Regional focus: Eastern Africa / Kenya
Time: March – December 2025
Abstract:
This research project will evaluate citizen participation in decision-making for health in Kenya. Citizen participation in government decision-making has been widely promoted as a method for improving health. Participatory institutions, such as Participatory Budgeting (PB), have spread rapidly based on claims to improve decision-making and promote collective action. The research will test hypotheses on participation and public health by randomly assigning PB to 200 villages in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya in conjunction with my local partners, Innovations for Poverty Action-Kenya (IPA Kenya). These villages used PB to propose and select health projects beginning in 2021 whereas the county’s remaining 1800 villages did not. The research will compare health outcomes in the treatment group villages from before the intervention to after (2017-2025) as well as to health outcomes in the county’s remaining villages. These analyses evaluate participatory institutions for health while addressing concerns for endogeneity that hinder previous analyses. In turn, the results from this experiment will inform theory and practice surrounding public participation for health around the world.
Research Questions:
- To what extent does participatory governance influence health outcomes in rural, low-income contexts?
- Does participatory budgeting (PB) influence infant mortality?
- What kinds of PB programs are most conducive to improving health?
Researchers:
- Michael Touchton, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Miami
- Team from Innovations for Poverty Action – Kenya
This research project aims to directly support ICLD’s Network for Equitable Health.
Call for Proposal: