Applying CLA for Effective Communications and Engagement with Kenyans

In 2018, MSI helped USAID/Kenya to create an ambitious road map to rewrite its five-year communications strategy in alignment with the new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). The road map product identifies five key steps or milestones and how they will be achieved, a product that can be customized for missions. Previous efforts were hampered by an endless barrage of events, a hierarchical clearance process, and low capacity among staff and implementing partners. Concurrently, the Mission grappled with communicating the priority placed on Kenyan-led and owned development, countering Russian and Chinese disinformation, and the sheer challenge of reaching 47.5 million citizens. USAID's Development Outreach and Communications (DOC) team, with support from MSI, recognized that it needed an approach that was more targeted and selective – particularly given the ever-present demands placed on an active Mission with a significant regional footprint in East Africa.

MSI, which implements the DOC Support contract, and the USAID/DOC team used the road map to lead a first-of-its-kind and novel communications strategy development process. We placed an emphasis on key elements of CLA, namely: 1) internal and external collaboration; 2) a theory of change; 3) pause and reflect; 4) openness; 5) relationships/networks; and 6) continuous learning/improvement.

What we discovered during the process was 1) the value of a truly collaborative process, 2) staff empowerment enriched by listening/learning/adapting and 3) the importance of capturing/sharing our work internally and with the larger USAID community. USAID/Kenya is now in a stronger position to communicate its development objectives, and, most importantly, engage Kenyans in genuine conversations about their development aspirations.