Institute For Public Policy And International Affairs

Institute For Public Policy And International Affairs - IPPIA

Overview:

The Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IPPIA) at USIU-Africa envisions providing technical assistance and capacity building support for regional, national and local governments. The Institute’s mission will be to improve and transform governance through innovation, research, technical assistance, and training.

To achieve these, the Institute will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach aimed at training high calibre personnel for quality service delivery at local, national and regional levels, with particular reference to the expanded East Africa Region- Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. In this regard, the Institute will adopt an integrative approach that draws on the synergies and wealth of intellect and experience in other schools at USIU and beyond.

The Institute envisages rendering its services far beyond Kenyan boundaries. It is noteworthy that the expanded East African Community has by and large adopted the strategy of devolved governance. Indeed, most of the countries like the newly independent South Sudan already have county governments. The Institute, therefore, seeks to extend its services to such countries both in structuring and capacity building. This proposition is in line with the East African Treaty which seeks to harmonize various governmental services within and amongst member states.

USIU-Africa on the other hand combines the best in Business Management, Information Technology and Social Sciences. It is from these high calibre professionals, who combine both academia and field experience that shall provide the desired teaching capacity. The vibrant multiracial and multicultural student community provides a market ready pool of research assistants to undertake given assignments.

Closer home, the inclusion of devolved government in Kenya’s newly promulgated constitution provides ample opportunities for capacity building and research. Devolved governance portends reliance on qualified human resources to continuously expand their influence, local services delivery and resource base. The Institute shall therefore strategically position itself as a preferred choice for research and capacity building in all of the 47 Counties in dealing with issues of national importance like: transparency and government accountability, inspiring public trust, emergency preparedness, urban policy, refugees, the environment and immigration matters, amongst others. The Institute will seize opportunities for commissioned or/and initiated applied research, surveys, seminars and short term consultancies in the furtherance of its stated mission

Through partnerships and alliances with likeminded institutions of higher learning, research centres, groups and individuals, the Institute will work to establish and enhance quality service outputs and pool requisite human and financial resources. For the first three years of existence, however, the Institute will rely on USIU-Africa and other collaborators for financial support as it gains foothold and recognition for the execution of its mandate. This document outlines the rationale and investment for the establishment of the Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at USIU-Africa.

1. JUSTIFICATION:

The objective of the Institute for Public Policy & International Affairs is to provide technical assistance and capacity building on government services at the; regional, national and local government levels.

A survey of the curriculum in institutions of higher learning in this region show that they do not offer tailored training on governmental services. Instead, government departments tend to conduct out-sourced short-term seminars and workshops for their staff. Graduates from local and other universities working in the civil service often find that they require focused training on government services in order to deliver on their performance targets and deal with emerging challenges in the workplace. In view of the social and political changes taking place in Kenya and in other countries in the region, there is need for a long term and systematic training on government services to enable effective harmonised government services and citizen participation at the respective national devolved levels.

To address the existing and emerging gap, IPPIA shall focus on designing training programs that will offer a platform for government administrators, NGO’s, students and devolved funds managers to offer transparent leadership in transforming key governance functions in their areas of operation.

2. ACADEMIC INSTRUMENTS

IPPIA shall provide training programs that will offer recognized academic and professional certification in various government services at different designated levels. Resources will be oriented towards creating human capital necessary to enable achievement of respective regional national strategic plans like Kenya’s Vision 2030; on social, economic and political pillars. The Institute will deliver training in ways that build on the learner’s experience and working knowledge. Fresh graduates will benefit from a wide array of case studies and mentorship programs to enable them apply innovative solutions to challenges that they encounter in the workplace.

2.1 Profile of the intended clientele
Training programs at IPPIA will benefit persons in the workplace who may not have gone through mainstream academic education for the work they are executing. Included too in this category are those who are working in sectors like the NGO or government. Clientele to be served by the Institute also takes cognizance of states emerging from conflict situations, and are desirous of deploying nationals in various work places. IPPIA will also serve persons who intend to pursue government service as a professional career, as well as researchers in policy and strategic studies. To achieve this IPPIA proposes to avail training and research opportunities to these categories of people in the region. More detailed target qualification criteria will be drawn up in response to need.

2.2 Curriculum and training
Curricula shall be developed and tailored to meet different academic needs and competence. To add credence to the academic work being undertaken, IPPIA shall work hand-in-hand with the department of International Relations at USIU in training and the award of Certificate, Diploma and Degree.

2.3 Governance
With the establishment of County governance in Kenya and other East African Community member countries, IPPIA shall be at the forefront of knowledge dissemination and capacity building for strengthening of key systems for streamlined devolved governance. Focus areas in this regard, will include but not limited to:

2.3.1 Transparency & Accountability

Induction and skills upgrading for Foreign Service officials
Capacity building for both national and local government officers
Strengthening leadership and team development in county and national organizations
Financial management (Government Financial Manual)
Procurement and stock control
Government Rules and Regulations (Government Manual)
Cross-cutting strategies for enhanced transparency and accountability
Improving organizational structures in local government
Conducting and monitoring elections

2.3.2 Citizen participation

1) Sharpening government service delivery to citizens
2) Increasing organizational efficiency
3) Community Based Conflict Management and Peace Building programmes
4) Legal and ethical issues in governmental service delivery
5) Civic Education

2.3.3 Natural Resource Management & Emergency Preparedness

Trans-boundary conservation of biodiversity
Climate Change in the broad and specific context of Environmental Conservation

2.3.4 Urban policy

Urban transport
Rural urban migration and the effects
Best practices in urban settlement
Solid waste management
Shelter and slum upgrading
Security of tenure
Crime and security

2.4 Applied Research and Dissemination of Knowledge
IPPIA shall provide the research framework and opportunity for students pursuing their Master and Doctorate degrees. This will include research findings publication, workshops, seminars, media briefings and publicity.

In carrying out this broad mandate, IPPIA shall rely on the multidisciplinary human resource resident in USIU-Africa and also work with local and international partners for broader scope and benchmarking.

2.5 Peace building and conflict mediation
IPPIA will be a repository of knowledge and best practices in peace building and conflict mediation in Kenya and the region. In relation to this, the main thrust of all interventions and capacity building efforts will dwell primarily on:-

Peace and conflict studies with focus on indigenous solutions
Negotiation and mediation
Humanitarian intervention

3. PARTNERSHIPS & SUSTAINABILITY
USIU-Africa has a good tradition of establishing and working with partnerships. The Department of International Relations for instance, has established good working relations with:

The Kenya Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affair
The Foreign Service Institute
The Kenya Institute for Administration
The Institute of Diplomatic Studies, University of Nairobi
Michigan State University, Lansing, Michigan
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama - Centre for Governmental Services
Alabama State University
Secretary of State, Montgomery, Alabama - Director of Elections
United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC
African American Institute, New York,
Bradford University, United Kingdom - School of Peace Studies
The British Council
Aalborg University, Denmark - Dept. of History, International and Social Studies

IPPIA continues to seek collaboration and partnerships both local and international as it strives to consolidate its base in terms of sustainable resource mobilization, capacity, research, projects and programs implementation in an on-going process of the Institute’s benchmarking of its quality outputs.
For sustainability, the Institute shall mobilize resources from various sources in accordance with projects and programmes offered. These shall include but not limited to:-

Tuition fees levied from proposed programmes
Short to long term consultancies for training and research
Grants from foundations and corporations
Government (regional, national, counties, other levels as stipulated by country specific framework or constitutions)
Conferences/conventions/workshops/seminars etc.
Sale of publications/periodicals
Annual subscriptions from members
Commissioned or initiated research/projects/programmes
Project; formulation, implementation, supervision or/and evaluation
Student study trips

4. STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTE
The Institute shall be comprised of the Institute Director, Research Associates and Visiting Research Fellows, supported by a Programme Administrator, Office Assistant and Research Assistants as depicted below:

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Institute Director

The Director shall serve as the link person between the institute, its stakeholders and the University Management. The Director oversees the administrative and programme activities.

Research Associates

There shall be Research Associates drawn from faculty as so determined from time to time. Together with the Director, the Research Associates shall be responsible for the implementation of the mandate of the institute. Each research fellow shall be in charge of a specific area of operation/interest. H/She shall be expected to mentor upcoming research assistants and/or internship students. Time dedication will be governed by seasonal task allocation.

Visiting Research Fellows

To enrich and bench-mark the work of the Institute, Visiting Research Fellows shall be hosted from likeminded institutions, both local and overseas.

Programme Administrator

The Programme Administrator shall be responsible or coordination of all aspects of the Institute and serve as the focal point on all administrative matters of the institute and scheduling of all activities. This is a full time position, and the holder of this office should possess a Master’s degree in a relevant field. The position shall be resourced competitively.

Office Assistants

The Office Assistants, who shall be competitively hired, will be responsible for clerical matters and front office duties of the Institute. These too shall be fulltime positions and the incumbents will be responsible for everyday running of the Institute.

Research Assistants/Interns

The Institute shall provide mentoring and internship opportunities for research faculty and students. They shall be assigned to specific associate director/research fellows in the actualization of this goal.

This organogram shall be open-ended and thus, capable of accommodating innovations.

Prof. Martin Njoroge, Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) (mcnjoroge@usiu.ac.ke)
Dr. Moses Onyango (onyangom@usiu.ac.ke)
Willsmith Ngare (ngarewillsmith@gmail.com)

Experts Consultative Forum on the role of the Non-Aligned Movement in Peace and Security in Eastern Africa School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Background

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum that is not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the NAM was established in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia through the initiative of President of Yugoslavia, President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, President of Indonesia Sukarno, and President of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah.

The organization consists of 120-member states, including the non-UN member state of Palestine, as well as 17 other observer countries and 10 observer organizations. Approximately, two-thirds of the United Nations' members are represented at the Non-Aligned Movement, and they comprise 55% of the world's population. NAM operates on the ten (10) Bandung principles, including respect for the sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of all states; rejection of the possibility of an unconstitutional change of government, as well as external attempts to change the regime of government; the preservation of the inalienable right for each state is free, without interference from outside, to determine its political, social, economic and cultural system; refrain from aggression and direct or indirect use of force; non-application of any unilateral economic, political or military measures.

The Eastern Africa Experts Forum on the role of the Non-Aligned Movement is an event associated with the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) scheduled to take place in Kampala in January 2024. The Forum is convened by the Institute for International Affairs and Public Policy (IPPIA)-USIU Africa, Social Innovation Africa (SIA), the University of Nairobi, and Entrepreneurial Forum for Peace and Development (EFPD) in Ethiopia with support endorsement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, the host of the 19th NAM Summit and the Intergovernmental organization on Development (IGAD).

Rationale
From a geopolitical perspective, China, the world’s second-leading economy, has a population of about 1.4 billion. The USA, which remains the world’s leading economy, has a population of 334 million. The 27 members of the European Union have a total population of about 447 million (excluding 68 million in the UK). Russia’s population stands at 146 million; for Brazil, it is 214 million; and that of India stands at about 1.35 billion. These countries and major blocs are jostling to play a leading role in reconfiguring the emerging multipolar world.

While in Africa, the most advanced economy remains that of South Africa, with a population of 60 million people; whilst the population of the largest economy, Nigeria, is estimated to be 212 million. The next economy in size, Egypt has a population of 104 million; similarly, the population of Ethiopia stands at 118 million, and that of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is about 93 million. Currently, the population for all of the continent of Africa stands at close to 1.4 billion. Whilst population size does provide the possibility to take advantage of economies of scale, this might be possible only if it is not at variance with development and economic performance. As such, the demographic profile and corresponding economic indicators need further disaggregation to fully appreciate the implication for Africa and its role in global politics. For instance, what are the consequences for the continent of the youth bulge if no deliberate policy interventions are made to take advantage of the opportunities it presents?

What is apparent is that African countries occupy the lowest ranks for most socio-economic and development indicators. Generally, African countries individually and collectively have underperformed in economic and developmental terms, and concerning democratic governance, whatever parameters one chooses to use. The implication in geostrategic terms is that Africa is yet to matter in the international political economy except as a source of cheap natural resources and a market for overpriced products that most often it cannot afford. Africa suffers from the paradox of substantial natural resource endowments; enormous agricultural potential and a dynamically youthful population yet registers poorly on almost all indexes of sustainable development mainly because of the absence of democratic and accountable governance in most states.

Given Africa’s heavy reliance on natural resources for economic performance and its late start on the development path, closer coordination on a broad range of policies that drive economic growth and development becomes imperative if its abysmal performance this far is to be reversed. Improving Africa’s economic and governance performance becomes a mutually reinforcing process for guaranteeing the prosperity and well-being of its citizens. For Africa’s geopolitical and economic prospects to change, integration and the creation of an acceptable form of supranational governance mechanism become imperative. Amongst the precondition for acquiring the capabilities to deliver peace and stability for Africa’s citizens is good governance that creates the possibility for developing capable states.

It is in recognition of the urgency of the situation that the African Union has elaborated an ambitious plan to achieve the Pan-African vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.” These ideals and goals are encapsulated in Agenda 2063. The African Union recognizes that to progress on its Agenda 2063; it must first achieve peace, security and stability. It also appreciates that one of the main reasons for the widespread violent conflicts on the continent is the exploitation of poor governance and local grievances by internal and external actors. The absence of robust governance and accountability institutions explains, to a large extent, Africa’s chronic instability and inability to deliver public goods to most of its citizens.

This appreciation informs many of the AU Assembly’s decisions regarding the emerging African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). Similarly, the activities of the African Governance Architecture (AGA), while complementary to APSA, are also fundamental to ensuring and guaranteeing the minimum conditions for democratic governance, which is more appropriate for providing the requisite investment climate and security for African citizens.

While the AU puts the governance agenda at the Centre of resolving its numerous socio-economic, political, and peace and security challenges, the continent remains, with large swathes such as the Sahel, West and Central Africa, as well as the Horn, mired in violent conflict and instability.

In view of increased South-South Cooperation, NAM provides a unique platform for collaboration on the political level. This forum will explore the opportunities for engagement with NAM in the Eastern Africa region which is affected by conflicts and instability in a number of countries. The experts drawn from the academia, government circles and civil society will provide an analysis of the distinct opportunities and challenges in the region for enhanced cooperation with the NAM and its member states.

Objective
The primary objective of the Eastern African Experts Forum is to gather insights and recommendations from diverse stakeholders in preparation for the 19th NAM Summit in Kampala in January. The forum aims to deliberate on the dynamic role NAM can play in the contemporary polarized international political system and specifically in Eastern Africa.

Specific Objectives

Examine the current status of NAM and its members states in engaging and supporting regional initiatives on peace and security.
Provide a forum for academia, government experts and civil society and make recommendations for their respective countries ahead of the forthcoming NAM Summit

Expected Outcomes:

Innovative solutions and best practices shared for addressing glocal changes with a focus on peace and security in the Eastern Africa region.
Increased awareness and commitment of the interlinkages of peace and security matters to the entire NAM Community.
Establishment of a mechanism of consultations between experts and practioners of the Eastern Africa on NAM engagements in Peace and security in the region.

Expected Output

A published report of the proceedings and recommendations to be disseminated during the 19th NAM Summit.

Methodology
The workshop will include information sharing through expert presentations and dialogue sessions. It is expected to be interactive and participatory. The forum will bring together 20 experts from academia, government, civil society, and the private sector. Representatives of the governments of the IGAD /EAC region will be invited to attend through their respective diplomatic missions accredited to the Republic of Kenya.

The Keynote address will be made by the Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda and a representative from IGAD Peace and Security Department will present the IGAD/CEWARN 2023 State of Conflict in the Region Report. An Expert intervention shall also be made on the current conflict dynamics in the EAC and a presentation will be delivered of the role of the NAM in supporting regional peace and security initiatives

Logistical Arrangements
The organizers will provide local transport and meals at the venue for all participants. Air tickets and any related allowances will be covered under specific arrangements between the organizers and the participants/resource persons.

Location/Venue
USIU-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

Strategic Communication in Diplomacy: A Media Training Workshop School of Humanities and Social Sciences