Behind the Scenes: Lessons Learnt from Developing a National Policy Framework on Internal Displacement in Kenya

This report is the result of a project commissioned by the Refugee Consortium of Kenya and the Dan- ish Refugee Council’s Great Lakes Civil Society Project, whose purpose was to capture and analyse the advocacy and engagement process that went into the preparation of the IDP Policy and Bill in Kenya. By highlighting the challenges and lessons learnt from the process, the outcome of the project should make a useful guide for discussions on advocacy strategies for forced migration policies at the regional and con- tinental level.
This report highlights a number of best practices based on the Kenyan experience. These best practices should serve as a guide to persons involved in policy development on forced migration within the region. Some of the best practices may also be applicable to policy development work in other sectors locally and regionally. The best practices identified from the process revolved around issues like: creation of a criti- cal mass of actors; establishment of a national coordination mechanism; strategies for resource mobili- sation; partnership with the government in the policy development process; adaptation of international protection benchmarks to suit local conditions; creation and utilisation of networks; timing of policy de- velopment processes; participation in the process; identification of institutional weaknesses and building the capacity of actors to boost their participation in the process; need for flexibility on policy development options; and use of local and external expertise. Based on these issues, the report offers a number of com- prehensive recommendations aimed at different actors.