This year, the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) is seeking 10 self-sponsored graduates for its annual Young Professionals (YP) programme. Successful candidates will pay Sh207,146 for the programme targeting professionals with a master’s degree.
Applications for a similar programme that is Kippra-sponsored closed on April 21. The agency is accepting those aged 35 years and below.
For the self-sponsored, whose applications run up to May 18, the age limit is 40 years and below, and candidates should be knowledgeable in at least one statistical package such as R, Stata, SPSS, or EViews. Launched in 2003, the programme has been overseeing between 20 and 40 graduands yearly.
Kenyan public and private universities charge more than Sh500,000 and Sh1 million, respectively, for a master’s in public policy.
Public servants applying for the vacancies require an endorsement from the principal secretary, county secretary, and agency CEOs, who should identify the candidates and reveal their suitability for the programme. Non-Kenyans are eligible but require proof of a permit to live and study in Kenya.
Kippra is anchored in 12 divisions, namely macroeconomics, modelling, nutrition and dietetics, social sector, governance, and statistics. Others are the productive sector, trade and foreign policy, infrastructure and economic services, gender and special groups, and the private sector.
A top employer in Kenya, the agency has indicated that it does not guarantee employment upon completing the programme.
However, because the programme targets young professionals from both public and private sectors, a number of the applicants were possibly not joining the programme for employment at Kippra, but were eyeing the benefits of a top trainer that offers a more nuanced assessment of public policy.
The programme will be conducted on a full-time, in-person basis, combining classroom coursework with the production and publication of research outputs.
It will cover public policy-making processes, the legislative process, applied research methods, policy analysis tools, governance structures in a devolved system of government, monitoring and evaluation, macroeconomic modelling and forecasting, systems of national accounts, and an introduction to the Social Accounting Matrix.
For a successful completion, participants will be required to publish research outputs as part of academic and professional development framework.
“The objective of the YP Programme is to develop young professionals in public policy research and analysis and offer them an opportunity to gain on-the-job experience, expand their knowledge, leadership skills and build professional networks,” the agency says.
