STRENGTHENING WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN PCVE AMONG STATE SECURITY AND JUSTICE INSTITUTIONS ACROSS COASTAL KENYA

Search for Common Ground
Founded in 1982, Search for Common Ground (Search) is an international non-governmental organization working to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies. Using innovative tools, Search seeks to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches, toward cooperative solutions. Headquartered in Washington DC, USA and Brussels, Belgium, Search is present in over 30 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, and Central South, and South-East Asia.

About the Project:

The project aims to strengthen women’s leadership in advancing P/CVE within state security and justice institutions across coastal Kenya, focusing on the coastal counties of Kilifi , Lamu, Tana River, and Kwale. The project targets the need for greater leadership of women in security and justice, recognizing that their perspectives and community influence are crucial for building trust and addressing the gender-specific drivers and impacts of VE. Women within the law enforcement and justice sectors will contribute to Kenya’s P/CVE strategy, thereby strengthening the capacity of state institutions to identify and respond to VE threats more effectively.

To realize that change, the project will contribute to three immediate outcomes:

a) Women in security and justice institutions have the knowledge, skills, and peer support to champion P/CVE efforts

b) Male leaders in security, justice, and target communities have increased awareness of gender-sensitive, human rights centered approaches and the value of women’s leadership in P/CVE efforts

c) Women in security and justice institutions have increased access to platforms and opportunities to exercise leadership in collaborative community-led P/CVE initiatives

In turn, these immediate outcomes will contribute to two Intermediate Outcomes:

i) Increased agency of women in leadership and decision-making roles in P/CVE within security and justice institutions

ii) Demonstrated effectiveness of women-led, inclusive P/CVE initiatives.

Collectively, these intermediate outcomes will contribute to the Ultimate Outcome of the initiative: strengthened women’s leadership in advancing P/CVE within state security and justice institutions across coastal Kenya.

Rapid Response Mechanism:

The rapid-response fund will provide targeted, ad-hoc support to address unforeseen needs, grievances, or emerging issues identified through conflict monitoring and Social Media Listening (SML) that could impact the success of the project. Support will be provided to grassroots actors including CBOs, local officials, women’s groups, etc., to respond to emerging tensions or urgent needs at the community level. This may include offering psychosocial support (PSS), ad hoc mediation, or responding to urgent needs before they escalate into broader challenges. The mechanism ensures timely and effective responses to potential risks or disruptions, reinforcing resilience and fostering trust in the project. The objectives of the rapid response mechanism are to;

● Enable rapid, flexible responses to emerging conflicts, grievances, and urgent needs identified through conflict monitoring, Social Media Listening (SML), preventing escalation and disruption of project activities.

● Support grassroots and local actors including CBOs, local authorities, and women’s groups to implement timely, context-specific interventions that address emerging tensions at the community level.

● Strengthen community resilience and trust in the project by providing targeted support such as psychosocial assistance, ad-hoc mediation, and other immediate actions that promote stability and social cohesion.

Methodology
Rapid response mechanisms will apply a flexible, conflict-sensitive, and community-driven approach to ensure timely and effective responses to emerging risks, tensions, and urgent needs identified through conflict monitoring and Social Media Listening (SML). The process will be done as follows;
a) The emerging issues will be identified through conflict monitoring, social media listening or reports from community structures.

b) Identified issues will be verified through consultations with relevant local stakeholders to confirm urgency, relevance, and potential impact on social cohesion or project implementation.

c) Based on the findings, Search will determine the appropriate response options. The response mechanism may include offering psychosocial support (PSS), ad hoc mediation, or responding to urgent needs as identified.

d) Implementation may also be done through local actors including CBOs, local officials, women’s groups, etc., to respond to emerging tensions or urgent needs at the community level.

FULL TERMS OF REFERENCE

Geographic Scope
The Rapid Response Fund will operate in the following counties
● Lamu County
● Tana River County
● Kilifi County
● Kwale County

Application criteria for local actors
Applicants seeking support through the rapid response fund must:
a) Be a recognized local actor such as a community-based organization (CBO), women’s group, youth group, informal community network, or local authority structure operating in the target area.
b) Demonstrate active engagement and trust within the community, particularly in areas affected by emerging tensions or urgent needs.
c) Show the ability to respond quickly and appropriately to emerging issues at the community level.
d) Have the basic capacity to manage small-scale activities and account for funds in a transparent manner.
e) Propose an intervention that directly responds to a verifi ed emerging issue or grievance.
f) Ensure the proposed response is inclusive, conflict-sensitive, and does not increase existing tensions.
g) Adhere to principles of do-no-harm and non-discrimination.
h) Not promote partisan political interests, hate speech, or sectarian agendas.
i) Be willing to coordinate with project staff and participate in basic monitoring, learning, and documentation processes related to the response.
j) Applications should include a concept note not more than 2 pages stating the problem, location, objectives and key activities which should be realistic and time bound, target beneficiaries segregated by age and gender, peace and security track record preferably in PCVE eff orts, budget and ‘do no harm’/risk considerations and mitigation strategies.

Priority will be given to the following: beneficiaries of Mwanamke Imara project, women-led networks affiliated with Mwanamke, youth and community members directly affected by identified conflict triggers, community peace structures working in collaboration with Mwanamke Imara beneficiaries.

All supported interventions must demonstrate clear leadership, coordination, or active involvement of Mwanamke Imara beneficiaries.

Eligible Rapid Response Actions
Eligible actions must be urgent, targeted, short-term, and directly linked to an identified risk or trigger, including but not limited to:
● Emergency community dialogues and mediation forums
● Rapid de-escalation and confidence-building meetings
● Women-led Counter terrorism efforts and peace messaging initiatives
● Psychosocial first aid and community healing sessions linked to PCVE
● Emergency coordination and referral meetings linked to early warning alerts
● Immediate actions that prevent confrontation or restore dialogue between conflicting groups
● Actions that address terrorism threats and violent extremism
● Actions that address barriers and stereotypes that challenge women in security and justice institutions from taking leadership roles in PCVE (these may include gender stereotypes, cultural barriers, institutional barriers, religious and economic barriers) .

All supported activities must be completed within a maximum of 30 days.

In-eligible Activities:
The Rapid Response Fund will NOT support:
● Security, military, or law enforcement operations
● Cash transfers to individuals
● Infrastructure or capital-intensive investments
● Political or partisan activities
● Activities that stigmatize or profile communities
● Activities that infringe on human rights
● Any action that violates safeguarding, PSEA, or Do No Harm principles

Funding Modality – Reimbursement-Based Approach
The Rapid Response Fund will operate strictly on direct payment basis:
1. Applicants implement approved rapid response actions using their own or mobilized resources.
2. After implementation, applicants submit:
o Brief activity report
o Original financial documents (receipts, invoices)
o Supporting evidence (attendance lists, payment list, receipts, invoices photos, minutes, etc.)
3. Documentation is reviewed by Search for Common Ground, and carries out processing and disburses reimbursement upon approval.
4. Funding limit will depend on the nature of the response, and will range up to KES150,000. Search will review and determine the amount to support each request based on the relevance of the eligibility criteria.

No advance payments will be issued under this mechanism.

Ad hoc Committee
● Search will coordinate with partners in receiving and reviewing applications.

● Ad hoc committee will meet to address urgent applications within 24 hours of receipt

● Information received will be verified through conflict monitors and stakeholders.

Safeguarding, Monitoring, and Learning
All supported actions must adhere to safeguarding, PSEA, and Do No Harm principles. Minimum reporting includes:
● Brief narrative and outcomes
● Sex- and age-disaggregated beneficiary data
● Immediate results and lessons learned
● Complete documentation for reimbursement

Learning will inform ongoing Mwanamke Imara programming and county peacebuilding strategies. Implementation will run through February to September 2026.

Applications by local actors should consist of a concept note detailing the statement of the problem, proposed activities and objectives which should be realistic and time bound , the schedule of the activities/workplan, budget plan for each proposed activity, location, target beneficiaries segregated by age and gender, previous work in peace building, and ‘do no harm/risk considerations and mitigation strategies.

Applications should be sent through kenyaprocurement@sfcg.org

The rapid response will be on a rolling basis during the implementation of the project.
Women centred/ women led initiatives will be given priority in the selection process.