Gender Responsive Monitoring and Evaluation of Devolution Policy Harmonization Programs in Kenya: A Conceptual Study

Abstract

This conceptual research paper examines the imperative breakdown in converting Gender-Responsive Monitoring and Evaluation (GRM&E) into Kenya devolution policy harmonization initiatives. It postulates that the constant gender disparities at the county-level are explained by systematic exclusion of a gender lens in intergovernmental systems designed to harmonize national and county policies in such a way that these coordination systems ultimately became complicit in reinforcing inequality. The study uses a conceptual design that integrates both GRM&E theorization and an institutional analysis of the Kenya devolution policy harmonization architecture, incorporating some particular programs, such as the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP) and the Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP). The study breaks down the process of how harmonization processes embrace gender-evasive measures through critical evaluation of policy documents, joint sector review reports, and program evaluations. The major finding indicate that instruments including intergovernmental performance contracting, conditional grant schemes, and platforms like the electronic County Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation System (e-CIMES) do not use mandatory gender-sensitive indicators, whereas platforms like the e-CIMES platforms have been demonstrated to be ceremonial, with 34% of counties not complying with indicators reporting. The study concludes that harmonization which is supposed to promote coherence, instead institutionalizes gender inequity in cases where its fundamental accountability instruments are not gender responsive. It advocates a fundamental change in the ways of harmonizing instruments by requiring performance agreements to integrate gender sensitive indicators and developing capacity of oversight bodies to consistently mandate and use gendered evidence. The contribution of this study is a new practically applicable framework in which GRM&E can be integrated into the actual circuitry of intergovernmental relations with gender equality as the quantifiable, non-negotiable component of a truly harmonized and equitable devolved state.