Background: The Community Outreach and Extension Programmes (COEP) directorate was instituted in August, 2007 to assist the Kenyatta University (KU) community to reach out to communities outside the University and impact them positively through well-coordinated outreach initiatives that are need based and research driven. This is in the realization that societal needs and problems are diverse, and that the University has the capacity to address some of them by applying knowledge and skills gained through learning and research hence fostering development at community level and the country in general. This helps the university to achieve her vision on service to humanity by giving back to the communities within which exists.

To actualize its mandate, the directorate works closely with members of KU community, both staff and students, to reach out to the communities in the country through participatory community based projects. It is through these projects that KU is able to extend her wealth of knowledge and skills gained through learning and research, to help communities identify, mobilize and utilize the resources available to them to improve their quality of life.

Vision: Be a leading centre in improving the quality of life for individuals, families and communities through participatory Community Based Projects that are research driven.

Mission: To reach out to communities and extend knowledge, skills, information and research findings to communities so as to help them identify, mobilize and utilize resources available to them to improve their quality of life.

Motto: Using knowledge and research to serve humanity