Recap of JUNE PSRMW 2026

From June 1st to June 5th, 2026, the Public Sector Resource Mobilization Workshop (PSRMW) 2026, organized by the Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals (KAFP) and hosted at Lake Naivasha Resort brought together 56 participants spanning government officials, economists, development practitioners, and resource mobilization professionals from Kenya’s national and county governments, civil society, and academia. The workshop convened around one urgent reality: Kenya’s public mandates are growing faster than traditional budgets.

With Kenya’s fiscal space tightening where debt servicing consumes a large share of revenue and the debt-to-GDP position remains above the statutory ceiling, the PSRMW 2026 focused on the practical question every public institution is asking now: "How do we sustainably finance priorities without compromising governance, compliance, or impact?"

Across eleven technical sessions, participants explored strategies, legal/policy requirements, and innovative financing approaches that public institutions can use to unlock more diversified and sustainable funding.

This Workshop Mattered because,

..at the heart of PSRMW 2026 was a clear message: waiting for additional budget allocations is no longer a viable resource mobilization strategy. Instead, public institutions must build credibility with funders, design bankable projects, and align financing pathways with Kenya’s policy and legal systems.

Kenya’s development agenda (Kenya Vision 2030) also shapes the financing expectations especially through a financing model where flagship projects target 30% government funding and 70% private sector investment. That means resource mobilization is no longer just “raising money”—it is about building partnerships, preparing projects that attract capital, and strengthening institutions to execute outcomes.

Key Sessions & Takeaways

1) “Planning as One” for Coherence, Efficiency, and Reduced Waste

One of the workshop’s most strategic discussions centered on the “Planning as One” doctrine, a proposed unified national planning approach designed to reduce duplication and “macro leakage” between planning levels.

The aim is to align investment sequencing across national and county jurisdictions using:

• common planning standards,
• integrated project databases, and
• harmonized implementation logic.

Takeaway for the delegates: "Resource mobilization succeeds faster when project pipelines are coherent, when funders see consistency, reduced fragmentation, and credible execution systems."

2) Bankable Projects: The Anatomy of Winning Proposals

PSRMW 2026 also drilled into the fundamentals of designing projects that funders trust.

A bankable project was framed as one that clearly demonstrates:

• a well-evidenced problem statement,
• a sustainable solution,
• and strong alignment with donor priorities.

Participants reviewed the core elements of a winning proposal including a costed rationale, quantified beneficiary information, SMART objectives, a clear work plan, risk and sustainability planning, and budgets supported by evidence and including contingency.

The workshop also emphasized how concept notes function in donor engagement; less as paperwork and more as an invitation to a conversation, ideally phased to reduce early donor risk. A practical case example illustrated a multi-phase solar approach designed to build confidence before scaling.

Takeaway: The gap between “good ideas” and “fundable initiatives” is usually clarity, evidence, sequencing, and risk realism.

3) Legal and Policy Compliance as Part of Fundability

A significant portion of the event focused on the reality that public sector resource mobilization is highly regulated.

Key discussions included:

• the constitutional and statutory foundations guiding public finance and external resources,
• and the critical warning that mismanagement or unauthorized handling of public funds can carry criminal liability under the PFM Act.

The workshop also unpacked the ODA access process as a step-by-step pathway, including structured concept note development, public participation, tiered approvals, and formalization of on-budget bilateral/multilateral agreements such as Cabinet Memorandum requirements for larger projects.

Takeaway: Compliance is not a barrier, it’s a credibility system. Funders respond to institutions that understand and follow the right requirements.

5) ODA Mapping: Who Funds What (and Why Grants Are Critical)

The workshop included a market/landscape perspective: Kenya had 256 active ODA-funded projects valued at KES 2.6 trillion as of June 2024. Participants reviewed major partner profiles, including multilateral and bilateral actors in the state.

Given sovereign debt pressures, a recurring emphasis was that public entities should prioritize grants over loans where possible. True grant-providing partners highlighted included Scandinavian countries, UN agencies, and USAID.

Takeaway: Resource mobilization requires donor intelligence aside from just effort.

6) Innovative Financing: Moving Beyond the National Exchequer

PSRMW 2026 challenged the traditional assumption that government budgets alone can carry delivery.

Participants discussed innovative financing using five defining characteristics:

• sustainability,
• scalability,
• outcome orientation,
• collaborative partnerships,
• and risk-sharing.

The workshop highlighted mechanisms such as:

• Blended finance (de-risking public-private investments),
• PPPs (requiring strong capacity and transaction advisors),
• Endowments and philanthropy (institutional sovereignty through permanently invested capital),
• and emerging options including green/climate financing, impact investing, digital crowdfunding, and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs).

Takeaway: Financing diversification is becoming a competency.

The Overall Message: Credibility + Compliance + Innovation = Fundable Impact

By the end of the week, the workshop’s combined lesson was clear:

Public institutions don’t just need financial ambition they need:

• aligned planning (reduce fragmentation),
• bankable project design (evidence, beneficiaries, risk, budgets),
• compliance clarity (legal pathways and authorization discipline),
• institutionalized strategy (RMS with accountability),
• and innovative financing literacy (from blended finance to SIBs).

AUGUST 2026 PSRMW 2nd EDITION

Communicating and Monitoring Your Resource Mobilisation Success (03–07 Aug 2026)

If PSRMW 2026 sparked deeper interest or you want to take the conversations beyond theory join us for the 2nd chapter within the next 1.5 months.

Expected Outcomes mapped to the workshop 

Participants will be able to:

• Develop performance monitoring frameworks tailored to public sector RM functions, grounded in the shift from “fundraising” to a broader “resource mobilization” approach  and backed by change management and accountability systems. 
• Align RM indicators with institutional mandates, national priorities, and donor compliance requirements, using “Planning as One” to ensure funding strategies directly track Kenya’s development priorities and planning architecture. 
• Strengthen reporting systems that integrate Finance, Programs, Legal, and M&E units, supported by the workshop’s emphasis on institutional readiness and operationalising an RMS as a living commitment (not a document).
• Translate RM data into strategic communication tools for Boards, Treasury, development partners, and the public, leveraging evidence-based, measurable results to communicate progress and credibility.
• Build accountability dashboards that track pipeline health, conversion rates, partnership value, and sustainability metrics, consistent with RMS implementation being data-driven and outcome-focused.
• Enhance cross-departmental coordination to reduce compliance risks and reporting gaps, reinforced by the workshop’s focus on coordinating RM centrally within the public-sector framework and strengthening institutional systems across units. 

REGISTRATION IS OPEN. RESERVE YOUR SEAT FOR PSRMW 2026 AUGUST 2 Edition, and be part of the next round of capacity-building for sector resource mobilization.