Research Papers

The IEA’s study on public procurement and loss of public funds is part of a larger global initiative on promoting civic engagement for open contracting.  “Open Contracting” is about publishing and using open, accessible and timely information on government contracting to engage citizens and businesses in identifying and fixing problems”. 

This study seeks to establish the status of pluralism in the private sector in Kenya by examining: efforts by players in the sector aimed at promoting pluralism; the nature of diversity management in the sector; the extent to which the sector has embraced or resisted efforts towards pluralism; and identification of trends, challenges and drivers of pluralism in the sector. The study also aims at facilitating a common understanding of pluralism among all stakeholders in the private sector. The findings provide a resource list for private sector organizations’ top leadership and
management to learn more about diversity management and pluralism, with the goal of optimizing their organization’s approach to diversity management, and the ultimate realization of pluralistic
workplaces.

The objective of this study is to create a foundation for quality service delivery in Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the County of Nakuru through the assessment of students’ satisfaction at polytechnics in the County. The study was designed for a thorough and detailed work to be conducted towards the development of an invaluable document not only for the target polytechnics and the County of Nakuru, but also for other polytechnics and educational institutions in Kenya. The outcome would therefore, be useful to TVET institutions in Kenya to continuously improve the quality of services rendered to students and enhance quality teaching and learning services delivered.

The periods that precede elections in Kenya have often been characterized by high intensity campaigns. As a consequence, greater focus during this period has mostly been on political communication that is unrelated to the real policy challenges that the country is faced with. Coupled with the recent history, this period causes anxiety to Kenyan citizens and economic actors who think that this pre-election period exposes Kenya’s fragility.

This discussion paper examines the roles of South Africa and Kenya as regional gateways for global value chains (GVCs) coordinated by multinational corporations (MNCs), and the obstacles small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face in entering those value chains, owing to the voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) enacted by MNCs. As SMEs play a significant role in the formal and informal sector, both of which are crucial to the two countries’, and their neighbours’, economies, integrating them successfully holds developmental gains.