Civil Society Urban Development Platform

The direct impact of the programme intervention are described at four levels/Result areas. Result area 1 sought to achieve increased civic competences to influence governance and planning at local level. The stage for local urban governance is set through Articles 174, 176 and 184, the CoK[1] (2010), recognizing the right of communities to manage their own affairs. Citizens’ rights to influence decisions, make proposals and demand accountability from public officials are equally embedded in the Urban Areas and Cities Act (2011) section 22. At the local urban level, over 3,500 Civil Society Organizations have embraced a unique model for local to local dialogues (Local Urban Forums) spreading its influence in 21 Counties of Kenya. Through well-coordinated efforts, local policies and governance transformations have been realized. For instance, Mombasa Local Urban Forum has successfully delivered a Local Land Policy framework adopted by the County Assembly and already applied in the Courts of Justice to grant over 600 informal settlement dwellers tenure security. In Kilifi, a Citizens Budget Model has been institutionalized with a resultant 15% increase in budget allocation for the marginalized urban areas over the last two years (2016/2018). Uasin Gishu Local Urban Forum has successfully influenced a policy on public spaces with the rehabilitated Nandi Park standing out as important meeting and recreation space with an average of 400 users daily. With the recent establishment of the new Municipal Boards, the Local Urban Forum model has been adopted by at least 5 Boards in constituting the legally provided for Citizens Fora. Furthermore, the social planning approach piloted locally in 13 informal settlements has directly benefited over 5,000 inhabitants of these settlements, drawing in new public investments in infrastructure and basic services. This social planning approach has been endorsed by the Kenya Institute of Planners (KIP) and adopted by Kenyatta University in the diversification of their academic curriculum for Graduate Planners. The potential for replication of the social planning approach has been well-demonstrated through the adoption in the planning of Githogoro informal settlement by the Member of Parliament for Westlands Constituency, Nairobi. Result area 2 sought to evoke improved institutional responsiveness and accountability to urban citizens. This was largely against the backdrop that new institutional arrangements were envisaged for the governance and management of urban areas in the devolved government era. At this institutional level, the programme has built and nurtured a strong cooperation amongst professional bodies, private sector and non-state agencies under the now popular banner of Urban Boards Non-State Agencies (UBNA). UBNA has been instrumental in the establishment and capacity development of the 59 Municipal Boards, setting a good governance foundation for the new institutions. Through this relationship, the State Department for Housing and Urban Development is in the process of formally contracting CSUDP to coordinate the UBNA efforts in further strengthening of the Municipal Boards and Citizens Fora. The programme has also registered significant impact in the standards and regulatory environment, having pioneered the first set of harmonized guidelines for Board nominations and training curriculum for the Municipal Boards and Citizens Fora. CSUDP is currently at the forefront of the participatory process to formulate the Regulations that will guide the implementation of the Urban Areas and Cities Act. Result area 3 sought to contribute to equitable rights to basic services amongst the disadvantaged urban population through catalytic innovations. While the Constitution of Kenya (GoK, 2010 - Article 174 (c) gives powers of self-governance to the people and enhances their participation in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them.) promises to reverse inequalities and promote equitable access to basic services, the informal settlements remain an extreme embodiment of injustice and inequality. In addition, the County Government Act (2012) section 116 obliges County Government to observe principles of participation, equity, efficiency, accessibility, non-discrimination, in public service delivery. The impact footprint in this programme result area has been delivered through a successful partnership with 16 Implementing Partners, who amongst them carried competencies in a range of service delivery sectors. The most promising impact has been delivered in the affordable housing sector through a partnership with the National Cooperative Housing Union (NACHU) where 544 Primary Housing Cooperative (PHC) members have acquired own home ownership status. The Primary Housing Cooperative model has been fully adopted by the National Government as part of its delivery plan for the affordable housing under the Big 4 Agenda. Additional impact has been realized through a delegated water management model (DWMM) implemented through a partnership with Pamoja Trust, which has facilitated access to portable water for over 5,000 informal settlement dwellers in three Counties. This model has now been fully adopted by three Water Service Providers, namely Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company Ltd, Eldoret Water and Sewerage Company Ltd, and Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company Ltd. Impact has also been realized in the area of rights to shared natural resources. Through a partnership with Haki Jamii, a water resource sharing pact between the community and other agencies was popularly endorsed and has minimized the conflict hitherto experienced on Isiolo River, particularly though the diversion to the airport construction. In Kakamega, the partnership with Western Water and Sanitation Forum (WEWASAFO) has influenced the County Policy on Water and Sanitation provision for public schools informed by pilot interventions in two public schools with a combined population of over 2,000. The successful intervention attracted a partnership with Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology for in-depth research that generated the school WATSAN policy briefs adopted by the County. Partnership with Quest for Life in Uasin Gishu focused on promoting inclusivity through appropriately designed and accessible public spaces. The Nandi Park rehabilitation intervention prompted the County Government of Uasin Gishu to adopt a comprehensive strategy for public spaces in the County, commencing with the River Sosian Nature Park. Currently an average of 400 people are accessing the Nandi Park on a daily basis. The partnership with Flamingo Net in Nakuru generated a hotspots map for the vulnerable settlements setting the stage for targeted interventions to reduce the pollution into Lake Nakuru. Specific sanitation interventions in Crater Secondary Menengai schools respectively has seen to a marked reduction in the pollution footprint from the schools with a combined population of 4,000 students. Result area 4 sought to strengthen the resilience of women and youth from the disadvantaged communities against climatic and socio-economic variabilities. Despite the devolution promise, informal settlements continue to be characterized by extreme congestion; poor sanitation; poor infrastructure and physical access; youth despondency and insecurity; violence against women, including rape in the congested, dark and insecure environment, and; high level unemployment, especially amongst the youth. The impact of the programme intervention in this area has been primarily in positive youth development. Through a national platform for talent and personal development popularly known as Talanta Mtaani, over 1,600 young women and men have gone through the positive youth development training with 38 obtaining direct entrance to TVET for further skills development and 20 joining the gainful employment field. Two settlement communities in Embu and Kitale have benefited from renewable energy appliances for lighting and cooking, with 100 households benefiting and recording an average of 10% savings in one year. The partnership with Sarakasi Trust has lifted over 100 young men and women in informal settlements from their previous State of despondency to an arena of gainful employment in the creative sector. Key transformational stories include one of an ex-prisoner whose transformational journey has inspired over 50 youth in Korogocho and Mathare slums to change their ways from crime to being ambassadors of hope. Through the programme, a vibrant social enterprise fund established on a digital platform continues to support micro-enterprise business growth amongst the 200 micro-enterprises enlisted in the CSUDP database. While a number of the outcomes are consistent with the expectations of the programme, some unintended outcomes have been realized. One, the demonstrated ability of CSUDP to coordinate governmental and non-governmental actors in the urban development sector earned the organization global recognition with resultant appointment to the 20-member Global Stakeholder Advisory Group[Global Stakeholder Advisory Group is constituted by representatives from specialized organizations with demonstrated ability to rally partnerships towards the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and advices the Executive Director UN-Habitat] during the first UN-Habitat Assembly held in May 2019. Through this platform, CSUDP has become an important interlocutor of the marginalized citizens’ voice in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. Second, the programme success on local to local dialogues with multiple urban stakeholders has earned a partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) where CSUDP serves as the convener of the Just City urban development concept in Kenya. Third, the results from the positive youth development interventions of the programme have attracted strong private sector partnership with CSUDP entering a five year term partnership on whole youth development based on the model of Talanta Mtaani anchored on a national platform by the Standard Media Group. Finally, the social planning approach delivered through the programme has demonstrated relevance as a tool for promoting citizens science attracting a partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute, Africa Region.      

The main objective is strengthened civic competencies for equitable and just urban society in selected counties in Kenya. The Civil Society Urban Development Platform (CSUDP) has for the past three years worked within four interrelated contexts to promote urban governance and management practices that cushion the poor from the adversities of urban development and propel transformations at livelihood, policy, institutional and service delivery levels necessary for inclusive development. At the grassroots level, focus has primarily been on empowering the citizens to actively engage with the State in identifying, processing and negotiating for their rights and aspirations. This level has also involved building trust and confidence amongst the citizens to exercise their democratic freedoms and demand accountability. Another level focuses on influencing governance institutions to be responsive to the needs and accommodate the aspirations of the vulnerable urban citizens, through policy influence, civic dialogues, and governance structures that are accountable. The third level focuses on harnessing and deploying the competence of CSOs to innovatively demonstrate viable pro-poor basic service products that have high potential for mainstreaming in addressing the plight of the urban poor. The final level focuses on building resilience amongst the poor urban youth and women to withstand the climatic and socio-economic induced stresses that characterize their settlements. Alongside this, CSUDP has invested in building the organizational competence to position as an important actor in the national urban development arena.