Since August 2020, EdTech Hub has supported the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to implement activities under the Learning Continuity in Basic Education Project (LCBEP). As part of this technical assistance, the KICD asked EdTech Hub to conduct a rapid strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of the Kenya Education Cloud (KEC), focusing predominantly on the content platform.

While the SWOT analysis has been undertaken independently by EdTech Hub, this report would not have been possible without significant collaboration between the two teams. The insights in the report were generated through two intensive interactive workshops and frequent discussions.

The purpose of this analysis is two-fold. First, to help the KICD identify both the ways in which the KEC is functioning well, as well as areas that require further focus and strengthening. Second, the analysis provides concrete recommendations and actions to address these areas.

The report achieves the first purpose by examining key aspects of the KEC.

The report examines the following:

• KEC overarching design and development.
• Usability.
• Content organisation and performance.
• Monitoring and data collection.
• Value proposition.
• Legal framework.
• Partnerships and collaboration.

These analyses are summarised in matrices at the end of each subsection which highlight the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in each area.

The second purpose is achieved in the final section of the report, which contains three recommendations. In summary these are:

• Develop a long-term strategic plan for the KEC: In recent times, much of the KEC’s evolution has happened organically. New platforms have been developed as and when needed, many of which have dependencies on other modules that are incomplete or not functioning. When doing this, the KICD should specifically consider:
  • Collaborating with a firm with experience in deploying virtual learning environments to design the strategic plan.
  • Designing the strategic plan so it can be implemented using an iterative and agile approach.
• Identify ways to rapidly add relevant content for the KEC. The current platform does not have sufficient content and only provides one method to add additional content. When doing this, the KICD should specifically consider:
  • Collaborating with an experienced organisation to design a robust content curation strategy that can be rapidly implemented.
  • Proactively curating existing open educational resources.
• Reconsider the current commercial approach for the KEC. In practice, the commercial approach does not yield sufficient content, nor does it generate revenue or attract students. When doing this, the KICD should specifically consider:
  • Making the platform free for students.
  • Bearing the cost of licensed content.
  • Creating a business plan that identifies past and future costs and helps understand which costs and efforts are justified.
  • Engaging local, smaller content providers and large, international content providers.
  • Curating free open educational resources.