In this concept note the formation of the Parliamentary Caucus on Evidence-Informed Oversight and Decision-making is proposed. The membership of this informal network will comprise of both the members of National Assembly as well as Senate who are committed to promoting responsible governance through evidence-informed oversight. The Caucus will provide a structured platform to enable parliamentarians share experiences and work together to promote an evidence-informed culture in their work. To achieve its objective, the Caucus will utilize strategies including advocacy to strengthen the technical capacity of Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Committees in accessing and using evidence in their work and legislation to encourage public investment in programmes that are proved to be cost-effective. The broad benefits for the buy-in by Members of Parliament as key policy-makers on the use of evidence during oversight and decision–making is immense. First, there will be reduced wasteful spending by the Government and even Members of Parliament themselves at Constituency level. Two, this is likely to compel Government Ministries to become more creative and innovative when developing programmes, ensuring that they adopt high impact interventions that are likely to deliver better outcomes to Kenyans at reduced costs (Value for Money). Lastly, the Caucus will strengthen accountability while enhancing the oversight role of Parliament.
