The Disability Inclusion Index project is about co-creating, piloting, documenting and sharing a Disability Inclusion Public Participation Index in Kenya. This index will then be used to advocate and will be benchmarked at a National Disability Inclusion workshop. The participation index measures existing expertise and knowledge gaps within Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) and among Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), including the advocacy capacity of people and communities (assessing their confidence to participate), and negotiation practices necessary to influence. It also measures County Public Participation practices (such as communication, accommodation, information materials) and benchmarks inclusion against international best practices including recommendations on how to bridge exclusion gaps. Public participation is more than getting the opinion of DPOs or PWDs or any section of the community. Instead, true participation requires three elements: to be present (for PWDs this means accessibility and minimum accommodation, effective communication), to belong (the process is fun and the benefits of participation are well known), and to take part (engaged, informed).

Shifting advocacy gears from fragmented approaches to synergised networks 

A fragmented approach to advocacy beleaguered many of the DPOs (Disability Persons Organisations) working in the space. The Agency for Disability and Development in Africa (ADDA) project sought to co-create, pilot, document and share a Disability Inclusion Public Participation Index. It was then to create advocacy around the index and organise a national Disability inclusion and benchmarking workshop. The participation index was to measure existing expertise and knowledge gaps within DPOs and among PWDs, including the advocacy capacity of people and communities i.e. confidence to participate and negotiation practices necessary to influence change. It was also to measure County Public Participation practices (such   as communication, accommodation, information materials) and benchmark inclusion against international best practices with suggestions on how to bridge exclusion gaps. 

A key result has been commitment by the county government of Nakuru to make more efficient the process of getting views from PWDs regarding budgeting.  ADDA worked with the county government to mobilise PWDs to participate in public hearings on the budget. In  Nairobi, the county government undertook to  set up a  one stop  service delivery desk and improve physical accessibility, especially at their offices at City Hall Annexe, Nairobi. The county government of Makueni on the other hand developed a cabinet memo in 2019 to guide inclusion programmes in the county. 

“Through this process, we are now clear on which areas face deficiency and we can now lobby for enhanced budgetary allocation for our department and to enhance service delivery” Ms Jane Waruguru, the Deputy Director Gender, Education, Disability and Social Services 

The project also saw the establishment and strengthening of 6 networks of Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) in Nakuru, Nairobi, Kajiado, Makueni, Kwale and Kiambu Counties. These networks have started holding their respective county governments accountable in service delivery and inclusion in governance. In 2020, while the DPO Network in Kwale reviewed and submitted a memorandum regarding the Annual Development Plan (2020/2021), in Nairobi, the DPO Network developed and submitted a memorandum on the Nairobi PWD Amendment Bill. The  Network  in  Kajiado  engaged  the  County  Government  to  advocate  for inclusive  infrastructure  and  Civic  processes  while  in  Nakuru,  the  Network  gave an input on the PwD fund.  

ADDA identified  and is working with  3 strategic partners  to  pursue agendas on economic  empowerment (Vision  4  Youth Housing  Cooperative), advocacy for  inclusion (Sight for Relief Organisation) and mental health/ neurodevelopmental disabilities (Andy Speaks for Special Needs). In the end, ADDA developed and successfully launched a participation portal that would  enable  PwDs  to  access  information  and  contribute  to  activities  such  as legislation, budgeting and planning at the County level. 

ADDA employed the Analyse, Organize, Assert approach that provided self-introspection to help the county governments and DPOs to identify areas of strength and improvement. Based on this, actors were able to develop improvement plans while establishing structures and system. In terms of tools, ADDA used the Disability Inclusion and Equity Training (DIET) as a primary step to establish knowledge levels on matters related to inclusion. To establish the baseline on policy and practices affecting Disability Inclusion, ADDA used the Disability Inclusion Score Card (DISC) used in the different foums, focussing on 6 domains to develop action plans based on specific inadequacies that were identified. 

Three important changes have occurred as a result of this project intervention. First, DPOs are demonstrating greater cohesion and are pursuing joint advocacy initiatives. Second, county governments are more open to developing inclusion strategies the moment they understood and appreciated their internal challenges. Lastly, the online participation platform has demonstrated the potential and possibilities of convergence between county governments and DPOs. Makueni specifically, is considering using the platform to complement their one way SMS based platform as it allows for bi-directional communication 

One lesson learnt is that while projects are designed in a linear approach, social issues defy this logic and call for constant and systematic adjustments. In Kajiado, instead of departmental heads, the project worked with lower level staff to influence action at the higher levels. In Kwale, the team built the capacity of DPO networks to put pressure on the county government.