Problems and Purpose

Public participation has been a challenge in relation to Kenya’s government operations: community and citizen awareness has been low, which works against their Constitution’s provisions. Using the ‘Common Social Accountability Platform’ (CSAP), mediated public discussion spaces would be made available via interactive radio shows in order to gather citizen opinions around governmental authorities in Siaya County.

Background History and Context

Public participation is central to Kenyan democracy but remains a significant challenge, particularly in Siaya County. Kenya’s 2010 Constitution introduced a decentralized governance system; however poor citizen awareness and limited participation mechanisms have hindered the achievement of many goals. In Siaya County, public engagement in processes like budget planning and development strategies has been especially weak, raising concerns about inclusivity and accountability. [1]

To address low citizen engagement, Africa’s Voices Foundation piloted a study to gather feedback on Sia's 2018-19 Annual Development Plan (ADP), healthcare, and water access [1].

The Annual Development Plan (ADP), a critical element of county governance, is a budgeted work plan detailing how the multi-year County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) will be implemented in the upcoming year. Standard approaches to public participation often focus on preparing the next ADP but fail to review citizen feedback on the county’s performance in implementing the previous year’s ADP. This pilot study sought to fill that gap, emphasizing social accountability and informed citizen involvement.

This pilot study responded to these challenges, aiming to improve public participation under devolution. It explored ways to enhance citizen engagement and integrate their input into county policy processes. The study also sought to address gaps in empirical research on designing effective public participation frameworks.

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

This pilot study was led by Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF), a Kenya-based non-profit organization, in partnership with Siaya County. AVF introduced the Common Social Accountability Platform (CSAP), which used interactive radio shows to create public discussions between citizens and authorities [1]. This platform allowed citizens to voice their opinions while providing valuable data that could influence government decisions. The project was endorsed by Siaya County’s County Executive Committee Minister for Governance and Administration and the Governor, who supported its goals of improving civic engagement and public accountability [1].

Before launching the intervention, AVF worked closely with Siaya County government officials to ensure the project aligned with existing civic engagement efforts. Through consultations, they identified the county's priority issues and chose to focus the public participation on evaluating the county’s performance in its Annual Development Plan (ADP) [1]. This collaboration was key in gaining the necessary support and ensuring the intervention would address real needs within the community.

In terms of leadership and staffing, AVF was responsible for designing and facilitating the intervention, while local government officials provided oversight and guidance. AVF and Siaya County worked together to train facilitators and analysts to manage the radio discussions and analyze the feedback collected [1]. This collaborative approach helped ensure that the project was both effective and relevant, with citizen input directly shaping future governance decisions.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

In this study, the participants were listeners in Siaya County, the primary target audience of the interactive radio series. The radio shows also involved guests from the County government, carefully selected by Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF), who were invited to discuss priority topics and respond to comments from the community. Additionally, radio

Presenters from Radio Namlolwe and Radio Ramogi played a key role, having been trained on the interactive radio method by AVF to facilitate fair and balanced discussions. [1]

The recruitment strategies employed in this project involved broadcasting live radio shows in the local language, Dholuo, which helped engage and attract listeners. The broadcasts were scheduled during prime morning hours, from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, to increase audience engagement and listenership. The two radio stations, Radio Ramogi and Radio Namlolwe, were strategically chosen based on their reach, their geographic focus, and the diversity of their audiences. The interactive format of the shows encouraged listeners to participate by commenting during the live broadcasts, which created direct conversations between community members and County government representatives. [1]

During the four-week radio series, 2,296 individuals sent 5,490 messages through the live broadcasts. The shows encouraged direct interaction between the audience and government representatives, with participants discussing topics related to county governance and services. A majority of participants (70.6%) engaged in only one show, while 21.3% participated in two shows, and 6.5% participated in three; most participants were younger males. [1]

Methods and Tools Used

The methods in this study featured an interactive radio approach to enable citizen-led discussions and enhance public participation. This method allowed citizens to shape the content of the radio shows through their responses, ensuring their input was central to the dialogue. The radio shows included panel discussions featuring government representatives and community leaders, complemented by question-and-answer sessions, fostering direct engagement between citizens and decision-makers. Learn more about panel discussions here: https://participedia.net/method/panel-discussion. Learn more about question-and-answer sessions here: https://participedia.net/method/qa-with-experts-and-officials.

The tools utilized included free SMS messaging, enabling citizens to send their responses and engage with the discussions in real time. This tool facilitated wide-scale participation by making it easy for listeners to contribute their views. Learn more about SMS messaging here: https://participedia.net/method/sms-text-message. Following each show, participants received a short survey via text to gather feedback and evaluate the topics discussed, adding another layer of data collection. Learn more about surveys here: https://participedia.net/method/surveys.

The radio topics, changing weekly, were based on four core research questions focusing on Siaya County's performance in implementing the Annual Development Plan, access to water, healthcare, governance, and public participation. Each week's questions were intentionally open-ended to encourage deeper engagement and discussion. These methods and tools were selected based on their theory of change: to create inclusive, mediated public spaces where citizens and authorities could meaningfully interact, thereby generating actionable insights for policy development and fostering accountability.

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

During the radio shows, hosts shared citizen responses with government experts featured in each segment, creating direct communication between the public and decision-makers. For example, in Week 1, which focused on citizen perceptions of county performance on the 2018-19 Annual Development Plan (ADP), the guest speakers were the heads of finance and budget planning.

They addressed citizen concerns and provided feedback on important issues raised by participants. This helped connect the government’s responses to the topics citizens found most important.

Each week had a different theme and involved open-ended questions to encourage wide participation. Week 1 focused on citizen perceptions of the county’s ADP performance. Week 2 discussed access to water, covering issues like availability and infrastructure. Week 3 explored health, looking at service delivery and accessibility in the county. Week 4 returned to public participation in the ADP process, allowing for a deeper conversation about how citizens engage with governance. Guest speakers, chosen for their expertise in the weekly themes, made the discussions more relevant and informative.

After the radio shows ended, Africa’s Voices followed up by sending SMS surveys to participants. These surveys asked four questions to learn more about how citizens engaged with the radio programs. This additional step helped gather feedback on the process, assess the impact of the discussions, and identify areas to improve future participatory initiatives. The SMS and overall study feedback was shared with Siaya County officials; all research materials were publicly distributed through Participedia.

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

Influence

The interactive radio series encouraged significant citizen engagement, with 2,296 people sending in 5,490 messages during the four-week period. Most participants took part in at least one show, and 36 individuals participated in all four. This shows that the radio program was an effective way to get citizens involved in discussing important local issues like infrastructure, water, healthcare, and public participation [1]. Thus, the process did have its intended effect by collecting a large amount of feedback from county residents.

Outcomes

The radio discussions provided important insights into how citizens felt about the county’s performance. In terms of infrastructure, 41.7% of participants expressed dissatisfaction, while 81.1% of those who gave positive feedback also mentioned infrastructure. Overall, 92% of people were unhappy with the county’s performance in the 2018-19 ADP [1] . On access to water and sanitation, 86% of participants felt the county did not perform well, mainly due to poor supply and distribution, as well as unfinished projects. Citizens also raised concerns about the Siaya-Bondo Water and Sanitation Company. Regarding healthcare, 62% of people were worried about the lack of improvement in the availability of drugs and equipment. In terms of public participation, 42% of participants believed it was working but felt it needed to involve more people and have better consultation and listening processes [1].

Effects

The study found that the interactive radio dialogue significantly increased many citizens’ trust in the Siaya County government’s ability to serve their interests, with about 77 % of participants reporting improved trust and feeling more included in decision-making processes as a result of the pilot [1]. However, some participants remained skeptical about whether their input would influence real policy decisions, showing that enhanced inclusion did not uniformly translate into deeper trust or officials’ substantive responsiveness.While the feedback didn’t directly impact the government’s policies immediately, the study informed the community about key governance issues and gave citizens a way to share their opinions on the county’s performance. This feedback could help guide future county decisions and improve services. Citizens clearly value public participation and want to be more involved in decision-making. The discussions also highlighted the power of interactive media, like radio, to connect citizens directly with local officials and hold them accountable.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

Analysis

The follow-up questions sent to participants after the radio shows revealed that a large majority (77.2%) of those who responded felt more included in decision-making after participating in the discussions. This sense of inclusion was stronger among participants who engaged in more than one show. Many participants noted that the radio series helped them understand public participation better, as they often miss opportunities to give their opinions in other settings.

Furthermore, 78.5% of respondents felt that the radio shows provided them with useful information about how the government makes decisions, with transparency being a key factor. These participants appreciated that public discussions allowed them to better understand the county government’s actions. However, a significant minority (21.5%) did not feel the radio shows improved their understanding of government processes. These individuals pointed to the lack of adequate civic awareness, particularly around the Annual Development Plan (ADP), as a reason for their limited understanding [1].

Lessons Learned

A key lesson learned from the radio shows is that interactive platforms like this can effectively increase citizens' sense of involvement in governance, as demonstrated by the large percentage of participants who felt more included in decision-making. Transparency and open dialogue helped build trust, with 77.2% of respondents saying the discussions increased their trust in the Siaya County government. However, there is still a need for better civic education, especially on technical aspects like the ADP, to ensure that all citizens fully understand the processes being discussed. The findings suggest that regular interactive radio shows can foster stronger relationships between the government and citizens, but ongoing efforts to raise civic awareness are essential for maximizing the impact of these programs [1].

These findings are consistent with evidence from other participatory radio initiatives documented on Participedia and in Africa’s Voices’ broader work, which similarly show that interactive radio can expand inclusion, lower barriers to participation, and shape citizens’ perceptions of government responsiveness [2][3]. For example, participatory efforts such as the Women’s Radio Listening Groups in Kenya show that radio programming that incorporates listener feedback and localized content can empower historically marginalized groups to access information about rights and services and to voice collective concerns, even where official responsiveness varies [2]. Similarly, Africa’s Voices’ interactive radio approach across governance and accountability projects in Kenya and Somalia has repeatedly been described as creating inclusive forums where citizens’ insights directly inform public discourse and provide decision makers with actionable citizen-generated data, helping to foster trust when authorities engage with that input but also illustrating that deeper civic education is needed to translate dialogue into full understanding and sustained institutional change [3].

See Also

References

[1] Srinivasan, S., Diepeveen, S. et al, Public participation and social accountability in Kenyan counties: A pilot study using interactive radio in Siaya, December 2019, Africa’s Voices Foundation. https://www.africasvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AVF_CGHR_Siaya_social_a ccountability_pilot_study-_final_report_Apr2020public.pdf

[2] Participedia. (n.d.). Women’s Radio Listening Groups in Kenya. Participedia. https://participedia.net/case/4949

[3] Africa’s Voices Foundation. (2022, February 13). World Radio Day: How Africa’s Voices harnesses radio to place citizens’ voices at the heart of development in Kenya and Somalia. https://www.africasvoices.org/2022/02/13/world-radio-day-how-africas-voices-harnesses-radio-to-place-citizens-voices-at-the-heart-of-development-in-kenya-and-somalia/

Notes

The first version of this case entry was written by Larissa-Bronte Agbor-Nkongho, a Master of Public Service candidate at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and then edited. The views expressed in the entry are those of the authors, editors, or cited sources, and are not necessarily those of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.