Social Protection Microlearning

This is a six-module, six-week social protection microlearning course for ISP staff and students (Cohort 1). It pilots the full Mizizi content-package format before the course opens to external learners.

Dates: 29 Oct 2026 to 31 Oct 2026
Duration: 10 days
Format: Hybrid
Fee: Ksh 1

Applications are closed for now. Dates for the next cohort will show here when they're set.

About this course

Each module takes about 90 minutes of self-paced work plus one short assignment.

How it's delivered. Hybrid delivery over 10 days. The course opens with registration and orientation, then moves into six modules, each following the same seven steps: a myth poll, a 90-second animated story, key-idea slides, readings and a podcast, a Kenyan case study discussed in the forum, a practical work-based assignment, and a closing quiz and reflection. Online learning is combined with facilitated sessions, so you can study at your own pace and still learn alongside peers and experts. Complete all modules, three graded assignments and the pre- and post-course tests to earn your ISP Certificate of Completion.

What you'll learn

Explain the role of social protection in reducing poverty and vulnerability, using evidence.. Bust the myths, back it with evidence. Challenge common misconceptions about social protection and explain, with Kenyan and global data, how it moves people from relief today to protection for life.
Analyse the design and impact of Kenyan social protection programmes.. Learn from what works in Kenya. Analyse real Kenyan social protection programmes to identify what drives impact, where the gaps are, and how they can be strengthened.
Apply social protection concepts to practical workplace tasks.. Turn learning into action. Apply course tools to practical, work-based tasks, ending with a capstone that you can take straight into your organisation’s programmes or policies.

Who it's for

For programme staff, policy makers, practitioners, students and researchers who want practical, evidence-based skills in social protection, grounded in Kenyan experience.

Curriculum

7 modules

01Module 1: Foundation for Social ProtectionIs social protection just emergency relief? This module shows how social protection is a life-cycle system and a right under Kenya's Constitution, using Inua Jamii 70+ as the case. About 90 minutes plus a short practice task.
02Module 2: Coverage and TargetingModule 2: Coverage and Targeting - Focuses on On paper vs in practice: who is covered? Myth tested: “If the law covers you, you are protected.” In this module you will distinguish legal from effective coverage, and name the barriers between them; compare targeting methods and their inclusion and exclusion errors; explain what the Enhanced Single Registry does and how its data is checked.
03Module 3: Financing and ReturnsCan we afford it? Cost or investment? Myth tested: “Only wealthy countries can afford social protection.” In this module you will describe how much countries spend and how wide the gaps are; list the main options for creating fiscal space; use Kenyan evidence to make an investment case to a budget audience.
04Module 4 : Evidence on RecipientsWelcome to Module 4: What the Evidence Says About Recipients. This module tests one common myth against the evidence, using Kenyan programmes and global data. It takes about 90 minutes, plus one short task. The myth: “Cash gets misused, people cheat, and benefits make people lazy.” True or false? Vote in the poll before you start, and write one line on why.
05Module 5: Gender, Children and InclusionWho gets left behind? Myth tested: “A cash transfer is gender-neutral: it helps everyone equally.” In this module you will identify gender- and child-specific risks across the lifecycle; describe design features for gender, child and disability inclusion; explain how cash plus links social protection to nutrition, using NICHE.
06Module 6: Adaptive, Shock-Responsive Social ProtectionWhen drought hits. Myth tested: “Emergencies are for humanitarians; social protection is for normal times.” In this module you will explain how a system can scale up in a shock; describe HSNP's scalability mechanism and what made it possible; design a basic drought-response playbook for a county.
07Course_CloseBring the six myths together, take the post-course test and feedback survey, and complete the steps for your ISP certificate.

How to apply

1
Apply
The form takes about five minutes. Have your CV and letter of interest ready.
2
Hear back
Admissions reviews every application within five days.
3
Confirm your seat
Pay online, or send your organisation's introduction letter and we invoice them.
4
Start with pre-work
Pre-work opens before the first live class.

What we look for

experience
Required
0-6 Years experience
Work in or study a related field
Preferred
No prior social protection training is assumed. but intresaWork in or study a related field, such as social protection, public policy, social work, development, humanitarian response, economics or M&E
Read and write comfortably in English
Required
the language of all course materials, forums and assignments
Commit about 2 hours a week t
Required
Commit to the full course: all six modules, three graded assignments, the pre- and post-course tests and the feedback survey
Internet access
Preferred
Have reliable internet access on a smartphone, tablet or computer to stream short videos, join forums and submit assignments