By Varja Lipovsek, Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Twaweza and
Rakesh Rajani, Head, Twaweza
www.twaweza.org :
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Policymakers in Tanzania, as in many neighboring countries, regularly make
decisions for the entire country with little access to the experiences and
realities of a large majority of citizens. The world of policies (and
politics) and the world of ordinary citizens are miles apart – except
during election time when politics and populism are brought suddenly close.
This makes it difficult to know whether policies are properly implemented
or actually working. At the same time, citizens do not have an easy way to
know what is going on in their country, and to compare their situation with
others’.
The disconnection between policy decision-makers and citizens is a complex
and entrenched problem. Fixing it in the long-run requires responsive
government institutions with effective monitoring and accountability
mechanisms, and a data-literate, vocal press – in other words, the creation
of institutions very different from the current ones.
This might seem like a pipe dream. Complex problems require complex
solutions. But there are nudges and triggers that can open a space for
dialogue between citizens and policy makers.
Voices of Citizens
In February 2013, Twaweza, a citizen-centered initiative, launched the
first national mobile phone survey for Africa as part of its mission to
create an informed citizenry that is capable of causing large-change in
East Africa without waiting for governments, politicians, donors, or
citizen sector organizations to do it for them.
Twaweza’s phone survey, called Sauti za Wananchi (Voices of Citizens),
creates a mechanism for collecting citizens’ observations and opinions in a
representative, quick, and efficient manner, and it provides a platform
from which these voices can be broadcast in a timely and effective manner.
It focuses on topics that are directly relevant to key service provision in
the sectors of education, health, and water. Given the frequent nature of
the surveys and the quick turnaround time of analysis, current hot topics
can also be addressed.
To set up the mobile phone panel, 2,000 Tanzanians were randomly selected
and invited to become Sauti za Wananchi respondents for two years. Mobile
phones and chargers were distributed to respondents who agreed to
participate in monthly surveys.
So far, Twaweza has conducted five rounds of Sauti calls. Topics have
included the educational outcomes of secondary schools, citizens’ access to
information, and the availability of essential medicines at primary-level
clinics.
Sauti respondents took on the role of citizen monitors for some of these
rounds. For example, 196 Sauti respondents visited their local health
facilities and reported back for a round that focused on essential
medicines. (For more information about the technicalities of the survey,
see this link).
Twaweza also provides a broadcasting platform where data that is collected
during each of the monthly survey rounds is analyzed and summarized in a
“brief” – a summary with data visualizations and accessible language. Each
brief has been launched in press conferences that have been covered by the
mainstream print and broadcast media in Tanzania. The briefs are also
posted online (for example, see a recent article in the Tanzanian newspaper
The Citizen).
Each month, we really can tell a government minister that there are 2,000
Tanzanian citizens on the line, answering questions relevant to their daily
lives and investigating the service-provision standards in their
neighborhoods. It’s a big accomplishment, but the big question, of course,
is – so what?
Yes, we are broadcasting the views and feedback from Tanzanian citizens,
but are any policymakers listening? How do we ensure that the minister
picks up the phone, listens, and uses the data for policy decisions?
Is it our job to generate the data, make it understandable, and widely
available to the public – or is it also to actively bring the data to
potentially interested parties, and to broker the use of that data? We have
not answered that question fully for ourselves – but in seeking the answer,
we are developing a system of more closely monitoring what happens to this
data.
We are currently exploring the following actions (some of these actions are
simpler than others):
1) Tracking the delivery of the briefs, and monitoring for media
coverage.
2) Analyzing the publicly available recordings of parliamentary
discussions to track whether discussions include references to data.
3) Interviewing a group of selected key audiences (such as ministry
officials in relevant sectors, parliamentarians, some donors, and citizen
sector organizations) to better understand whether the kind of information
we offer is relevant and useful, and whether it has been used in
decision-making and how.
Each month, there are 2,000 Tanzanian citizens on the line – answering
questions relevant to their daily lives, investigating the
service-provision standards in their neighborhoods, voicing their opinions.
To close the loop, the Minister has to pick up the phone and use the data.