The Stated Objectives of The Project Were:
- Country-wide and county-specific network analysis in six counties
- Assess the existing systems, communities, and actors
- Visualize the existing networks, service providers and actors supporting cooperatives
- Increase feedback, dialogue and collaboration among cooperatives, service providers, businesses, government, etc.
- Inform how CDP partners and others can use their strengths to improve the system
To discover ways to insert programming that supports capacity building within cooperative organizations, CDP partners sought to understand the relationships between new and established cooperative entities in Kenya.
CDP partners launched the Ushirika Hub using ROOT CHANGE’S Participatory Network Mapping Platform (Pando). Mapping coalesced information from 6 counties in Kenya where CDP partners have been working, with each organization focusing on two counties.
What is Pando? Participatory Social Network Analysis. Pando leverages web-based relationships surveys to identify diverse organizations within a system and track how relationships change over time. Network maps are automatically generated and visualize the organizations, relationships and communities within the system. Analysis tools apply filters and analysis tools to discover key actors areas of collaboration and influence. Tutorials and survey questions make it possible to collect feedback, benchmark results and report back to system actors.
Target Counties included, Meru, Laikipia, Nairobi, Kirinyaga, Nandi, Kisumu. The three organizations also held two sets of events to encourage stakeholder participation. The first were launch events in September-October 2019 to “explain” Ushirika Hub and gather stakeholder inter-relationship data. The second set of events referred to as “Meaning Making” events were hosted January-February 2020 to share the results of the first events and to learn more about the quality of relationships and barriers to cooperative participation. CDP partners hosted 11 different events across 6 counties with an estimated total of 500 attendees.
“At the end of the day it is their system and their space. It’s their work, their reality.” said Pamela Kaburu, Global Communities Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. CDP partners hope to build a greater sense of community ownership for the cooperative sector in each county with Ushirika Hub.