Concept Note - EuroNGOs

Objective of Mapping SRHR Civil Society Organizations in Kenya
The purpose of mapping civil society organizations working in the reproductive health sub-sector is to
provide stakeholders in the health sector including the Development Partners with an overview of
main SRHR CSOs in Kenya. This exercise will provide a deeper understanding of their operations as
well as their capacity to engage in reproductive health advocacy in an environment which is only partially
supportive of SRHR. It will also help increase knowledge on the challenges that they face, in order to
develop effective ways of supporting these organizations to undertake SRHR advocacy, monitor the
progress of implementation of SRHR policies and build the capacity of communities to demand for
adequate and quality SRHR services in health facilities. Additionally, it will enable the organizations to
identify key allies with the potential to form strategic alliances for working towards improving the
situation of SRHR in the country. It will also help them to understand the different initiatives that are
taking place in diverse regions and how to build on them, in order to expand the interventions in the RH
sub-sector without duplicating efforts in similar regions and targeting the same population.
The activity is both timely and useful because it coincides with the efforts that are being made towards
operationalizing the Constitution, 2010, development and implementation of multiple policies meant to
improve the situation of SRHR in Kenya. As these efforts unfold, it is important to identify and
consolidate the work of civil society organizations to contribute towards implementation of the new laws
and policies. In addition, the Constitution is set to introduce a new set of structures and modify existing
ones to ostensibly serve people in a more effective and transparent manner. The civil society remains a
strategic actor in all these efforts and has a significant role, to complement the government’s work of
strengthening the capacity of communities to take an active role in service delivery and monitoring the
work of government’s institutions.
Methodology, risks and assumptions and dissemination
Given the time and resource limitations, the exercise will endevour to gather and analyze primary data
from both urban and rural-based SRHR CSOs and networks using questionnaires and semi-structured
interviews. Secondary data will be gathered from existing databases that are managed by the government
and non-state actors. Some of the risks anticipated in this exercise are lack of access to relevant
information and databases, lack of response (or low response rate) by the CSOs and misrepresentation of
facts. The success of this exercise is therefore hinged on the assumption that information will easily be
accessed and availed, the government and CSOs contacted will be responsive and they will provide
accurate information.
The data collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews will cover the following areas:
name of the organization, duration of operation, target population, number of staff and annual turnover.
Limited information regarding their programmes will also be gathered. This will be grouped into two,
advocacy and other programmatic areas such as service delivery and training.
The data collected will be analyzed and used to prepare a report describing the operations of SRHR civil
society organizations, areas of focus and institutional capacities. The report will be widely disseminated
among donors and if possible officially presented to the DPHK working group. In addition, it will be
shared with CSOs within and outside the SRHR sub-sector as well as other key stakeholders including the
Ministry of Health and other government institutions.
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