Multistakeholder Platforms Proposal
Promoting Youth Participation in Climate-Sensitive Development Planning in Tana River County Through Multi-Stakeholder Platforms
Introduction
In 2019/2020, UNDP through the programme ‘Strengthening Devolved Governance in Kenya’ partnered with the Kenya School of Government (KSG) and County Government of Isiolo to establish Isiolo Youth Programme, which aimed at building the capacity of youth in entrepreneurship and life skills through the establishment of a Youth Learning and Innovation Centre. UNDP support to date amounts to about Kes. 31 million. The support has facilitated the procurement of laptops, desktops, projectors and office and training furniture, as well as branding of the centre.
The Centre is currently in use and hosts a capacity building facility and computer lab unit; talent, innovation, creative and film-making hub; one-stop shop information unit; and a coaching, mentorship, counselling services unit. The Centre has also supported the creation of a SMS platform (sema usisike), a web-based portal facilitating self and agent-based registration of youth and other stakeholders within the County. Through these facilities, the county government has delivered bulk SMS messages on COVID-19 updates to the youth during the period of the pandemic.
On entrepreneurial training, selected youth have undergone 10-day phased trainings that included topics such as: start-ups management, registration and operationalization; AGPO (Access to Government Procurement Opportunities); public participation; leadership and governance. The Centre has also helped enhance communication between the youth and the county government of Isiolo on existing business opportunities and public participation forums. Based on the success of the Centre in Isiolo, Tana River County Government has adopted an ambitious climate-sensitive, urbanization-driven development planning referred to as, ‘Cluster Model urban Villages’.
Background and Rationale
Youth constitute about 36% of the Kenya’s population, while their unemployment stand at 61% of the total youth population. Lack of arable land, heavy reliance on pastoralism that is frequently impacted by droughts, has meant that youth in counties in the Northern parts of the country suffer relatively higher unemployment rates. The challenges have been exacerbated by high incidences of insecurity and radicalization.
Youth empowerment and development is underpinned in Kenya’s Vision 2030 and elucidated in the sector plan on Gender, Youth and Vulnerable groups under the Social Pillar. In the Third Medium Term Plan (MTP III), the government of Kenya pledged to implement measures to develop skills among young people and align them to market requirements. Other measures desired to be implemented within the period included revitalizing Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), enacting the National Youth Empowerment Strategy (2016-2021), establishment of Youth Development Centers (YDC), implementing the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Programme (KYEOP), and a host of leadership development and advocacy programmes for youth inclusion, among others.
During the First MTP period (2008-2013), 74 Youth Empowerment Centers (YECs) were constructed across the Country. Additional 86 YECs were constructed or renovated to date. Currently, a total of 160 YECs have so far been completed, many only up to the first phase of the design. The objectives of the YECs were to promote youth participation in community development and enhance opportunities for livelihood, manage health and recreation as well as provide a hub for innovation, talent nurturing and civic engagement.
In Tana River County for instance, two YECs were established by the national government in Garsen (Garsen South Ward) and Galole (Chewani Ward) constituencies. However, both are not operational. When the county administration began to conceptualize the idea of a county youth innovation Centre to harness the engagement and empowerment of youth in line with the cluster development approach, the need for a new Centre in Hola emerged.
Tana River Youth Innovation and Empowerment Centre (TRY-IEC)
The establishment Tana River Youth Innovation and Empowerment Centre (TRYIEC) is premised on the county vision of ‘Cluster-Based spatial planning and development’ in which the county seeks to create urban villages to mitigate against perennial flooding and guarantee livelihoods. The county’s model of climate-sensitive development planning provides opportunities for youth innovation in livelihoods, governance, climate-change, entrepreneurship, culture as well as opportunities for partnership with multiple programmes and partners under the GenU work streams.
In January 2021, Tana River County government approached Kenya School of Government (KSG) and UNDP Kenya to support the establishment of Tana River Youth Innovation and Empowerment Centre (TRY-IEC) in Hola. Hola Vocational Training Institute (HVTI) was identified to host the Centre in addition to undertaking its mandate of providing vocational training in assorted crafts such as carpentry and joinery, fashion design and garment making, building and construction technology, plumbing, metal work, food and beverage, Information Technology, among others.
The vision of TRY-IEC includes:
- Capacity Building and Computer Laboratory Unit: to support AGPO, ICT training, Entrepreneurship and Leadership
- Talent, Innovation, Creative and Film Making Hub: to support talent development such as film making (sinema mashinani), drama etc
- One stop-shop Information Unit: to provide youth with information to participate in the development of the county
- Coaching, mentorship and counselling services unit: support individual coaching, guidance and counselling for youth engaged in drugs, crime, terrorism
- Sports: host indoor and outdoor games for the youth
The overall goal of the TRYIEC is a youth population that is empowered, healthy, safe, competent, creative, earning decent livelihoods, innovative, patriotic, and participating in decision-making, upholding ethical values and protecting the environment.
3.0 Problem Statement
Kenya has a population 13,777,600 (29.0 per cent) of youth between the ages of 18-34 years (KNBS, 2019). The country has the highest youth unemployment in the East African region. It is estimated that approximately 800,000 young Kenyans enter the labor market every year and that youth unemployment is estimated to be as high as 35%, compared to the overall national unemployment rate of 10%. Furthermore, 80% of unemployed Kenyans are below 35 years old. Youth between the ages of 15-20 constitute about 25% of the population of Tana River County and make up about 58% of the labor force. It is estimated that 62.2% of the total county population live below poverty line. Droughts coupled with conflicts are partly responsible for the high poverty incidence.
Youth unemployment is aggravated by low involvement in fisheries and agriculture, low literacy levels and inappropriate skills. The County through its CIDP (2018-2022) has prioritized the development of youth empowerment policy/strategy and establish youth empowerment Centre to increase the capacity of the youth to engage in community development.
However, Vocational Training centers in Tana River have not optimally responded to county youth livelihood challenges. Many of the VTCs are running at less than full potential; are not fully equipped; they experience more than 20% drop out rate in students. In addition, less than 10% of students who graduate from VTCs in the county engage in the trades that they were trained in; and about 30% do business; while the majority of the graduates do not engage in productive livelihood activities.
The problem of lack of utilization of vocational training and inability of the VTC graduates to utilize skills to earn livelihood is a challenge brought about by negative attitude by youth in the county to VTCs as well as the lack of role models to provide mentorship. Of significance, is the need to link vocational training to livelihood opportunities and employment through innovation. There is potential to utilize the natural resources in the county and grow the large number of businesses that are still at their nascent stages and align livelihood opportunities to the county vision of ‘Cluster-Based spatial planning and development’.
4.0 Programme Strategy, Components and Results
4.1 Strategy
H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta launched Kenya’s GenU partnership on the 5th August 2020. The work plan prioritizes the four global work streams thematic areas. This proposal is aligned to GenU Work stream #4: Supporting young people as change makers. The global action envisaged in this work stream entails massive scaling-up of proven youth engagement and volunteering initiatives globally to support young people as change makers and co-creators of their own solutions.
The theory of change for this proposal can thus be stated as: IF we engage youth in embracing the values of climate-sensitive development planning and co-design with them innovative approaches to harness their voices; and IF we support and mentor youth leaders and innovators on livelihoods options that is sensitive to climate change; and IF we provide mechanisms for accountability and measuring of progress; THEN Tana River county will have youths that are autonomous, supportive, responsible and committed to climate-sensitive development.
4.2 Overall Project Objective
To promote young people’s active participation in issues of governance, environment, and urban policy development and enhance youth capacity to engage in climate-sensitive development in Tana River County.
4.3 Target Beneficiaries
The Project target beneficiaries will be youth, youth leaders and youth enterprises in Tana River County.
4.4 Proposed Partnerships
The key partners are the county government of Tana River, Kenya School of Government, Hola VTC, National Youth Council, Department of Youth Affairs, UN-Sister Agencies, Kenya Film Classifications Board, Frontier Counties Development Council, youth leaders, groups and associations which include youth in agriculture, environment and forestry, tourism, transport, media, market traders associations, Academy, Telesky Ltd, KEPSA Environment Water and Natural Resources Sector Board, Trade and Industry, Agriculture Sector Board, Ministry of Trade, Industrialisation and Enterprise Development, among others.
4.5 Expected Results and Activities
| Expected Results | Objective | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 45 Youth Leaders and 150 Youth groups engaged in co-designing and implementing empowerment programmes on climate-sensitive development planning through the innovations centre | Capacity building of youth leaders and youth groups in 15 wards of the county | Identify 45 youth leaders (3 from each of the 15 wards) and conduct leadership and problem-solving trainings on climate-sensitive development and innovations; Build capacity of 150 existing youth groups (10 per ward) on climate-sensitive skills and knowledge; Conduct 1 peer-learning visit to Isiolo Youth Innovation Centre |
| Youth needs are mainstreamed in the county spatial plans and climate risk management action plans | Support the operationalization of INUKA Funds for young innovators in the county | Conduct baseline studies on the impact of county climate-sensitive development planning on youth socio-economic activities; Develop a youth-centric risk-guaranteeing framework with county-government for young people engaged in innovative MSMEs |
| Knowledge Management and Guiding Framework for partnership and engagement through the Innovation Centre developed | Develop instruments and incentives for multi-stakeholder partnerships | Document youth engagement in the Innovation centre; Develop a Knowledge management platform for the Innovation Centre |
4.6 Expected Outcomes
- 45 youth leaders (3 from each of the 15 wards) trained in leadership and problem-solving on climate-sensitive development and innovations
- 150 youth groups have improved capacity, in terms of knowledge and skills, to engage innovatively on climate-sensitive livelihood activities
- Knowledge on Innovation Centre activities and engagement is acquired through one excursion conducted in Isiolo Youth Innovation Centre
- One baseline study is conducted on the impact of county climate-sensitive development planning on youth socio-economic activities in Tana River county
- A youth-centric risk-guaranteeing framework is developed with the county-government for young people engaged in innovative MSMEs through the INUKA Fund
- Documentation is generated for the youth innovation Centre and knowledge management platform developed for the youth engagement with the Innovation Centre in Tana River County
5.0 Risks and Assumptions
5.1 Risks
| Risks | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Medium | Engage with government and county government security agents, especially when in the field. |
| Fiduciary | Low | Sound financial management of the project by Kenya School of Government. |
| Programmatic | Low | KSG has a sound programme management history, well trained and experienced staff on youth, who will manage this project. |
5.2 Assumptions
- That the county shall remain peaceful throughout the implementation period
- That the business environment for the youths in the county shall remain stable/unchanged
- That there shall be no adverse climatic conditions forcing disruption
- That project funds shall be available throughout the implementation period
6.0 Workplan
Project Component Under GrEYAP: Activity 1.3 Support establishment of GenU Partnerships/Multi stakeholder Platforms at county level; Activity 2.5 Develop a youth-centric risk sharing framework such as a risk-guaranteeing framework with county-governments for young people engaged in innovative MSMEs.
| Output | Activities | Timelines | Budget ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 Youth Leaders and 150 Youth groups engaged in co-designing and implementing empowerment programmes | Identify 45 youth leaders and conduct leadership and problem-solving trainings; Build capacity of existing youth groups; Conduct peer-learning visit to Isiolo | May-July 2021 | 42,336 |
| Youth needs mainstreamed in county spatial plans and climate risk management action plans | Conduct baseline studies; Develop youth-centric risk-guaranteeing framework | July-August 2021 | 27,592 |
| Knowledge Management and Guiding Framework developed | Document youth engagement; Develop Knowledge management platform | August 2021 | 35,172 |
| Grand Total | 105,100 | ||