Mandate
The directorate is responsible for providing leadership, coordination and management in the facilitation of public participation across departments; Enhancing devolution capacities and good governance for a working devolution; civic knowledge and competency development; coordinating research, documentation and knowledge management in the county.
Vision Statement
People Centered Development and Learning for a working devolution
Mission Statement
To enhance participatory development initiatives for poverty eradication, sustainable development and good governance
Functions
The functions of the directorate are to:
- Facilitate the integration of the objects, values and principles of devolution in the county’s development processes;
- Enhance integration and implementation of socio- economic and political rights in county’s service delivery;
- Support county departments and communities in integrating community development theory in the implementation of devolved functions;
- Enhance self-governance, community resilience, community led development and local development organizing;
- Devolution support and acceleration programs’ coordination;
- County Social safeguard mechanisms;
- Establishment of frameworks, structures and harmonization of public participation and civic education function across departments;
- Facilitate public participation in planning, budgeting, implementation and citizen oversight throughout the development processes (participatory development);
- Promote citizen participation in the exercise of their rights, management of their own affairs and furtherance of their development;
- Enhancing community ownership, project management and sustainability mechanisms;
- Enhance good governance and sustainability of projects handed over to communities and community groups in close collaboration with the lead
- departments and development partners;
- Coordination and management of livelihood guarantee policy, programs and projects;
- Research & development, Innovation and knowledge management for a working devolution;
- Civic education and support to civil society groups;
- Grievance redress and community feedback mechanisms;
- Promote open government partnership (OGP);
- Develop and operationalize the County School for Devolution and Community Led Development;
The directorate of public participation and Civic Education (Community Development) further divided into four key units
- Participatory development Coordination Unit
- Civic Education Unit
- Community Led Development Unit
- Research, Documentation and Knowledge Management Unit
Each of the units is explained below:
Participatory Development Coordination Unit
Functions of the Unit includes:
- Coordination of the formulation of public participation policies, standards, guidelines on operating procedures and programs;
- Technical support to departments, county stakeholders and communities on public participation in development methodologies, approaches and good governance for transformational devolution;
- Enhance integration and implementation of socio- economic and political rights in county’s service delivery;
- Promote citizen participation in the exercise of their rights, management of their own affairs and furtherance of their development;
- Facilitate public participation in planning, budgeting, implementation and citizen oversight throughout the development processes (participatory development);
- Supporting County policy formulation, County planning and County budgeting and implementation for enhanced the participatory development trajectory, effective devolution and sustainable development;
- Establishment, operationalization and capacity building of participatory development structures (development committees, Project Management Committees, Project Sustainability Committees and community sector groups);
- Enhancing community ownership, project management and sustainability mechanisms;
- Enhance good governance and sustainability of projects handed over to communities and community groups in close collaboration with the lead departments and development partners;
- Animation of participatory development process including participatory planning, participatory budgeting and participatory monitoring, social accountability, vetting of public servants and services;
- Facilitate public participation data collection and analysis;
- Enhance community feedback mechanisms and grievance redress mechanisms;
- Stakeholder mapping, management, engagement and coordination;
- Development of tools and methodologies for effective public participation including participatory Rural Appraisal, Participatory Poverty Assessments and Participatory Action Learning;
- Enhancing open governance, social accountability and transparency mechanisms;
- Continuous consolidation and profiling of development needs, issues and consideration to inform the village, cluster and sub ward development needs, issues and development considerations; and
- County Social safeguard mechanisms
Divisions under that Unit includes:
- Grievance Redress Mechanism Office
- Public participation Data Management
- Project Management & Sustainability
Entities under the unit includes:
- County Development Committees
- Project Management committees
- Project sustainability Committees
Civic Education Unit
Functions of the Unit includes:
- Formulation and implementation of civic education curricula, strategies and programmes;
- Articulation of the constitution of Kenya, 2010; devolution policy and related legal frameworks operationalizing County governments, rights and responsibilities of citizens to communities;
- Articulating to the communities the government’s agenda, plans and strategies;
- Undertaking civic education needs assessment;
- Plan and undertake civic education fora, campaigns and dialogues;
- Mapping and accreditation of stakeholders in civic education and capacity building of the civil society in the county;
- Harmonization of civic education across departments, non-state actors and the civil society movements;
- Support to civil society groups; and
- County printing services
Divisions under that Unit includes:
- Open Government Partnership (OGP)
- County Printing Services
Community Led Development Unit
Functions of the Unit includes:
- Formulation and implementation of community led development policies, frameworks and guidelines;
- Establishment and management of the County school of Devolution and Community Led Development
- Support county departments and communities in integrating community development theory in the implementation of devolved functions;
- Enhance self-governance, community resilience, community led development and local development organizing;
- Support to Community led development implementing departments, non-state actor and development agencies;
- Assisting communities to ensure effective and sustainable community development and localization of SDGs for communities as agents of the Agenda 2030;
- Strengthening Community Action Planning, Community Development Planning and Community Driven Development implementation;
- Create linkages between communities, development partners and relevance stakeholders for improved Community Led Development and Local Development Organizing;
- Facilitate linkage between Community Action Plans with plans and strategies for the County and National governments, Sectoral plans and Non-State Actors strategies;
- Capacity building of communities on identifying poverty alleviation opportunities,
- working with different stakeholders at community level and championing the exercise of their sovereignty;
- Assisting communities to mobilize and manage resources to support their priorities, networking and partnership building; and
- Establishment and operationalization of the County Caucus of community development.
Divisions under that Unit includes:
- County School for Devolution and Community Led Development Office
- Non-State Actors/Civic society Partnership Office
Research, Documentation and Knowledge Management Unit
Functions of the Unit includes:
- Formulation and implementation of research, documentation and knowledge management policies, frameworks, guidelines, programs and projects;
- Establishment and management of the County centre for research, documentation and knowledge management;
- Lead in the identifying, collection, storage, management and making available relevant, quality and up-to-date knowledge assets and information related devolved service delivery
- Enhance devolution knowledge-sharing culture, sharing and learning
- Provide an efficient and effective library and information services that meet the information needs of the county departments and stakeholders;
- Provide exceptional research administrative services for bench marking teams, researchers and research institutions learning from the county’s context
- Facilitate value addition for community led research, developing research projects, data, monitoring and knowledge management initiatives
- Establishment and operationalization of community resource centres to enhance access to information and knowledge management mechanisms for transformational devolution
- Devolution and governance capacity strengthening program coordination
- Enhance partnerships, collaborations and networking with research, library and knowledge management entities
Divisions under that Unit includes:
- Centre for Research, Documentation and Knowledge management Office
- Community resource centers’ management office
- Research Division
- Documentation and Knowledge Management Division