Chelangat Faith2024-09-092024-09-092024-06https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/28729A Research Project Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree in Masters of Public Policy and Administration of Kenyatta University June, 2024 supervisor Wilson MunaPublic participation is the new approach in the modern and democratic society though unpopular in many parts of the world. Public participation uses several mechanisms to design, evaluate, and implement policies and projects. However, the process of participation during preparation of budgets has shown to affect the common citizens. While favouring mostly the elites in a number of societies despite being adopted by most democratic governments today in the world. In Kenya public participation has not been achieved especially at county level in which Kericho County is one of them. In addition, there have been limited studies that have been done in the county to verify if public participation in policy formulation has been going on since the county came into being. This study sought to investigate public participation and its effects on policy formulation during budgeting process in Kericho County. Specifically, my research institute the effects of problem identification among public policy formulation in budgeting process; examine the effects of public agenda setting on policy formulation in budgeting process; explore the effects of development policy alternatives by public on policy formulation; access the effects of models used in public participation on budgeting process in Kericho County. This study was guided by public participation and policy formulation theory. The research adopted descriptive research design. The study targeted 30 ward administrators, 30 members of the county assembly, 85 village elders, and local residents of Kericho County. Using stratified random sampling technique, the study obtained a sample size of 196 respondents who participated in the study. Primary data for the study was gathered through the use of an interview guides and a questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of the quantitative data obtained through the use of a questionnaire and SPSS version 25. Frequency and percentage were the precise descriptive statistics that were employed, and regression analysis and correlation were the inferential statistics. To illustrate the connection between the independent variables and the creation of policy, a multiple linear regression model was employed. Tables, charts, and bars were used to display the findings. The findings revealed R-squared of 0.630, implying all the four components of public participation; problem identification among the public, public agenda setting, development of policy alternatives by the public, and models used were able to explain 63.0% of the variation in policy formulation. The study found that there was significant relationship between various aspects of public participation and policy formulation in the budgeting process in Kericho County. The study also found that problem identification among the public (β = 0.184, p = 0.020), public agenda setting (β = 0.053, p = 0.007), and development of policy alternatives by the public (β = 0.465, p = 0.000) had positive and significant effect on policy formulation. However, the choice of models used in public participation, while positively related, did not reach statistical significance (β = 0.155, p = 0.104), indicating a moderate but insignificant effect on policy formulation. The study in addition found that active public involvement in problem identification, agenda setting, and policy alternative development positively affect policy formulation in Kericho County. The study concludes that the government, citizens, special interest groups, the media, and the private sector all have a role to play in the policy-making process. It is therefore recommended that policy makers should consider the input of these stakeholders when making decisions, as their actions can have a large impact on the implementation of policies.enThesis