Kenya Evaluations
 | Final Evaluation – Inuka! Supporting Vulnerable Youth to Participate in Community Peace and Security Efforts in Coastal Kenya – August 2021The “Inuka! Supporting Vulnerable Youth to Participate in Community Peace and Security Efforts in Coastal Kenya” project (January 2018 – May 2021) was funded by the European Commission and implemented by Search for Common Ground in partnership with Kiunga Youth Bunge Initiative (KYBI), Human Rights Agenda (HURIA), Humanity Action Knowledge Integrity in Africa (HAKI Africa) and Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI). The overall aim of the project was to increase the effectiveness and inclusiveness of community peace and security efforts involving vulnerable and marginalized youth in the Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu and Mombasa counties in coastal Kenya. In efforts to achieve this aim, the Common Ground Approach was mainstreamed in three pathways: The project strengthened the capacity of and coordination among community-based youth groups and led to increased participation of youth (including at-risk youth) in peace & security efforts, thus giving youth an active “voice”. The outreach and media activities increased awareness of target communities of the potential of at-risk youth to positively contribute to peace and security. Various engagements between youth and security actors, in particularly in maskanis, improved their relationship and increased community trust. Some of the unintended outcomes of the project were stigma reduction among vulnerable/marginalized youth and helping to bring solutions to some socio-economic issues like assisting youth access to Mvuvi cards, special smart identification cards with enhanced security features for fishermen. |
| Combined Final and Mid-term Evaluation – Justice for Peace & Inuka! Supporting vulnerable youth to participate in community peace and security efforts in Coastal Kenya – December 2019Justice for Peace: Preventing Violent Extremism through Constructive Engagement between Criminal Justice Sector actors and Communities in Kenya is a 22 months project funded by the Department of States, Counterterrorism Bureau. Inuka! Supporting vulnerable youth to participate in community peace and security efforts in Coastal Kenya is a 36 months project funded by the European Union. While the security situation in Kenya’s Coastal region has remained relatively static over the last few years, there is still concern in addressing and countering VE in these areas. The Kenyan authorities’ securitized approach to radicalization reportedly involving human rights abuses and the criminalization of certain religions has created a buildup of mistrust in the government further aggravating the security situation. Search’s approach to tackling this conflict involves strengthening structures for collaboration and building of capacities of key stakeholders to increase mutual support and participation in decision making processes. The justice for peace project significantly increased awareness of rights and responsibilities among project participants. Justice actors increased their knowledge about violent extremism from a community perspective while community members increased their knowledge and understanding of court and criminal procedures including the role of criminal justice in addressing violent extremism. There is also clear evidence that the project provided a platform for improved mutual understanding and trust between community and justice actors. Justice actors became aware of community grievances toward the justice sector and how their actions have been driving some community members, youth in particular, to violent extremism. Community members on the other hand had an opportunity to hear and learn directly from justice actors to understand criminal and court procedures, which were confusing to them. Under Inuka, the evaluation found solid evidence that the training activities conducted by Search and partners were effective, contributing to improved skills and capacity of youth. Young interviewees agreed that they now feel that they have mastered skills in effective communication, consensus building, dispute resolution, non-adversary advocacy and leadership. More significantly, the evaluation also found that youth have increased confidence to participate in community activities, even beyond those related to peace and security. |
| Final Evaluation – Inuka! Community-Led Security Approaches to Violent Extremism in Coastal Kenya – October 2018The Inuka! Community-Led Security Approaches to Violent Extremism in Coastal Kenya project was implemented over a 24-month period from September 2016 and was implemented by Search for Common Ground (Search) and three local partners, Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance (KMYA), the Kiunga Youth Bunge Initiative (KYBI), and Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), in Kenya’s Coast region. The project targeted communities in four counties and was funded by the US State Department’s Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Bureau (DRL). Over the last 10 years, there has been a steady rise in terrorist incidents and violent extremism in Kenya, specifically affecting the Coastal region. These incidents coupled with economic, social and political grievances have been the leading drivers for conflict in Kenya. The lack of economic and social opportunities and political marginalization have left youth more vulnerable to radicalism and recruitment by extremist groups, namely Al-Shabaab, and mistrust between communities and authorities has been on the rise. In this context, Search began the Inuka! Project. Partners worked to develop platforms for effective and meaningful collaboration and engagement between various stakeholders, including security forces, to build a community security framework to halt the cycle of radicalization and violence. The evaluation has found the Inuka! project to be relevant, effective and impactful. Search relied on local partners with experience and who was well respected at the grassroots level, allowing them to navigate issues of culture and gender sensitivity, which vary by community. Project activities clearly responded to well-identified needs and participants in focus groups suggested that communities feel safer now compared to two years ago. |
 | Meet Me at the Maksani: A Mapping of Influencers, Networks, and Communication Channels in Kenya and TanzaniaRadicalization across East Africa has increased in recent years, affecting both Kenya and Tanzania; Kenya on a larger scale. Search conducted this research to map key influencers, networks and communication channels that drive and prevent violent extremism, with the goal of informing more effective programming. The mapping methodology was based on social network analysis (SNA), and the findings validated in a civil society workshop. The mapping revealed that poverty and unemployment were the most common frustrations people were dealing with, and that they turned to their friends most often for solutions. This suggests a diluted influence of religious and community leaders, though they likely still have indirect influence. CSOs had very little influence, and need to improve their coordination of efforts. Though most of the advice given is non-violent, it lacks focused action and so is less easy advice to follow than the action-oriented recruitment to VE. Existing channels for communication should be leveraged to increase awareness of concrete non-violent actions to take in response to the pressures they face. While progress has been made in Kenya (and to a lesser extent in Tanzania) towards overcoming this barrier to more effective VE programming, there is still work to be done in both countries. |
| Baseline Evaluation for Inuka!: Community-Led Security Approaches to Violent Extremism in Coastal KenyaSince September 2016 Search has implemented Inuka! in four counties in the coastal region of Kenya: Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu and Mombasa. The project goal is to build increased trust and collaboration among key community stakeholders to prevent radicalization and violent extremism in coastal Kenya. This baseline added to the project’s understanding of how communities view and respond to violent extremism at the local level. Through a survey, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, the baseline reached 394 participants across the region. They found that while on the whole VE seems to be declining or at least not increasing in the region, it is still a significant issue, will many push factors in the communities. These push factors include widespread police brutality and mistrust between police and communities, poverty, and political and economic marginalization. Poverty also helps as a pull factor, with extremist groups offering monetary incentives to join. CSOs, youth, religious leaders, police, and international actors were named as existing forces against VE; still 85% of the surveyed population were unfamiliar with any efforts against VE, and it is uncommon for issues around VE to be discussed openly. The baseline identifies opportunities to leverage existing entry points to engage the community and government to create more spaces for dialogue on the issue. |
| Final Evaluation – June 2016 – Promoting Healthy State-Citizen Relations in AfricaThis report presents the finding of an external final evaluation of the 24-month regional project “Promoting Healthy State-Citizen Relations in Africa”. The project’s overall goal was to enhance civil society leaders’ capacity to influence government policy agendas in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania. With funds from USAID, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) implemented the project in partnership with the West African Youth Network and the Resource Conflict Institute. The evaluation team used a mixed methodology including a documents’ review, reflection workshops with SFCG’s team and implementation partners, focus groups discussions, key informant interviews and an online survey. The evaluation confirms the project’s relevance in each country and highlights the benefits of utilizing a flexible theory of change (TOC) to contextualize programming accordingly. However, it should be clearer who the ‘key’ people versus ‘more’ people as outlined in the TOC are, particularly among participants. It also showcases how the project successfully created high levels of trust between civil society and government and suggests a follow-up project to build on the momentum and ensure sustainability. The report contains 9 conclusions and recommendations for future programme design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. |
| The Team Radio Vernacular: Exposure, Attitudes and Interpersonal Communication about Political ProcessesThe purpose of this study was to investigate potential impact of radio broadcasts of The Team on Kenyan citizens’ attitudes related to tolerance, communication, and participation in political processes. The study’s design was cross-sectional, with all data collected at one point in time. Its purpose was not to provide definitive evidence of causal relations. Instead, it was designed to reveal difference between those who exposed themselves to The Team through radio, and those who did not. Respondents (318) were interviewed in communities in and around Nairobi, Kisumu, and Eldoret. Almost two-thirds of respondents (196) had listened to one or more episode of The Team. Fifteen percent (47) had not seen or heard the program. We measured exposure to the series; frequency of discussing issues related to political, religious and ethnic tolerance; engagement in the program while viewing; and three attitudes related to intergroup tolerance and political engagement. Political attitudes were 1) perceived importance of “Communication and Respect” among members of different religious and ethnic groups, 2) perceived importance of “Political Engagement,” and 3) perceived “Political Efficacy.” |