The University supports outreach activities among faculty and students through an internal outreach fund and external partners. Key engagements include digital literacy outreach, public health awareness, legal aid clinics, career and life counselling, and dissemination of research and innovation outputs.

Through memoranda of understanding, agreements and cooperation, the University engages industry, communities, non-governmental organisations and government agencies in conferences, exhibitions, outreach and research activities.

The University publishes the Kabarak Journal of Research and Innovation, African Journal of Commercial Law, Kabarak Journal of Law and Ethics, East African Community Law Journal, Journal of Information Systems in Eastern Africa, and The Kabarak Journal of Medical, Pharmaceutical & Allied Sciences.

The University hosts annual international research conferences to disseminate research through oral presentations and published proceedings. Disciplines include education, health, music, media, data science, business, theology, psychology, law, pure and applied mathematics, and environment.

The University provides annual internal grants to faculty as pilot funding for research. These are complemented by external funders including the National Research Fund (NRF), Google, Artificial Intelligence for Development, Kenya Education Network (KENET) and IBM.

The University engages potential partners in RIO objectives of mutual interest and builds the capacity of staff and students to mobilize resources, including equipment, personnel, partnerships and funding.

The University's Scientific and Ethics Review Committee, accredited by the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), supports faculty and students to undertake research in line with acceptable scientific and ethical standards through capacity building and review processes.

The University's innovation and business incubation centre administers the internal innovation fund and the annual Central Rift Innovation Week. Through these structures, a number of intellectual properties have been identified and commercialized.

The University has two established centres: the Innovation and Business Incubation Centre, which focuses on innovation, and the Centre for Health Informatics, which undertakes research, innovation and implementation activities related to ICTs in healthcare.