Endline Evaluation for the Kenya Evidence Platform Project (KEP)- ReDSS

## Who is the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat?

ReDSS is a secretariat working on behalf of 14 international and national NGOs responding to forced displacement in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region. ReDSS was established in 2015 in response to a desire by the NGO community to be more proactive in shaping durable solutions policy and programming in the region. Our team works both at regional and country level and focusses on the translation of evidence and research into policies and programmes that can better deliver for displacement-affected communities. This is achieved through a range of activities, including convening key stakeholders at multiple levels to build consensus around collective actions; supporting new evidence generation through commissioning and undertaking research and analysis; and building the capacity of key actors through delivering training and developing tools and guidance among others.

## Project Background

The Kenya Evidence Platform (KEP) was established in response to a persistent gap within the displacement sector: the limited visibility and uptake of refugee-led and locally grounded research within refugee policy and programming processes in Kenya. Funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the three-year initiative (2023–2026) operates at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, with a focus on strengthening locally driven evidence generation and use.

Implemented by a consortium comprising the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH), and Maseno University, KEP was launched during a significant period of policy transition in Kenya, including the implementation of the Refugee Act 2021 and the development and launch of the Shirika Plan. Within this context, the platform seeks to strengthen the role of refugee and Kenyan researchers in shaping evidence-informed approaches to refugee management and durable solutions.

KEP has supported a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening the refugee research ecosystem in Kenya. These include:

- Supporting refugee and Kenyan scholars to produce independent research papers and evidence products;
- Establishing and supporting the Forced Migration Research Network in Kenya (FOMREK) to strengthen coordination, mentorship, and collaboration among researchers;
- Conducting research trainings, coaching, and mentorship for emerging refugee and local researchers;
- Convening policy dialogues and engagement forums involving government, academia, humanitarian and development actors; and
- Producing and disseminating evidence products intended to inform refugee policy and programming in Kenya.

The platform primarily targets researchers with lived experience of displacement, Kenyan scholars, academia, policymakers, and actors involved in refugee policy and programming, particularly in Nairobi, Kakuma, and Dadaab.

Through these interventions, KEP aims to contribute to improved coordination around refugee research, increased availability and visibility of refugee-led evidence, stronger research capacity among emerging scholars, and more direct engagement between evidence producers and decision-makers within Kenya’s refugee management ecosystem.

## Purpose of the Consultancy

The primary purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a rigorous, utilization-focused endline evaluation. Given the absence of a formal baseline at project inception, the evaluation must serve three functions:

- **Accountability**: Verify the *extent* to which the project achieved its intended results per donor requirements as stipulated the Log Frame.
- **Baseline Reconstruction**: Create a retrospective "Proxy Baseline" to quantify the professional growth of researchers.
- **Learning**: Identify specific mechanisms that facilitated or hindered the "uptake" of refugee-led research in Kenyan policy and programmatic circles.

## Objective of the Consultancy

The specific objectives of the endline evaluation are:

- Assess Effectiveness & Impact: Determine the extent to which the platform increased the production of high-quality research by refugee and Kenyan scholars.
- Evaluate Policy and programmatic Influence: Trace the utilization of KEP evidence products (policy briefs, research papers, Evidence Mapping Report,) within government, humanitarian/development decision-making bodies and assess their influence (if any) of programme designs by non-governmental actors.
- Reconstruct Capacity Trajectories: Measure the change in technical research skills and professional networking among the 1st-time authors supported by the project compared to a non-treatment group.
- Analyse Systemic Localization: Evaluate the project’s contribution to increased visibility, credibility, and use of refugee-led and locally grounded research actors within Kenya’s refugee research and policy ecosystem.
- Provide Strategic Recommendations: Offer actionable insights for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and consortium par