ICNL provides comments on proposed legislation that impacts freedom of expression, association, and assembly such as the Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and specific legal measures introduced by government in response to Covid-19. ICNL actively engages the Civil Society Protection Platform, the Civil Society Reference Group and other partners on diverse civic space issues and recently commenced a new program to support local CSOs in shifting the legal and policy landscape.

The Protecting Rights, Openness and Transparency Enhancing Civic Transformation (PROTECT) program is a consortium partnership for knowledge and learning aimed at countering shrinking civic space, easing pressure on independent media and infomediaries, and enhancing transparency through better civil society access to data and information. Initiatives in Kenya are geared towards empowering civil society organizations, marginalized groups, human rights defenders and infomediaries to hold government accountable, and to support civil society to explore opportunities presented by the devolution policy, shifting of power from national to local government, with the aim of expanding and protecting civic space. ICNL works with the Kenya Community Development Foundation to engage foundations and trusts, universities, individuals, religious institutions, not-for-profit organizations and communities, to advocate for an enabling legislative framework for foundations in Kenya to enhance local philanthropy.