Kenya Devolution Programme

Objective

The Kenya Devolution Programme (KDP) aims to bring forward solutions to challenges facing devolution with the overall objective to improve development results at county level, by a) a more effective, open and accountable county governments, and b) improved service delivery and poverty reduction. To achieve these outcomes, activities will be undertaken to contribute to five output areas:
1. Inter-Governmental Relations that support devolution;
2. Effective county planning, public finance management and staffing;
3. County governments and citizens’ engagement to improve service delivery and livelihoods,
4. Evidence generation, learning and digital approaches improve county government delivery and reform
5. UK development portfolio is better aligned with county governments priorities.

In this Kenya led consortium under the leadership of ACT! VNG International’s contribution to the program will be one of a strategic thematic implementing partner, accompanying county governments in the field of spatial planning and own source revenue collection (output 2). With devolution taking effect in 2010, the practice of subnational governance is still young. Counties face a range of challenges that hamper effective spatial planning and own source revenue collection, and a strong integrated approach to this is rarely seen. Instead, spatial planning is done mostly ad-hoc, when and where there is funding and it is often not considered a worth-while investment by the county’s political leadership.

With an integrated approach spatial planning can reinforce revenue collection and vice-versa with the effect to accelerate development. It is the aspiration of this program to provide hands-on and practical support to county staff to experience this accelerating effect. It is the ambition to support county staff build the business case of spatial planning and OSR vis-ã-vis their political leadership, by means of a learning by doing accompaniment, provided by a blended team of international and national expertise.

The type of services to be provided:

• Capacity needs assessment on own source revenue collection (OSR) and spatial planning in counties
• Drafting of capacity building plan on OSR and spatial planning by counties
• Capacity building of counties on OSR and spatial planning:
  • Technical assistance to counties for progression of spatial plans
  • Convene a forum on OSR (discuss findings of revenue study & explore own OSR optimisation plans)
  • Technical assistance to counties on OSR optimisation
  • Support and facilitate intra and inter-county peer to peer learning on Own Source Revenue, urban areas and spatial planning
  • Support use of evidence, learning and digital approaches in at least one county
• Project management
• Governance advice to KDP programme, notably on subnational governance, citizen participation, awareness raising on spatial planning and OSR