Giving citizens a say in development

As we come close to the end of our recent project in Malawi which commenced in October 2018, we would like to update you on its progress and findings:

Background:

In Malawi, there is a vast dependency on foreign aid. Although this provides strength to vital services required for education and health, it also deters from the need of governments to be accountable and transparent to their citizens. Within the field of development aid, there is a rising desire for local actors to be further empowered to take ownership of their own development paths and address their own development challenges.

The Rumphi Social Lab:

A collaboration of Youth And Society Malawi, Root Change, Keystone Accountability and USAID Local Works, the Rumphi Social Lab aims to advance locally owned and community-led development through regular workshops promoting inclusive discussion, finding participative solutions through “micro-actions”, and fostering a collective movement that is grassroots-based.

Key Results from the Field:

• Social Labs have the capacity to expand vertical linkages between actors who traditionally have been set apart hierarchically
• Social Labs also enhance horizontal linkages; the collective actions of teams help improve coordination to achieve the common goal of improving how development operates
• Participants have constructed their own accountability system
• The Youth Development lab have mobilised young people through self-organised youth clubs
• New connections between different Social Labs are emerging creating a ripple effect
• Feedback as an accountability tool is an important mechanism to install local ownership

Participants have said they want to continue this project, and we very much want to continue to be involved.

Again, here at Keystone Accountability we thank you for your interest in our work, and for your support.

It has been four years since since we began developing a website where organizations could manage feedback loops within a clear, guided and get rapid insights. Our current design for the Feedback Commons has changed a lot! This is quite common when developing products. Here are some key lessons and moments of insight along the way...

• The platform you build on is important, it can make or break the service;
• The idea of an interactive community never took of, instead people wanted interactive training;
• People like short snappy data analysis features not long summaries;
• Similarly, people need actionable insights not long reports
• The real value of the tool is for consultants like Keystone Accountability to use with clients;

As a result, we are focusing on four clear lines of consulting, to help leverage the power of the Feedback Commons more.

Links:

• Full write up of our learning
• Our four service offerings