In Nairobi, Act!, with support from the Embassy of Denmark in Kenya and State Department for Gender, convened a three-day Design and Induction Workshop with Polycom Girls under the Women, Peace & Security (WPS) Programme. The workshop brought together Programme, MERL, Communications and Grants teams to co-create a locally grounded project that responds to the realities, priorities and peace and security challenges facing women and communities in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
The clinic moved beyond broad commitments to interrogate the evidence behind women’s participation, conflict and safety concerns, and accountability gaps; and translate these findings into a practical programme design.
A key focus was ensuring that the Nairobi intervention responds to the specific dynamics of informal settlements, while contributing to the broader ambition of strengthening women’s meaningful participation in peace and security governance. The design process also considered assumptions, risks, dependencies and the evidence required to track whether interventions are translating into meaningful change.
The workshop also strengthened shared understanding of the systems needed to deliver the programme effectively; from MERL tools and reporting requirements to grant management, financial compliance, branding, communications and organisational capacity strengthening.
📌 Key takeaways:
Effective WPS programming should be grounded in evidence, focused on meaningful change, designed for practical implementation, supported by strong accountability systems, and responsive to the realities, priorities and capacities of women and communities.
The clinic concluded with a shared action matrix and coordination arrangements, laying the groundwork for accountable, evidence-driven and locally grounded implementation of the WPS Programme in Nairobi.
The ambition is clear: turn evidence into action, strengthen women’s voice and influence, and build more inclusive approaches to peace and security governance in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
