Between 24 and 27 February 2025, the Policy Dialogue Community of Practice held its annual meeting in Ruiru, Kenya. The meeting gathered 35 participants from over 25 organisations from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The practitioners of Policy Dialogue (PD) – partners in the PD consortium project implemented with the support of Austrian Development Cooperation by horizont3000 (lead), Caritas Austria, SOS Childrens’ Villages and CARE Austria with their East African partners as well as partners from the Policy Dialogue East Africa project under the horizont3000 framework programme formed the PD Community of Practice in December 2023.
Training and Strategic Planning
The meeting included a two-days training on Monitoring and Evaluation in policy dialogue as well as policy implementation. Two days were dedicated to the further development of the Community of Practice. The members reviewed last years’ achievements, addressed challenges along the way and discussed an annual workplan. This year will further see the consolidation of the community and its working groups. With high spirits the group parted with new tasks for policy engagement ahead.
Visit to Kiambu County Assembly: A Highlight of the Meeting
One of the highlights of the convening was the visit of the Kiambu County Assembly. A County Assembly in Kenya is the legislative body of a county government. It consists of elected and nominated Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) who make laws, oversee the county executive, and represent residents' interests. Kiambu County Assembly is Kenya’s second-largest after Nairobi, with 60 elected Members of County Assembly, including five women, and 26 nominated MCAs. This was organised by member organisations of the CoP, CEEC (Community Education Empowerment Center) and GROOTS Kenya. Both organisations had successfully engaged the county assembly with policy dialogues before.
GROOTS Kenya: Advancing Climate and Energy Policy
For example, within the PD Consortium project, GROOTS Kenya has been supporting Kiambu county to formulate a climate change and energy policy, which was already completed in August 2019 and signed into law in 2021. A key focus for grassroots women in this policy is to ensure that the government allocates and implements budgets toward clean cooking fuels and stoves. Furthermore, GROOTS Kenya has been involved in the development of the county energy plan.
CEEC: Advocating for Rehabilitation Centers
Under the PD East Africa project, CEEC advocated for the establishment of public rehabilitation centers under the Kiambu Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2018 as amended in 2024. Over the past three years, CEEC mobilised and educated community members, collected signatures for a petition to the county assembly, held dialogues with county assembly members and submitted budget memoranda. In the 2025/2026 development plan, a bill of quantities for a rehabilitation center has been prepared. Despite annual budget allocations to the Kiambu Alcoholic Drinks Control Fund, resources are limited and mainly cover recurrent costs. The Auditor General’s report noted the county was in breach of the law requiring 30% of the fund for rehabilitation services. CEEC continues advocating for the implementation of the Kiambu County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act.
Fostering Stronger Civic Engagement
The engagements of both organisations helped to establish lasting relations and resulted in opening up for this meeting. It offered other members of the CoP insights how the county assembly is working, understand legislative processes and stakeholder engagement in policy implementation and entry points for civil society. It was a vivid experience of engagement that shall not be forgotten quickly.
