Baseline Research Consultant

Role Overview

Siasa Place is seeking a Baseline Research Consultant to conduct a feasibility assessment and baseline study for a joint two-year project with The Alternative (ALT) focused on supporting youth political participation through county-level youth leagues and dialogue platforms in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The consultant will provide analytical input and baseline evidence to guide the project's Theory of Change, partnership framework, and risk mitigation strategy.

Specific Objectives and Analytical Focus

The consultancy aims to achieve the following interlinked objectives:

1. Assess the political and institutional feasibility of supporting youth political participation through county-level youth leagues and dialogue platforms.
2. Map key actors, networks, and stakeholders in Homa Bay, including political parties with active youth and women leagues, to identify potential partners, entry points, and enabling conditions for collaboration in Homa Bay.
3. Conduct a stakeholder and actor analysis to assess the organisational capacity, leadership structures, internal democratic practices, and the representation and participation of young women, marginalized youth, and persons with disabilities within youth wings of political parties, and to map relevant civil society organisations, youth networks, and government institutions.
4. Identify needs, motivations, and capacities and constraints among youth leagues and relevant youth-led organizations to guide realistic and context-sensitive project interventions.
5. Analyse community perceptions of youth and women in politics to inform the design of inclusive, trusted, and locally legitimate participation mechanisms.
6. Analyse gender- and inclusion-specific barriers to political participation, including social norms, institutional practices, and accessibility constraints affecting young women, marginalized youth, and youth with disabilities, and identify implications for inclusive project design.
7. Assess how Kenya’s evolving political context ahead of the 2027 general elections, including youth-led protests, shifting political alliances, and rising political tensions, creates both opportunities and risks for youth political engagement.
8. Provide input and baseline evidence and analytical input to Siasa Place (SP) and The Alternative (ALT) to support the joint development of a shared Theory of Change, partnership framework, and risk mitigation strategy for a scalable 2-year project rooted in local realities and youth perspectives.
9. Facilitate early engagement and trust-building among youth league representatives and local civic actors to ensure local ownership of the future pilot project.

Preliminary Project Outcomes to Assess

The study will assess the feasibility of achieving the following preliminary outcomes of a future partnership project:

• Youth league representatives actively collaborate across party lines and engage in interparty dialogue.
• Youth league leaders in Homa Bay demonstrate increased awareness and application of democratic and participatory practices within their own organisations.
• Youth in Homa Bay voice political priorities and concerns in dialogue forums, and youth leagues respond by engaging with young people participating in the forums.
• Siasa Place and The Alternative, together with local stakeholders, test and document approaches for youth participation and interparty dialogue, producing knowledge and recommendations for meaningful youth engagement at county level and for scaling up to a longer-term program.

Scope of Work

The Consultant's Scope of Work includes:

1. Conduct an extensive review of relevant literature (secondary data) related to youth and women’s political participation in political parties in Homabay and Kenya generally.
2. Develop an Inception Report with a clear methodology and data collection tools.
3. Proceed to the field (in Homabay county) to collect the required primary data through interviews and consultations with all the sampled stakeholders in the youth governance and political participation space.
4. Analyze the data, develop the baseline survey report addressing all the key data points and a commentary on the appropriateness (measurability) of the indicators in the outcome journal, and submit the draft to Siasa Place for review.

Required Competencies and Qualifications

Mandatory:

1. Solid experience in mixed methods research including designing and conducting baseline surveys in youth and governance programmes.
2. Extensive experience working in the youth governance sector, especially in capacity enhancement and advocacy programmes.
3. Knowledge and understanding of devolution and county government systems in Kenya.
4. Proficiency in report writing skills in English language.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of and experience in working in Homa Bay county will be an added advantage.
• A degree (BA/BSc/HND) in public policy, monitoring and evaluation, project management, political science or in a related field is an added advantage.