Enhancing Transparency and Data Access: KAP-FD Launches New Public Dashboard and Report
Team members discussing the findings of the first wave of the panel survey during the launch of the report in Nairobi, August 2024.
The Kenya Analytical Program on Forced Displacement (KAP-FD) launched a public data dashboard to make displacement and socioeconomic data more accessible.
In this impact story, Mansi Kalra, Senior Research Associate at CEGA, details how new advancements on the KAP-FD project leverage transparent, accessible tools to build connections with policymakers. This story was also supported by CEGA Intern Abdallatieph Sabbagh.
In a significant step towards advancing transparent and evidence-based decision-making, the Kenya Analytical Program on Forced Displacement (KAP-FD) has launched a new public data dashboard and accompanying report that makes displacement and socioeconomic data more accessible, enhances accountability, and supports informed policy development in Kenya. With this dashboard, policymakers and humanitarian organizations can improve the livelihoods of displaced people and foster socio-economic inclusion between refugees and host communities.
Kenya hosts over 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers, making it the fifth largest refugee-hosting country in Africa (UNHCR). Long-standing gaps in access to vital data have hindered the design and efficiency of targeted, policy solutions. KAP-FD fills this evidence gap by providing multi-year insights from panel data that is being collected in the Kakuma, Kalobeyei, and Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya.
“It’s critical that we create public goods like the KAP-FD dashboard that not only promote transparency in the social sciences but also have clear linkages to policy,” said Edward Miguel, CEGA Faculty Co-Director and Co-Principal Investigator on the KAP-FD project.
The new dashboard offers insights on 6,000 refugee and 3,500 national households, covering key areas such as employment, mental health, housing, food security, and education. With open access to data, citizens, NGOs, and international bodies can actively engage with and monitor the progress of interventions aimed at addressing the needs of displaced populations. This is especially important in Kenya, where refugees often reside in resource-constrained settings, and public access to reliable data is critical for driving informed and coordinated actions.
Empowering Stakeholders with Data
Members of the KAP-FD team were invited to present findings from these tools to the Government of Kenya’s Department of Refugees at a recent policy research forum. The forum aimed to strengthen linkages between policymakers and researchers and to discuss policy aimed at enhancing the livelihoods and self-sufficiency of both refugees and hosts.
“KAP-FD is building the bridge between research and policy during a critical time when displacement is higher than ever and policymakers need data-driven, sustainable solutions,” said Precious Zikhali, Senior Economist at the World Bank and Co-PI on KAP-FD.
The KAP-FD fosters collaboration between stakeholders in the forced displacement space in Kenya. Following the successful report launch in August 2024, KAP-FD was invited to participate in a panel at an event organized by the Kenya Evidence Platform (KEP) in September 2024. The event focused on the role of donors in the localization of research. The Kenya Evidence Platform is formed by the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), Maseno University and the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH). A month later, the KEP invited Precious Zikhali, as a member of the advisory board, to make comments at the launch of the Forced Migration Research Network of Kenya (FOMREK).
The team was also invited to the RE:Build Symposium in Nairobi, hosted by the International Rescue Committee and the IKEA Foundation, to present analytical work and key policy recommendations. In particular, the presentation highlighted how KAP-FD can inform Kenya’s Shirika Plan. This multi-year initiative aims to transform refugee camps into integrated settlements for both refugees and asylum seekers in an effort to bolster the socio-economic inclusion of displaced people.
Advancing the evidence ecosystem through the creation of clear policy linkages is an important priority for KAP-FD, and its work sets a strong example for how data can drive policy in the field of forced displacement.
KAP-FD is a joint effort between the Center for Effective Global Action, the World Bank, and UNHCR. KAP-FD is funded by the Government of the Netherlands through the Partnership for Improving Prospects for Host Communities and Forcibly Displaced Persons (PROSPECTS).