Technologies for Community Empowerment - Aaditeshwar Seth
- 1. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n e D E M A N D D R I V E N A C C O U N T A B I L I T Y : T E C H N O L O G Y F O R S M C S C E N T R A L S Q U A R E F O U N D A T I O N N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 GramVaaniCommunity Media -TechnologiesforCommunityEmpowerment- V O I C E O F T H E V I L L AG E
- 2. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development MIS Capacity building, TV, radio… Demanddriven accountabilityneeds feedbackloops Community knows what’s working & what’s not Generates data required for action Service provider responds to the data Implement the fix Awareness Empowerment, inclusiveness, institutional processes One off cases, poor pattern detection Poor accountability Poor tracking Systemic change or one off solution Service provider Community Poor tracking Grievance helplines RTI, elections, media Social audit PRIs, SMCs, VHSCs Consultations
- 3. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Current Internet users in India ~ 150M Projections until 2017 ~ 300M Population still left without Internet access > 400M Poor literacy to use text based communication media Inability to afford smart phones Even with government subsidy for Internet access and devices, there is a large user base that may not be on the Internet and able to use interactive communication technologies Mobile Vaani is a voice-based participatory media platform for this disenfranchised population Participatory media is effectiveat creatingcontext
- 4. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Howit works Inputs connected to government (local + other) , NGO partners, social enterprise partners Content moderated locally and centrally, then published on IVR, web 1. Speak 2. Moderate + Share 3. Connect to stakeholders Users speak and listen to contributions over our intelligent IVR platform
- 5. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development 90% community sourced content Local news Interviews and informational services Opinion on topical issues Guided discussions and campaigns Grievances and feedback on government schemes Cultural artifacts including folk songs and poems Reach 2,000+ calls per day 6.5min average call duration 100,000+ unique callers 7 most active districts in JH Expanding to Bihar Contenton Mobile Vaani
- 6. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Important to capture context Increases relevance Localization improves understanding Quicker behavior change However, hard to execute Requires community ownership Feedback loops to react to community demands Processes to serve information and services at local levels Campaign process on Mobile Vaani Campaignsto bring contextualrelevance Engaging seed content is provided, to encourage discussion Content played out to Mobile Vaani users Feedback is analyzed and channeled back for community response Leads to contextual- ization of even hard topics including gender equity and early marriage
- 7. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Participatory media provides anopen forumtodemand accountability Hard evidence gathered on public health facilities 80% do not have clean drinking water 40% have vacant posts for doctors Deliveries happening in the bathroom Stories carried by several regional media publications Testimonials about 5 health facilities that have improved since campaigning started on Jharkhand Mobile Vaani Estimated 100,000 people thus indirectly impacted
- 8. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Howaccountabilityloops are currently working People reported on a few officials who were demanding bribes for UID enrollment. The site was visited by the block development officer and the officials were fined A village ignored by health agencies was reported to have had 3 malaria deaths in the last one week. A mobile ambulance was immediately dispatched, with fumigation equipment and first aid Mostly fear of escalation is what makes things work. Needs to change!
- 9. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Howaccountabilityloops are currently working Largely depends on conscientiousness of officer. Needs to become part of a process
- 10. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Idealscenario: Integratecommunityinputswithinternaltracking Our server makes and receives calls/SMS from contract staff on their deliverables Community members query the status and dispute it if they want Status and disputes were made available on a web dashboard and reviewed by the MCD commissioner; City Representatives post responses on Facebook Municipal Corporation of Delhi approached Gram Vaani for phone based citizen monitoring of waste disposal in the city 1 2 3 4 Self-reported status by MCD staff Citizens can query and dispute
- 11. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Applying theseideas to SMCs Community knows what’s working & what’s not Generates data required for action Service provider responds to the data Implement the fix Make SMCs, especially parents, aware of their rights and responsibilities Give them a voice Help them articulate actionable problems Ensure responsiveness Build a process
- 12. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Parents ParentsParents SMC SMC SMC Extension officer Role of technology Role of community mobilizer Schools District officer Enable participation Experience sharing Reporting/ Scorecards Reports/ advise Performance reports Community uptake Articulate problems Bring response Audit participation Performance reports Applying theseideas to SMCs
- 13. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Role of technology Can help SMCs learn from each other via shared contexts Can open up SMC discussions to the broader parents community to get a stronger voice Can help collect data on different indicators Can keep trainers updated about SMC discussions and ensure structuring of debate for problem articulation Can present data to service providers as well What technology cannot do Ensure response. Either has to be institutionalized or obtained (sporadically) via external pressure such as media Ensure continued participation if previous efforts did not yield results Applying theseideas to SMCs Thanksfor listening!
- 14. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Vision: “Build citizen-driven media platforms that give communities a voice of their own” Pioneers in building innovative voice-based technologies that are in use with more than 60+ organizations in India, Africa, and Afghanistan Reach to a rural demography of more than 2M people through our network of mobile based social media services Awards and recognition mBillionth award 2013 Rising Stars in Global Health award 2012 mBillionth award 2012 10 most innovative companies in India (by Fast Company, 2011) Economic Times Power of Ideas 2010 Manthan Award 2009 Knight News Challenge 2008 About Gram Vaani
- 15. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n eMobile Vaani: Technology. Media. Development Ourpartners MCD Delhi Knight Fndn. IIT Delhi
- 16. g o o n j : s o c i a l m e d i a f o r e v e r y o n e G r a m V a a n i C o m m u n i t y M e d i a W e b s i t e : h t t p : / / w w w . g r a m v a a n i . o r g E m a i l : c o n t a c t @ g r a m v a a n i . o r g Thanks