Special Paper No 31 of 2022 on Research Ecosystem Strengthening through the Development of a Public Affairs Index to Support the Devolved System of Government in Kenya

Abstract

The Public Affairs Index (PAI) is a framework for monitoring delivery of public services at the county level. The Index helps to identify gaps, bring out emerging issues, and guide in prioritizing policy actions. The project that generated the PAI demonstrates the role of KIPPRA, as a think tank and research intermediary, in strengthening frameworks and tools for coordinating key stakeholders in the research ecosystem in Kenya to dialogue, network and enhance research uptake to inform the implementation of the devolved system of government. Through the project, five ecosystem strengthening goals have been achieved, as part of the RISA Fund, namely the building of human capital for the research stakeholders involved, enhancing research uptake into policies and regulations at the national platform as well as county level, equitable and inclusive participation devolved to each of the 47 counties, the networking of assets to drive collaboration between research actors and policy makers, and providing incentives for high quality research. Hence, based on the RISA project, this report provides detailed indicators in the framework across nine pillars, namely fiscal management, economic performance, human capital development, essential infrastructure, environmental management, transparency and accountability, crime and justice, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and social welfare. The indicators that form the pillars were constructed using both primary and secondary data sources and an adapted distance-tofrontier score methodology (DTF). Devolution is one of the most significant changes in governance structure in Kenya, after a long-standing desire to move away from a centralist form of governance since independence. The main objective of creating the new governance structures as spelt out in Article 174 of the Constitution, is to devolve power and resources to attain optimal delivery of public services and allow citizens to effectively participate in governance. The fourth schedule of the Constitution outlines 14 functions now fully devolved to county governments. Since 2013, about Ksh 2 trillion have been disbursed to the counties to facilitate delivery of public services. The County Government Act 2012, the Public Finance Management Act 2012, and the Public Finance Management Regulations 2015 provide the legal framework for devolution and fiscal decentralization. County governments are mandated by the County Government Act 2012 to implement Integrated Development Planning.