Participatory Budgeting in Kenya

This report evaluates participatory budgeting programs in Kenya and provides recommendations to improve how the programs function.

The implementation of PB programs in three Kenyan counties is helping to build the foundations for accountability at the subnational level. The authors draw from a large survey of PB participants, a control group of non-PB participants, participant observation, and over 40 interviews with key stakeholders. The evidence points to several encouraging developments regarding citizens’ attitudes and their behaviors.

However, the authors also note that some of the results of our pilot evaluation are less encouraging and suggest that progress toward accountability through PB is not uniform. The policy note concludes with recommendations for specific policies and programmatic features that county governments could use to improve how these programs function.

Source: World Bank
Author information: Michael Touchton,
Brian Wampler

Year of publication: 2020