Scofield Associates, Ltd.

Scofield Associates, Ltd.

Type	Private
ISIN	🆔
Industry	Research Data Analytics Monitoring & Evaluation
Founded 📆	2015
Founder 👔
Headquarters 🏙️	Nairobi, Kenya, Kenya
Area served 🗺️	Horn of Africa Countries
Key people	Scofield Muliru
Members
Number of employees
🌐 Website	scofieldassociates.co.ke
📇 Address
📞 telephone

Scofield Associates. doing business as SA is a regional think tank headquartered in the Horn of Africa region. It was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. SA is one of the largest professional services networks in the Horn of Africa. Along with the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS), Institute for Security Studies (ISS), The Horn Institute, and Wasafiri Consulting, it is considered one of the largest research and data analytics firms focusing on development issues in the Horn of Africa. It primarily provides Research products (which include development research, and market analysis) Monitoring and Evaluation, Organization Capacity Assessments and Big Data Analytics services to its clients. Like many of the larger consulting firms in recent years, SA has expanded into markets adjacent to development sustainability, including strategy, operations, technology, and climate change consulting. Scofield Associates works with development partners, implementing partners, local organizations and communities within the nine countries in the larger Horn of Africa. SA pursues development solutions based on an integrated strategy that is anchored on research. Our outputs are aligned with methods that place data at the centre.

SA also includes a network of researchers who are structured as linkages with specialities across the region. SA has, over 250 researchers and consultants spread across nine countries in the Horn of Africa region (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Mozambique). Additionally, SA has a team of specialized permanent staff who manage the day-to-day operations from the headquarters in Nairobi. This team of twenty staff also ensures proper communication and organization placement with its clients. Scofield Associates is a privately owned organization in Kenya.

Key Focus Areas

Conflict Management Consulting
With the increasing rate of Conflict, development work and organizations are now learning the power of conflicts and how they can be leveraged. For the issues affecting the Horn of Africa, it is hard at times, to see the path forward, but understanding the underlying issues (or so-called drivers), provides an easy map for engagement. SA has invested time and resources to build a team of consultants to help institutions and nations understand their sources of the conflict and opportunities for improvement. SA uses data to provide recommendations and possible solutions to issues.

Market Research
SA's approach to market research is consonant not only with the way various communities view scientific inquiry but also with the fundamental characteristics of clients and their needs. SA moves away from the notion that Market research is a process of determining the viability of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers, to one that views the people as both the clients and the potential customers. SA's market research is focused on the management of people as the greatest resource and product for development.

Big Data Analytics and M&E
SA uses analytics to add significant value to partners and clients. This process includes a major investment in Open Source Intelligence Gathering, and the use of monitoring and evaluation strategies to measure the progress of development and work.

History

Scofield Associates (SA) was founded by a development practitioner Scofield Yoni Muliru, with the aim of providing contextualized research products to development partners, governments, and other organizations in the Horn of Africa. Under the leadership of the founder, Scofield Associates has expanded and engaged diverse partners in development work including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Netherlands Embassy in Kenya and the Government of Kenya. SA has also worked with a diverse range of development partners including the DAI Niwetu Program, Life and Peace Institute, Act Kenya, Search for Common Ground, and Coffey International, CARE International, United States Institute of Peace, National Democratic Institute, among others.

Major Work Done

SA has been involved in numerous work and research products over the years. SA is keen on providing monitoring and evaluation products that add value to development work in the Horn of Africa. In a 2018 publication by Scofield Muliru, measurement matrixes for preventing violent extremism programs are introduced as a channel to determine development investment in the region. The matrixes suggested proposes an alternative option for viewing the impact of violent extremism and terrorism as documented by the Global Terrorism Index, by providing a way of measuring progress on the local community initiatives.

Other Works

Modelling, Meaning Application and the Spread of Violent Extremist Narratives in Kenya

As social beings, humans are naturally born storytellers, who use narratives to lend meaning to everything around them, as an invaluable means for the persuasion process. Narratives are highly interconnected and utilize different spaces to influence violent extremism. Such spaces include offline and online environments, where they shape and stabilize social power structures. They have powerful mental models that affect various dimensions and levels of human interaction. Additionally, narratives depend on context, as they have a dual role in cultural organizing and sense-making. They serve as instruments, that are consciously or unconsciously, used to produce social order, within the context of violent extremism and terrorism. The report documents an analysis of the process of radicalization and recruitment through the narrative review lens. It focuses on the modelling, interpretation, and spread of narratives in Mombasa, Kwale, Lamu, Tana River, Garissa, Isiolo, Nakuru, Kisumu, Kakamega and Nairobi counties. While these counties have diverse realities and are all susceptible to VE, there are commonalities in narrative development, use, and propagation.

Socializing the Prevention and Countering Extremism Process in Kenya

The responses to violent extremism and terrorism interventions by development partners and governments are increasingly focusing on local actors through the engagement of civil society and the promotion of bottom-up responses from within local communities. These responses assume that expanding the engagement pool assists in the de-securitization of the process and encourages the framing of violent extremism as a social problem. The study explores how inclusive and pluralistic the dialogue processes have been in the counties in Kenya and whether these processes reflected the diversity of community groups, with a focus on two counties, Nairobi and Kwale, as case studies. It also analyses how members were recruited and whether the dialogue process managed to ensure meaningful participation by all groups. It further assesses whether the County Action Plan (CAP) development achieved government engagement at the national and county levels. Finally, it investigates whether the engagement enhanced state legitimacy and moderated state interaction with communities on the topic of violent extremism (VE). The study took place in the period between January and February 2021.

Isiolo CVE Index 2018

A series of measures were created globally to track the progress and effectiveness of CVE activities. Most of the techniques created to measure the impact of CVE efforts globally are not easily generalizable (Pressman et al., 2012) and thus are created for specific contexts and regions around the world. For instance, The Violent Extremism Risk Assessment Protocol (Netherlands Institute for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology 2019), a risk-assessment instrument specifically designed to assess risks related to terrorism and violent extremism, has been criticized for being rigid and not flexible to the multidimensional nature of the problem (Pressman et al., 2012). On the other hand, The Global Terrorism Index (New York: Institute for Economic Peace, 2018), a critical tool that provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns, has been criticized for using variables that cannot be empirically measured. The dynamic nature of every region in the world calls for the creation of a unique index for each region to be able to measure change effectively. In response, Scofield Associates created a CVE index for measuring the dynamic Kenyan context and the impact of efforts on Violent Extremism and Terrorism. The CVE index is intended to work as a monitoring and evaluation tool to assist relevant stakeholders in being able to measure progress and thus effectively prioritize CVE activities in the country. This product should complement the work done by the National Counter Terrorism Centre and contribute to the progress of the County Action Plans. The index was piloted in Isiolo county in 2018 with support from the USAID-funded Kenya NiWajibu Wetu (NIWETU). The findings from the pilot project are detailed in the Isiolo CVE-Index Report.

Inuka Project Baseline Evaluation

This is a baseline for the “Community-Led Security Approaches to Violent Extremism (Inuka!)” project. The “Inuka!” project was implemented by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) in Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and Mombasa. Contextual analysis: Violent extremism is still significant at the coast because of the continuing inhumane treatment by police (unlawful and arbitrary arrests, kidnapping and forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings). Additionally, structural and economic developments like road construction and tourism in the coastal areas have had both positive and negative impacts on VE. The former has usually led to the destruction of people’s property and livelihoods, while the latter has created more jobs but mostly for non-locals, creating resentment among locals. It creates conflicts and influences the push factors to VE. Existing initiatives and actors to counter violent extremism: The police, policymakers, youth, religious leaders, CSOs/CBOs and the international community are some key actors working to counter violent extremism in these communities. Capacity to deal with violent extremism: Issues related to VE are rarely discussed individually and when they are, are considered highly sensitive and shrouded in secrecy. The community engages with issues of security usually through the village elders and religious leaders, while communal conflict resolution mechanisms and provincial administration teams at the county level also play a crucial role. Find the full report on the Search for Common Ground Website.

Climate Smart Water Governance

The Climate Smart Water Governance project sought to address inequality and unequal access to water in Garissa and Kilifi counties. The perennial water shortages continue to affect these dry areas, causing malnutrition, and domestic and inter-clan conflicts. The severity of prioritizing better water management practises cannot be overemphasized, especially within the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions of the country. Different interventions that focus on policy development, behaviour change, community water storage action, and practices directly linked to the utilization of water resources, remain paramount. Climate-smart water governance project was designed to effect change through policy advocacy that included the facilitation of engagement forums and the session between the government and stakeholders within the water sector, including the community. This process is intended to achieve better water management practices and easy accessibility to scarce resources. The report documents findings from an end-line evaluation using outcome harvesting. The initial stage comprised the description of the outcome process, and the identification of stakeholders to be involved in the harvesting process. The respondents were identified via a purposive sampling process, infused with grounded theory. The saturation levels were achieved, at a notable sample size of 40 individuals per sub-county where the project was implemented, (treating a sub-county as a sample frame where change happens), as well as a similar number for the substantiation process.

Kenya Police Service Delivery Index in Kenya

The growing demand to institutionalize reforms has pushed for the development of tools to measure professionalism in the private and public sectors. The need for public engagement and feedback has also contributed to the interest in accountability. The REINVENT Programme commissioned a study to pioneer the development of a Police Service Delivery-Index; to unpack service delivery and determine variables for measurement within the National Police Service in Kenya. The study premised the index on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) model, which is a management model that translates an organization’s mission and strategy into a collection of performance measures.

Ethiopian All-Out: Conflict Bonding of Smaller Nations to Build the “Nation”

The turmoil in Ethiopia is a consequence of domestic colonization; where previously independent Nations were rounded up and bound into an empire. Considering the narrowed colonization approach by Makau Wa Mutua and the broadened perspective of Mergo, it is evident that instead of an explosion, Ethiopia’s case may turn out to be an implosion. The lack of legitimacy of the State will give impetus to the Nation’s claim for violent self-determination. The policy brief reviews the context of the Ethiopian conflict and offers some options for engagement.

State Legitimacy and Political Power in Somalia

The policy brief is concerned with the analysis of the legitimacy and the challenges faced by the federalist structure of the Somali state. In a bid to understand state legitimacy in Somalia, I argue that it is not a simple question of political power distribution but a concern about the neglect of the Somali notions of communitarian organization, of which the clan is a part. It is based on this argument that the question of state building vs state formation is not clearly addressed with the bids that push for the creation of a central government. This brief provides a short analysis of the clan history, setting and influence in Somali society. While using the Xeer and the Issa clan as a point of reference, it makes the case that Somalia will stagnate in its failing state nature if the state-building project continues to overlook state formation processes. The analysis concludes that with another election coming, the clans’ competition in Somalia can be used for good. Their engagement would support the state formation process which would benefit the state-building project that the international community struggles to work on.

Analytics to Prevent, Monitor and Accept the 2022 Elections in Kenya

With the elections coming up in 2022, such an application requires time to collect data; preferably six months before and three months after the election process. The application of big data would be an opportunity for development partners to contribute to the spirit of sharing and offer development support that remains somewhat non-involved. The use of new technology including social media can provide data to be coded and validated to estimate the trends in electoral violence during elections in different counties in Kenya. This policy brief provides some insights on how to engage.

Testing Peace: Elections in Kenya and Liberia

With elections coming up next year in Liberia and Kenya, the time for early and sustained violence prevention is now. But what ought to be done to ensure the vote remains peaceful? Research shows that domestic institutions such as election commissions, the police, and—above all—political leaders hold the key. When elections are held in fragile democracies with a history of violence, foreign actors generally pay close attention. The question remains whether good intentions are upheld as election day approaches. The message of Secretary Kerry was the same to Kenyatta and Odinga: Kenya’s peaceful elections depended on their cool heads. For those contemplating election programming in either Liberia or Kenya, the time is now to increase your engagement. Prevention impact is not guaranteed and requires a strategic selection, as well as timely and sustained implementation. Using the conflict or election security assessments conducted by local or international actors on the ground, it is important to strategically select interventions that match the nature of the anticipated violence in a given context. Waiting for 2017 will likely guarantee that costly efforts go to waste. This article was originally published on the USIP website.

Monthly Updates

As a research provider, SA shared new reports with development partners in the region and globally. These works can be accessed through a mailing list, which is sent out once every month.

Career

Scofield Associates employs specialists from across the fields. The firm also provided opportunities to graduates from universities across the region. Additionally, SA has a paid internship program that provides an opportunity for students to get hands-on experience on development issues in the horn of Africa. New opportunities including internship positions are regularly updated on their career pages

References

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