Designing sustainable participatory processes: Lessons from Kenya

In Kenya, public participation is both a cornerstone of sustainable development and a right enshrined in the constitution. Many countries in Africa face challenges in sustaining citizen engagement in development interventions. The World Bank Group (WBG) is committed to listening to stakeholders and accelerating progress to end poverty in a sustainable and inclusive manner. Engaging citizens and mobilizing communities in the process can help bring greater transparency, accountability, and social inclusion, thus improving development results. In all our projects, citizen and stakeholder engagement is a mandatory exercise throughout project design and implementation.

In our latest report, The Evolution, Practice and Impact of Participatory Budgeting in Kenya, we discuss how processes seeking to foster citizen engagement can be designed to ensure their sustainability over the longer term. The report offers valuable lessons for other regions wishing to implement similar participatory procedures.  

The devolution system in Kenya, which grants powers to 47 county governments, has been in place since 2013, and aims at increasing the responsiveness and accountability of the government towards its citizens. The 2010 Constitution and attendant legislation on devolution provide a bedrock for public participation by requiring county governments to make relevant information available to citizens and engage them in the planning, budgeting, and monitoring of service delivery. Through the Kenya Accountable Devolution Program, the World Bank introduced Participatory Budgeting in 2015 (PB in 2015) to help counties meet these legislative requirements.

The launch of our report was a great occasion for us to hear county representatives recount their experience prior to adopting PB in 2015 and reflect on their own progress. According to them, compliance with the legislative requirements does not necessarily guarantee the quality of public participation. In Elgeyo Marakwet County, for instance, the impetus to adopt participatory budgeting came when officials had fulfilled all the provisions of the Public Financial Management Act but still saw no community ownership of development interventions.

According to John Maritim, the current Director of Economic Planning and Budgeting in Elgeyo Marakwet County, the county witnessed a significant increase in the number of representatives attending budget forums only after adopting Participatory Budgeting and committing a percentage of the budget to community decisions. This represented a shift from the lackluster interest previously experienced vis-à-vis development investments. As a general rule, establishing participatory budgeting processes in Kenya helped counties address the challenge of answering their communities’ high expectations, couched in numerous wish lists, in the context of limited public resources, poorly structured budget consultations, and political rivalries.

One key element driving the success of effective participatory budgeting initiatives consists of embedding them within the legal framework rather than treating them as standalone activities. Other factors include ensuring political buy-in, offering sufficient training to policymakers and officials, and involving civil society in the design process. These components are critical to create and implement successful participatory budgeting initiatives that foster community trust and enhance the government’s credibility.

According to our study, essential design elements that contribute to effective and enduring participatory processes in Kenya include:

1. Identifying the goal that the participatory budgeting process will achieve

Whether the budget seeks to promote greater inclusivity and transparency or to build social cohesion, determining the best strategy or organizational model is paramount. That includes specifying the share of the budget committed to citizens’ decisions and at what administrative level the meetings will be held.

2. Establishing priorities among community needs

Shortlisting community priorities out of a longer list helps maximize the use of available public resources while managing community expectations and improving the credibility of the participatory process.

3. Conducting a technical appraisal of the proposed investments

This is critical to ensure the viability of the proposed community priorities. Participatory processes usually do not achieve their desired results because of their failure to rely on technical expertise to inform the citizens’ final decisions.

4. Establishing a community oversight committee that supervises the implementation of the development intervention once approved.

Zipporah Wambua, the current Director of Public Participation in Makueni County, explained how establishing self-governance structures elected by the community- (such as community-led oversight committees) can create an accountability mechanism, and thus ensure that the government respects the decisions made by the communities.

5. Leading concerted efforts to integrate the participation of vulnerable groups

Inclusiveness should be supported by appropriate tools such as sign language interpretation and alternative thematic group meetings. Holding thematic meetings with youth, persons with disabilities, and other traditionally excluded categories provides opportunities to reflect their voices and needs in the public budget. Digital solutions (e.g., online platforms and mobile apps) can significantly enhance the participation of youth in the budgeting process.

6. Conducting a review of the participatory process to determine what went well or poorly

This is critical to inform future cycles, to make sure that the process keeps getting better, and to measure to what extent the adoption of emerging effective channels can promote citizen engagement.