Building and reforming institutions: From technology transfer to policy networks

This chapter examines the experience of building and reforming public institutions in Kenya. It begins by pointing to the challenges of filling organizations with institutional content that is directed to serving the public interest. Although major reform efforts have been carried out in Kenya, not the least the devolution of power to county governments, the focus has continued to be on government and its hierarchy. The recognition in recent decades that problems are multi-faceted as well as complex and therefore are best solved in multi-layered and multi-stakeholder fashion needs to be given greater weight in any future discussion about institutional reforms in Kenya. This chapter discusses more specifically the role that policy networks already play and how its role may be expanded to serve as an alternative to a policy agenda that is exclusively set and carried out by government ministries and their subordinate bureaucratic agencies. The chapter has three takeaways: (a) strengthening collaborative policy networks, (b) empowering and enhancing local participation in problem-solving, and (c) inculcating integrity and professionalism as part of the reform menu.