accountability – C4D Network

CDAC Network webinar: Eliminating Barriers to Meaningful Participation in Humanitarian Response (online)

May 23, 2018

In this global webinar hosted by the Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) will present research examining the key barriers faced by agencies in collecting and using community feedback in humanitarian project design and the internal and external factors which can enable us to do this better. The Kenya Red Cross (KRCS) will share their experience of scaling up accountability to communities, the institutional environment that helped them achieve this, and the positive impact on community ownership and project sustainability. Finally, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects will share some key lessons they’ve learnt about how organizations can strengthen accountability to communities, drawing on the IRC and KRCS research, as well as the many studies they’ve carried out globally.

Exploring the potential for interactive radio to improve accountability and responsiveness to small-scale farmers in Tanzania (Making All Voices Count Research Report 2016)

February 6, 2017

What are the possibilities of using new digital technologies alongside radio to help ensure that agricultural development projects are farmer-centred, and meet the needs of the rural citizens they intend to serve? This research assesses Farm Radio International’s Listening Post – a model that combines radio and digital technologies with the aim of collecting and aggregating farmer feedback to aid decision-making and adaptive project implementation.

The Listening Post model is used by different partners who are engaged in agricultural development, research and extension projects – including nitrogen fixation from grain legumes, post-harvest storage, and promotion of disease and drought-resistant cassava. At the heart of the Listening Post is an interactive radio series focused on the theme of the project. The radio broadcasts are combined with Uliza, an interactive voice response tool for gathering and analysing feedback and questions from audience members. Farmers can vote on poll questions, leave messages for development partners and policy-makers, and request the delivery of specific information.

The research shows that linking a mobile-based crowd-sourcing tool with radio is effective at ensuring engagement from a large number of farmers, who felt it was a useful way of raising their questions and concerns to NGOs, policy-makers and experts. The model has clear potential to strengthen the chain of relationships between citizens, extension services suppliers, projects and policy-makers. It has also demonstrated its potential to collect real-time feedback from farmers that could be used to aid decision-making and improve accountability in agricultural development initiatives, helping to ensure they are more responsive to farmers.

Accountability, nation and society: the role of media in remaking Nepal (BBC Media Action Policy Briefing 2016)

October 8, 2016

The media has always played a role in shaping the nation of Nepal. Now, in 2016, as a new political settlement continues to be negotiated, that role may prove to be as important as at any time in the country’s history. Based on more than 25 interviews with leading members of Nepal’s media, government, civil society and international development communities as well as audience research carried out by BBC Media Action, this briefing explores some of the key challenges facing the Nepali media. It outlines growing concerns over politicisation and co-option, particularly of the mainstream Kathmandu-based media, as well as other economic and technological challenges facing the media. The briefing further outlines how Nepal’s historically diverse and decentralised media market is increasingly showing signs of fragmentation and discord. It also examines the role that the international development community has played in supporting the Nepali media.