For field practitioners working in some of the more challenging operating environments on the planet, many of us our constantly looking for tools and practices that will help to improve development outcomes for the people and communities we are engaged with. Typically we are handcuffed by programmes and projects that have been developed by programme/project design teams who are far removed from the realities of the field and the socio-economic barriers that are regularly encountered by field practitioners.
Programme and project documents claim to assist communities to ‘kick-start’ the private sector development process, or strengthen the community reconciliation process, and/or increase output by strengthening investment flows to name just a few ostentatious claims. Although these goals are clearly important, project field staff/technicians are rarely provided with the guidance and tools necessary to achieve these ambitious targets. This ‘dis-connect’ inevitably leads to frictions between the implementation field team and programme/project designers living in the more sheltered milieus of Washington, New York, Geneva, Rome, Vienna, etc. Furthermore, project designs rarely explicitly consider the extent to which the channels through which implementation activities are rolled out become politicized; especially when local counterparts re-direct programme inputs towards self-serving or nefarious ends. In many of the world’s troubled spots, these are the ‘realities on the ground’.
To help minimize the emergence of these sorts of project-level pathologies, many of UNIDO’s Agri-Business Development Branch’s field staff are introducing a new set of technical tools so as to strengthen the development results under our various post-conflict country programmes. Three noteworthy initiatives are (i) the growing use of data collection and monitoring efforts that leverage the growing use of mobile phone and SMS communication, (ii) enhanced use of GPS and GIS-related technologies, and (iii) using cost-effective and commercially available tracking units to promote the safety and security of field staff. Over the next few entries, I will make a few observations about how these technologies are leading to real improvements on the ground.
It is widely recognized that mobile phones are enhancing communication flows and feedback mechanisms throughout the world. One of the important lessons that has emerged from the work of writers like Joseph Stiglitz is that poor information, leads to poor decision-making, which leads to poor technical/human/financial resource allocations, which lead to sub-optimal development outcomes. Taking this contribution as an important referent point, our Branch’s field staff has begun using mobile phone and SMS messaging in three important areas:
1. Communicating with project survey informants;
2. Communicating with project-targeted beneficiary groups; and
3. Monitoring project/programme impact
One area where many UN agencies are regularly criticized involves how information is collected and how survey informants are kept informed about how their information is used. In many country operations, UN agencies regularly collect information about quality of life indicators, market prices, security levels, consumption patterns, etc. In many cases, survey teams collect this information but never keep the survey informant updated on how the information supplied will feed into programming or how these important contributions will impact their lives and communities. To address this issue, UNIDO has begun collecting mobile numbers of survey informants and through the use of Group SMS we are able to not only thank survey participants but also keep them updated on how the information is being used and the project activities that have been developed or strengthened as a result of their contributions. As a result, UNIDO’s ‘brand recognition’ has been strengthened, project stakeholders report a greater sense of ownership, activities are conducted in a much more transparent manner, and community level monitoring of our efforts are greatly enhanced. This is a cost effective and easily implemented approach that has resulted in large dividends in areas where it has been practiced. Although it is a fairly recent initiative we expect to see its applicability extended to other operational activities involving stakeholder communication and ownership.
In post-conflict environments, a number of UN organizations have limited access to the field. We are constrained by adverse changes in the level of security in our programme targeted areas. In these environments we rely on local counterparts to facilitate the unfolding of project activities. In a number of UNIDO’s country programmes, political and sectarian cleavages are an operational reality. Working at the local/field level puts staff in direct contact with individuals, groups, elites, etc. that may believe that it is in their best interest to control/channel the distribution of project resources to particular constituencies. Not only does this inevitably lead to a ‘negative blowback’ for the reputation of the Organization but it may also lead to increased polarization and a tearing apart of the social fabric of the community. To reduce the likelihood that beneficiary targeting is politicized, UNIDO has been using mobile phones and SMS to directly communicate with project beneficiary groups. The use of SMS allows project managers to notify potential beneficiaries about important and upcoming community workshops, the location and start-up date of a capacity building training session, and even for some WEP-enabled phones beneficiary selection forms can be received, completed, and returned. The use of SMS to communicate with project beneficiaries is an important development for field practitioners and managers. It allows us the opportunity to communicate directly with a beneficiary and in so doing, potentially take out the perverse incentive to politicize our technical and livelihoods assistance programmes.
Finally, mobile phones and SMS are becoming a powerful tool to assess the impact and results of our projects. In many of our livelihoods and micro-industry support programmes we regularly compile detailed information on our beneficiaries. For example, UNIDO has built up a large portfolio of projects that have vocational training components as a key programmatic feature. By collecting information from our trainee (including mobile phone details) we are able to directly sample the impact that our training has had on the income, employment, and quality of life status of trainees that have successfully graduated from our various technical and vocational training programmes. We are also able to assess the quality of training, the competency of our training staff, and seek recommendations that will strengthen our programming. This is a cost-effective approach to monitoring; especially for programmes that cover a large geographical area or where there is low level of security. It has also improved transparency and reduced instances of corrupt practices. One area where we see great potential is in gathering regular data on the activities, viability, and operational constraints and opportunities facing the micro and small-scale producers that we have been engaged with.
Technology is making in an important impact in the lives of people across the globe. UNIDO Agri-Business Development Branch is continuously learning from these changing dynamics and is designing approaches that can leverage technical/technologies so as to enhance the results and outcomes for our programmes but also ensure that our resources are allocated towards those that need our assistance. More importanty, the information that is collected and communicated can then be directly fed back into the design considerations of project managers, who are largely involved in programme development efforts, but for a variety of reasons are far removed from the realities in the field. Technology is helping to close this gap and as a result, better information is being generated which will lead to stronger project designs that much more effectively reflect the conditions regularly encountered by the implementation teams and other technicians. Next week I will look at how GPS and GIS-type technologies are improving reporting and tracking methods for field managers.
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