Anchor Grantee for Foundational Learning & Numeracy (FLN) Advocacy – Kenya

Kenya has made significant progress in expanding access to education; however, foundational learning outcomes, particularly in numeracy, remain critically low, posing a serious risk to the country’s long-term human capital development, social cohesion, and economic transformation. National assessments show that only about 3 in 10 learners achieve proficiency in basic numeracy by Grade 3, with persistent disparities by geography, gender, and school type. More recent evidence confirms that many learners in upper primary grades continue to struggle with basic arithmetic, often compounded by low literacy comprehension.

Importantly, Kenya is not facing an evidence gap. The drivers of improved foundational learning outcomes are well established, and national priorities are clearly articulated in the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER) and the National Education Sector Strategic Plan (NESSP). These frameworks emphasize targeted interventions for literacy and numeracy, strengthened teacher capacity, improved assessment systems, and clearer operational guidance for early years education. The President’s formal assent to PWPER recommendations signals political openness to reform.

Yet a persistent challenge remains: the translation of evidence and political commitment into sustained policy prioritization, administrative uptake, and domestic financing, particularly in a context of shrinking education budgets, competing reform agendas, and political transition. The discontinuation of large-scale externally funded literacy programs has further underscored the urgency of stronger, nationally anchored civil society advocacy to sustain momentum for foundational learning.

Recent efforts under the Lighthouse Coalition (Numeracy Action Team) have played a critical role in supporting technical dialogue and government-led planning, including the development of a national numeracy roadmap. These efforts have also highlighted a complementary gap: the need for coordinated, disciplined, and public-facing civil society advocacy that can shape demand, narrative, and accountability beyond technical forums, while remaining non-partisan and evidence-driven.

To respond to these interconnected challenges, Speak Up Africa is hosting the Foundational Learning & Numeracy (FLN) Advocacy Hub, an Africa-led platform designed to serve as shared influence infrastructure, connecting country-level coalitions to regional and continental agendas and strengthening how evidence, advocacy, and political engagement translate into policy and financing outcomes.

Speak Up Africa seeks to competitively identify one Kenyan civil society organization to serve as an Anchor Grantee, providing leadership and coordination for a small, high-maturity coalition of civil society organizations capable of moving the needle on policy, administrative action, and domestic financing for foundational learning and numeracy.

This role is explicitly designed to complement, not duplicate, the Lighthouse Coalition. While Lighthouse focuses on government partnerships and inside-track engagement, the Anchor Grantee will strengthen civil society coordination, advocacy discipline, and accountability pressure, ensuring that foundational learning remains visible, prioritized, and actionable across political and budget cycles.

The purpose of the Anchor Grantee is to lead and coordinate civil society advocacy for foundational learning and numeracy (FLN) in Kenya, with a clear focus on:

• policy and administrative uptake of national commitments,
• sustained political prioritization of literacy and numeracy, and
• increased domestic financing for evidence-based FLN interventions.

The Anchor Grantee will act as a backbone institution, convening and enabling a group of approximately 3 to 4 mature civil society organizations and ensuring coherent, strategic, and outcome-oriented advocacy aligned with national decision windows.

CSO Leadership and Coordination

The Anchor Grantee will:

• Enable structured and coherent civil society engagement on foundational learning and numeracy in Kenya, building on existing organizations, platforms, and efforts.
• Serve as a facilitating backbone that helps align high-credibility, policy-capable civil society actors around shared national priorities for foundational learning.
• Establish and steward common ways of working to support effective collective action, including:
  • disciplined use of evidence,
  • non-partisan positioning,
  • policy and financing relevance, and
  • collective accountability for outcomes.
• Support coordinated civil society planning and action around:
  • national policy and budget calendars,
  • priority FLN decision points, and
  • agreed advocacy objectives and messages that reinforce government-led reform efforts.
• Ensure alignment and complementarity with existing initiatives, including the Lighthouse Coalition and other government-linked platforms, by clarifying roles, avoiding duplication, and reinforcing civil society’s contribution to the national foundational learning agenda.

Strategic Advocacy for Policy and Financing Outcomes

The Anchor Grantee will:

• Lead and coordinate advocacy efforts aimed at:
  • uptake of PWPER recommendations related to foundational learning,
  • strengthened prioritization of literacy and numeracy within CBC implementation,
  • increased domestic financing for evidence-based FLN approaches.
• Engage constructively with:
  • the Ministry of Education and affiliated agencies,
  • the National Treasury and planning institutions,
  • parliamentary and sub-national (county) actors, where relevant.
• Support the translation of evidence into:
  • policy-ready recommendations,
  • budget-relevant arguments,
  • administrative actions (guidelines, circulars, implementation notes).

Evidence-to-Advocacy Translation

The Anchor Grantee will:

• Work with coalition partners and the FLN Hub to curate and synthesize existing FLN evidence (without duplicating research).
• Ensure disciplined and responsible use of evidence in public and private advocacy.
• Support the development of advocacy-ready products that are accessible to policymakers and budget decision-makers.
• Ensure that lessons from Kenya inform regional and continental advocacy through the FLN Hub.

Learning, Capacity Strengthening, and Sustainability

The Anchor Grantee will:

• Contribute to strengthening civil society advocacy capacity over time, including coalition governance, policy engagement skills, and budget literacy.
• Document lessons from Kenya’s advocacy experience to inform cross-country learning within the Hub.
• Help articulate a longer-term advocacy trajectory that positions civil society as a durable force for foundational learning reform beyond short funding cycles.

Coordination with Speak Up Africa and the FLN Hub

The Anchor Grantee will:

• Work closely with Speak Up Africa’s FLN Hub Manager and the Kenya-based Advocacy Officer.
• Participate in Hub convenings, learning sprints, and reporting processes.
• Contribute to shared narratives, tools, and advocacy moments coordinated at continental level.

Over the initial 12-month period, the Anchor Grantee will deliver:

• A 12-month Kenya FLN advocacy concept and workplan, aligned with national policy, budget, and implementation decision windows and reinforcing government-led reform priorities.
• A structured civil society engagement approach that enables high-credibility organizations to contribute in a coordinated and complementary manner to the national foundational learning effort, without creating a new coalition or parallel structure.
• Targeted advocacy moments or engagements (e.g. policy dialogues, briefings, public accountability moments) that contribute to policy adoption, administrative action, or financing decisions related to foundational learning and numeracy.
• Documented evidence of influence, including:
  • administrative or policy uptake,
  • budget or financing signals,
  • strengthened alignment of civil society positions in support of national FLN priorities.
• Quarterly narrative and progress updates to Speak Up Africa, capturing outcomes, lessons learned, and implications for regional and continental advocacy through the FLN Hub.

Eligible organizations must demonstrate:

• Legal registration and strong governance structures in Kenya.
• At least 7–10 years of experience in education, public policy, or evidence-based advocacy.
• Proven track record influencing policy, budgets, or large-scale education reform.
• Credibility and convening power within Kenya’s education ecosystem.
• Strong financial management, compliance, and safeguarding systems.
• Commitment to non-partisan, evidence-driven advocacy and gender equality.

• Initial duration: 12 months
• Modality: Grant-based partnership, with performance-based renewal
• Geographic scope: National (Kenya), with regional engagement through the FLN Hub

Anchor Grantees must align with Speak Up Africa’s commitments to:

• zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, or harm,
• gender equality and inclusion,
• ethical, transparent, and accountable advocacy practice.

Interested organizations are invited to submit a proposal including:

1. Organizational profile (max. 3 pages), including governance and financial management arrangements.
2. Technical proposal (max. 5 pages) outlining:
   • understanding of the advocacy challenge and opportunity for FLN in Kenya,
   • proposed approach to enabling coordinated civil society contribution (aligned with this Call),
   • proposed advocacy priorities and decision windows for the 12-month period,
   • risks and mitigation strategies.
3. Relevant experience demonstrating influence on policy, administrative action, or public financing.
4. Indicative budget for the proposed 12-month period.
5. CVs or short bios of key personnel who would lead this work.

Speak Up Africa reserves the right to request additional information or conduct due diligence with shortlisted applicants.

Proposals will be assessed based on:

• demonstrated track record in policy and budget influence related to education or social sectors;
• credibility and positioning within Kenya’s education and advocacy ecosystem;
• quality and realism of the proposed advocacy approach;
• alignment with national priorities and this Call’s objectives;
• organizational governance, financial management, and safeguarding capacity;
• ability to work collaboratively and complement existing initiatives, including the Lighthouse Coalition.