This publication explores issues of gender in ICT4D project and is based on case study research conducted among Connect4Change projects in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The publication pulls together insights and learning around the effects of ICT uptake and use on women’s empowerment and gender relations in agricultural value chain development, maternal and child health, and hospital management information systems projects, and includes the 3 case studies as separate and stand alone documents for more information.
Case Studies
Please browse all case studies below or choose a sub category.
Social Media for Election Communication and Monitoring in Nigeria (Demos/DFID Paper 2015)
Nigeria has witnessed an exponential growth in internet and social media use. From a modest 200,000 users in 2000, by 2015 around 30 per cent of the population is online, increasingly on smart phones. The use of social media in elections initially became noticeable in the preparations for the 2011 Nigerian elections, and now receives widespread media attention for its role in informing, engaging and empowering citizens in Nigeria and across Africa.
Social media activity presents a novel way to research and understand attitudes, trends and media consumption. There is a growing number of academic and commercial efforts to make sense of social media data sets for research or (more typically) advertising and marketing purposes.
This project examines the potential of social media for monitoring and communication purposes, using the 2015 Nigerian elections as a case study. The purpose of the research is to develop an understanding of the effectiveness of social media use for communication and monitoring during the 2015 Nigerian election, and draw out lessons and possibilities for the use of social media data in other elections and beyond.
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MajiVoice: A New Accountability Tool to Improve Public Services (Water and Sanitation Program policy note 2015)
MajiVoice is an innovative accountability mechanism that is transforming service delivery in the Kenyan water and sanitation sector. Linking citizens, water service providers (WSPs) and the sector regulator, the new MajiVoice software platform provides specific tools and incentives to strengthen the focus on customer needs and improve service standards. In its first year, the system has achieved concrete results: At Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company Ltd (NCWSC), Kenya’s largest water utility and the first to adopt MajiVoice, the number of complaints recorded rose almost tenfold, resolution rates climbed from 46% to 94% and time to resolution halved.
Under the guidance of the Water Services Regulatory Board of Kenya (WASREB), the regulator responsible for sector rules and their enforcement, the system has since been extended to WSPs in Nakuru, Nanyuki and Mathira. MajiVoice was developed in partnership between the World Bank’s Water Global Practice, WASREB and participating WSPs. The Water Global Practice supports client countries in improving access to safe water and sanitation services, especially among the poor. To achieve this aim, lending operations such as the Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP) and the Water and Sanitation Services Improvement Project (WASSIP) are combined with innovative technical assistance such as MajiVoice. This knowledge note describes how MajiVoice succeeded in improving accountability in the Kenyan water sector and outlines the building blocks to achieve similar impact in other countries and sectors.
(Taken from Policy Note introduction)
Employing Evidence in Policy Advocacy to Mobilise Parliamentarians on Nutrition in Tanzania: Some Lessons from the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (IDS Case Study, 2015)
This case study shares experiences from a collaboration between Partnership for Action on Nutrition in Tanzania (PANITA) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS, UK), using HANCI evidence to support policy advocacy with the Tanzanian Parliamentary Group for Nutrition, Food Security and Child Rights (PG-NFSCR). The lessons are intended to help other civil society organisations think through the ways in which they can use and apply HANCI data in their own in-country advocacy work.
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Lessons Learned: Social Media Monitoring during Humanitarian Crises [Nepal earthquake] (ACAPS 2015)
Carried out in English and Nepali, and operating from 1 June to 27 August, social media monitoring was part of ACAPS support to the Nepal Earthquake Assessment Unit. Insights gained through social media (mainly Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and blogs) and national media monitoring were intended to feed into the “Communication with Communities” (CwC) project. Issues of main interest were: needs, concerns, developing trends and emerging risks among the effected population; and conversations related to the quality and accessibility of aid.
This document summarises the experiences of the pilot social media monitoring project set up to following the 25 April earthquake in Nepal, and draws out key lessons learned and recommendations. It was informed by a lessons learned workshop in Nepal as well as interviews and email exchanges with members of the project and external recipients of project’s reports. Written by Timo Lüge, the lead consultant responsible for the project, this is not an independent evaluation of the project.