnivore dataset in East Africa — and a co-authorship record that has strengthened both organisations' credibility. WRTI is an exceptional scientific partner."
PF
Dr. Paul F. Funston
Lion Programme Director, Panthera
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Need expert services instead?

If your organisation needs WRTI's expertise on a project basis — rather than a long-term partnership — explore WRTI's consulting and advisory service menu.

View expert services
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Access open wildlife data now.

214 WRTI datasets are available for immediate download — no registration required. Census results, species occurrence records, GIS layers, and biodiversity indices.

Browse open datasets
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Train your team with WRTI.

WRTI delivers bespoke institutional training for conservation teams, wildlife agencies, and development programmes — from two-day workshops to six-week residential programmes.

Explore training