Who We Are

The Center for Parliamentary Studies and Training (The CPST) was established by the Parliament Service Commission (PSC) in December 2008 and legalized by the publication of the Parliamentary Service Regulations, 2011 in the Kenya Gazette, Subsidiary Legislation, Legal Notice No. 95 of July 22, 2011. In addition, the establishment of The CPST was incorporated in the Strategic Plan of the (PSC) for 2008 to 2018.

The objective of establishing The CPST was to have a one-stop specialized resource centre for the training and capacity development of both the Members and staff of Parliament. It was also established to serve other stakeholders who may be interested in gaining an appreciable understanding of the Parliament and to the Parliaments in the East African Community, the Great Lakes Region and the Continent of Africa at large.

Management of The CPST

Up and until the establishment of The CPST Management Board in 2011 the work and activities of The CPST were under the overall management of PARLSCOM with the policy decisions and direction made by a multi-department Steering Committee, appointed by the Clerk/Secretary of PARLSCOM on May 02, 2009. The day to day operations of The CPST were carried out under the supervision of the Head of The CPST, who was also the Chair of the Steering Committee.

However, Regulation 5 of 2011 of the Parliamentary Service on The CPST provided for the establishment of The CPST Board. The Board is responsible for the management of The CPST.

The Board is constituted of the following:

• The Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Service Commission as the Chair;
• Four other Commissioners of PSC;
• The Clerk of the Senate;
• The Clerk of the National Assembly;
• One Member from an academic institution; and
• The CPST Director as the secretary.

The current members of the Board are as follows:

• Sen. Beth Mugo – Chairperson (Vice Chairperson – PSC).
• Sen. Sammy Leshore – Member (Chairman – Members Welfare Committee).
• Hon. Adan Keynan – Member (Chairman – Staff Welfare Committee).
• Hon (Dr.) Abdulahi Ibrahim Ali.
• Dr. Lonah Mutoro Mumelo.
• Mr. Jeremiah Nyegenye – Member (Clerk to the Senate/Secretary to PSC).
• Mr. Michael Sialai – Member (Clerk to the National Assembly).
• Prof. Amb. Maria Nzomo – Member (Director – Institute of Diplomacy at University of Nairobi).
• Prof. Nyokabi Kamau – Secretary (CPST Director).
   

Directorates & Departments

The CPST is one of the Directorates in the Parliamentary Service Commission. The services are as follows: the Joint Services which is headed by the Director General; the National Assembly headed by the Clerk of the National Assembly; and the Senate. The Clerk of the Senate is the secretary to the PSC. The CPST Management Board (The CPST Board) is responsible for the administration of the centre. The CPST as the training arm of (PSC) was established by Parliament under the legal Notice No. 95 of 22nd July, 2011 has two directorates which are headed by Senior Deputy Directors who report to The CPST Director. Currently, each of the two directorates has a department underneath. The department of Resource Mobilisation and Public Relations in under the Directorate of Administration and Corporate Affairs while the Technical and Legislative Training department is under the directorate of curriculum, training and research. The process of expanding these management units as per The CPST Strategic Plan is well underway.

Our Vision:

"To be a centre of excellence in Parliamentary studies and governance."

Our Mission:

"To enhance the capacity of Members and staff of Parliament and other stakeholders for the effective and efficient execution of their mandate, roles and functions in democratic governance."

Strategic Goals:

• Enhance the capacity of Parliaments to deliver on their constitutional mandates.
• To create and sustain an environment that promotes a knowledge and innovation culture for Parliaments.
• Building the institutional capacity of The CPST to enable it effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate.
• Impartiality and Objectivity.
• To network and build partnerships to enhance the role of Parliament in governance.

Our Core Values:

• Professionalism: We shall strive to maintain a high level of competence while promoting teamwork and professionalism.
• Impartiality: We shall strive to always remain objective and impartial in the delivery of our services.
• Excellence: We shall have high expectations in meeting the needs of our clients and remain committed to the highest standards of training, service and performance.
• Accountability: We shall always be accountable for our actions, ensuring efficient and effective use of our resources.
• Integrity: We shall maintain the highest level of ethics, transparency and integrity in discharging out duties.

Curriculum development

The CPST recognises that curriculum development is a dynamic and continuous process. This is intended to ensure that the curriculum is alive to the changing needs and circumstances of potential trainees and the market in general. This informs the reason why the CPST attaches a lot of importance to the curriculum development and review process. This is a way of ensuring that the training provided by the CPST remains relevant, responsive and of high quality to the needs of its clients.

Curriculum Review Process

The CPST utilizes participatory curriculum development model (PCD) which involves the contribution of various stakeholders. Over the last six months, the process has been very intense. In view of provisions of Article 10 of the Kenya Constitution, the CPST curriculum was reviewed to ensure alignment and compliances with issues of gender, minorities and persons with living with disability as well as marginalized groups. UN women funded the gender mainstreaming and editing of the curriculum. The reviewed curriculum now has eighteen courses grouped in the six thematic areas. The review process led to inclusion of additional courses. A complete list of all the courses explained in each of the six thematic is shown in appendix 1. The revised curriculum has undergone the process of editing and it is now at the printing stage. The final printed copies are expected to be delivered to the CPST on or before Friday 13th June 2014. This will further enhance the training process. The printing is funded by SUNY Kenya. This curriculum review and realignment process has been a major achievement for the CPST in the Last six Months since it provided a firm basis to guide the process of developing curriculum support materials with support of Ford Foundation through SUNY Kenya, WFD and UN Women. The results of these processes include:

Development Of Curriculum Support Material

The CPST recruited eight (8) consultants to develop six training manuals in each of the six (6) thematic areas of the reviewed CPST curriculum in addition to a facilitators guide. This process is intended to ensure that there is a standardised and high quality training based on the CPST curriculum. Despite individual difference of the trainer and the geographical regions in which the training is being delivered, based on the reviewed CPST curriculum, the training manuals and the facilitators’ guide are expected to ensure that content covered and the methodology used are all within the CPST WAY of training. The consultants have already held two workshops since their recruitment in March 2014. The objective of the first workshop was to sensitize consultants on the CPST institutional approach to development of training materials. The workshop also aimed at developing a work plan to guide the whole process as well as to equip all the participants with technical skills on selected aspects of developing of training manuals. The workshop concluded with each consultant presenting an introductory section for the manuals they were developing so that they are guided of the technical and formatting aspects of the manual. The second workshop was undertaken in May, 2014. The purpose of the workshop was to assess progress of each consultant based on the work plan agreed upon during the first workshop. The workshop also dealt with issues of mainstreaming gender, youth, minorities, marginalized and issues of people living with disabilities in all the seven manuals. A gender consultant funded by UN Women was brought to lead and guide the process. The development of five training manuals and the facilitators guide is funded by Ford Foundation through SUNY Kenya. Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is funding development of the Public Financial Management (PFM) training manual while the UN women funded the gender advisor to the team. The consultants submitted the draft manuals to the CPST on 5th June 2014. The manuals were subsequently forwarded to the Readers (reviewers) on Monday 9th June, 2014. The Readers are expected to give their reports on or before Friday 20th June 2014. This feedback will enrich the manuals before they are subjected to validation workshop scheduled for 3rd to 5th July, 2014.

Our Curriculum

In order to execute its mandate and thereby fulfill its mission, roles and functions, The CPST has undertaken the development of a Training Curriculum with support from our development partners. The framework for the development of the CPST curriculum was based on six thematic areas namely:

• The Constitution, Parliament and Systems of Governance:for provision of knowledge and information on the basis of people’s representation, the structure of Parliament, devolution and bicameralism.
• Legislative and Procedural Matters:for capacity development of Parliamentarians and staff of Parliament in the areas of House, Committees and Legal Services.
• Information and Public Engagement:to offer courses for the capacity development of Parliamentarians and staff of Parliament in the Library, Research, Public Relations, Media, Clerks and the Hansard services.
• Public Finance Management:to provide courses for Parliamentarians and the staff of Parliament relating to Accounts, Budget, Finance, Procurement and Internal Audit.
• Human Resource and Administration of Parliament:to offer courses for capacity development for Parliamentarians and staff of Parliament relating to Human Resource Management, Human Resource Development, Pensions, Catering, Health and Recreation; and
• Facilitative/Lubricant/Cross-Cutting:to offer courses for capacity development for Parliamentarians and staff of Parliament relating to ICT, Language, Diplomacy, Protocol, Customer Care, Planning, Management, Strategic Planning, and Oversight.
• To undertake legislative research and public policy analysis to generate evidence and policy briefs for informed decision making.
• In addition to these, CPST is keen on addressing various capacity needs for Parliamentarians and staff of Parliament to equip them with the requisite capabilities to implement the relevant sections of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. After a thorough review and scrutiny of all the content of these trainings, thematic areas and feedback from consultations, this repository of knowledge guided the formulation of all the appropriate Modules of the Curriculum of The CPST. A total of eighteen (18) courses have been developed which comprise our Curriculum.

Our Contacts

Accessing the CPST by road from Nairobi City Centre Take Lang’ata Road, off Mombasa Road/Uhuru Highway at the Nyayo National Stadium, branch to the left at the Bomas of Kenya into Magadi Road; take a right turn into Mukoma Road soon after the Banda School; then a left turn into Ndorobo Road; followed by another left turn into Munderendu Road and finally a right turn into Muhuti Road.

 The Centre is located at the end of the first straight stretch, on your right. Physical Address Mukoma Road Off Magadi Road Nairobi, Kenya Postal Address P.O. Box 41842 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Telephone: +254-020 – 020-210 2540 020 231-6455/5610/5618/6453 Email: cpst@parliament.go.ke