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Fostering new ideas for social inclusion and accountable, responsive governance
RESEARCH REPORTHow can programmes such as Making All Voices Count utilise innovation as a strategy for addressing complex governance problems? This think piece draws from…
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Bridging and bonding: improving links between accountability actors
EVENT REPORT PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTWhen we walked in, the doctor was sat at his desk. We started asking about drug supply, maternal health, child mortality, which we knew…
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On speaking, mediation, representation and listening
RESEARCH REPORTWhose voice has value and why? This think piece draws from a desk review of experience on voice, and an exchange of ideas in…
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Making All Voices Count strategy synthesis
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTThe Making All Voices Count Strategy Synthesis presents the programme’s strategic approach to programme activities in 2014. Making All Voices Count began with a…
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Making All Voices Count's research and evidence strategy
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTMaking All Voices Count is a citizen engagement and accountable governance programme. We aim to harness the transformative potential of unusual partnerships and innovative…
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How useful are RCTS in evaluating transparency and accountability projects?
RESEARCH REPORTThis paper sheds light on existing evidence about the Random Controlled Trials (RCTs) in the evaluation of social accountability tools in service delivery. It…
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The question of inclusiveness
RESEARCH REPORTInclusiveness is a persistent theme in development thinking and practice. Concerns about who to include – and therefore who to exclude – how and…
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Government responsiveness
RESEARCH REPORTWhen citizens exercise voice, what is it that makes their voices count, or not count? If citizens’ voices count, governments are being responsive. This…
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Testing the waters: a qualitative comparative analysis of the factors affecting success in rendering water services sustainable based on ICT reporting
RESEARCH REPORTThis research, carried out by WaterAid, Itad and IRC, explores the factors that facilitate and inhibit the success of ICT-based reporting mechanisms in water…
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Sometimes it is about the tech: choosing tools in South African and Kenyan transparency and accountability initiatives
RESEARCH REPORTThis report looks at the processes through which organisations in South Africa and Kenya choose technology tools to use in transparency and accountability initiatives…
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How can ICT initiatives improve rural water supply?
RESEARCH SUMMARYThis research, carried out by WaterAid, Itad and IRC, explores the factors that facilitate and inhibit the success of ICT-based reporting mechanisms in water…
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How does government responsiveness come about? The politics of accountability in Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme
RESEARCH REPORTMuch of the literature on citizen accountability focuses on citizen voices. This research briefing is one of four which turn the spotlight on the…
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Why is it so hard for non-state actors to be heard? Inside Tanazania's education policies
RESEARCH REPORTMuch of the literature on citizen accountability focuses on citizen voices. This research briefing is one of four which turn the spotlight on the…
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Getting strategic: vertically integrated approaches to governance
RESEARCH REPORTHolding power to account requires understanding where power lies and how it is exercised. It entails understanding how decisions are made and who makes…
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Accountability ecosystems: directions of accountability and points of engagement
RESEARCH REPORTAccountability – the obligation of those in power to take responsibility for their actions – involves different types of relationship between different actors in…
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Transforming governance: how can technology help reshape democracy?
RESEARCH REPORTThe governance field is preoccupied with the question of how we can make democracy work better. One of the more promising and talked-about fields…
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Transforming governance: what role for technology?
EVENT REPORT PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTIn February 2016, 55 researchers and practitioners met in Manila to discuss the role of technology in transforming governance. It was a fast-moving conversation,…
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Privacy, anonymity, visibility: dilemmas in tech use by marginalised communities
RESEARCH REPORTHow do marginalised communities use tech for transparency and accountability (T4T&A) work? This research report, by the Tactical Technology Collective (Tactical Tech), presents reflections…
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Women and the right of access to information
RESEARCH REPORTOver the last decade, there has been a growing emphasis on making government information available to the public. But while technological advances, new systems…
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Engaging with local communities to prevent violence: what role for ICTS?
RESEARCH REPORTThe peace-building field is full of examples of projects that have attempted to use technology, but failed to live up to expectations. Effective conflict…
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The quest for citizen-led accountability: looking into the state
EVENT REPORTIn citizen-led accountability initiatives, we understand much more about how citizens mobilise around accountability demands than we do about what leads state agents to…
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Connecting the dots: The coordination challenge for the Open Government Partnership
RESEARCH REPORTOpen data is often an integral part of promoting transparency, fighting corruption and harnessing new technologies to strengthen governance. But to implement ‘good’ open…
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Learning for change in accountable governance programming
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTDeveloping innovative solutions for accountable governance – with or without a tech focus – involves trying out new ideas and learning from the process.…
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Bridging the gap: the role of local churches in fostering local-level accountability
RESEARCH REPORTFaith-based organisations play an important role in mobilising citizens to engage with local government actors on accountability issues. Tearfund supports its partner churches to…
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Lessons from Yowzit's practitioner research and learning process
PRACTICE PAPERMaking All Voices Count’s Research, Evidence and Learning component provides grants and mentoring support for real-time research, applied by tech for transparency and accountability…
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What happens when policy champions move on? The case of welfare in South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTMuch of the literature on citizen accountability focuses on citizen voices. This research briefing is one of four which turn the spotlight on the…
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Has Kenya's ICT revolution triggered more citizen participation?
RESEARCH REPORTMuch of the literature on citizen accountability focuses on citizen voices. This research briefing is one of four which turn the spotlight on the…
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Scaling accountability through vertically integrated civil society policy monitoring and advocacy
RESEARCH REPORTThis working paper argues that the growing field of transparency, participation and accountability (TPA) needs a conceptual reboot, to address the limited traction gained…
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Making coordination a catalyst for the Open Government Partnership in South Africa
PRACTICE PAPEROpen Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), a South African civil society organisation (CSO) working on transparency and accountability, has been heavily involved in the Open…
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Crowdsourcing citizen feedback on district development in Ghana using interactive voice response surveys
PRACTICE PAPERIn mid-2015, VOTO Mobile, in partnership with the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), applied to Making All Voices Count for a practitioner research…
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Going vertical: citizen-led reform campaigns in the Philippines
RESEARCH REPORTThe Philippines has a long history of state–society engagement to introduce reforms in government and politics. Forces from civil society and social movements have…
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Participatory budgeting in Indonesia: past, present and future
PRACTICE PAPERYayasan Kota Kita (Our City Foundation) is an organisation of governance practitioners who focus on urban planning and citizen participation in the design and…
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Exploring the potential for interactive radio to improve accountability and responsiveness to small-scale farmers in Tanzania
RESEARCH REPORTWhat are the possibilities of using new digital technologies alongside radio to help ensure that agricultural development projects are farmer-centred, and meet the needs…
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Feasibility and acceptability of a mobile phone intervention to improve post-rape service delivery in South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTMobile health (mHealth) interventions – in which mobile phones are used to advance positive health outcomes – have only recently been applied to addressing…
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Shifting the spotlight: understanding crowdsourcing intermediaries in transparency and accountability initiatives
RESEARCH REPORTThis report highlights the ideas and practices that underlie the work of crowdsourcing intermediaries: actors who collect and analyse citizen feedback using digital platforms,…
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Opening governance – change, continuity and conceptual ambiguity
JOURNAL ARTICLEOpen government and open data are new areas of research, advocacy and activism that have entered the governance field alongside the more established areas…
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When does ICT-enabled citizen voice lead to government responsiveness?
JOURNAL ARTICLEAround the world, civil society organisations (CSOs) and governments are experimenting with information and communications technology (ICT) platforms. This article reviews evidence on the…
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ICTs help citizens voice concerns over water – or do they?
JOURNAL ARTICLEInformation and communications technologies (ICTs) are widely seen as a new avenue for citizens to hold service providers and government to account. But if…
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When does the state listen?
JOURNAL ARTICLEMuch of the literature on accountability focuses on citizen voices, but this article argues that there is a need to bring more of the…
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'You have to raise a fist!': seeing and speaking to the state in South Africa
JOURNAL ARTICLESince joining the Open Governance Partnership in 2011, South Africa has been committed to addressing the ‘grand challenge’ of open governance through improving public…
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The right of access to information: exploring gender inequities
JOURNAL ARTICLEThe right of access to information is a fundamental and universal right, necessary for economic empowerment and the fulfilment of other rights. However, as…
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Men and women of words: how words divide and connect the Bunge La Mwananchi movement in Kenya
JOURNAL ARTICLEHow does a movement for social justice, whose members are mainly drawn from the lower economic strata of society, build and sustain its power…
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Test it and they might come: improving the uptake of digital tools in transparency and accountability initiatives
JOURNAL ARTICLEInformation and communications technologies (ICTs) and data play an increasingly visible role in transparency and accountability initiatives (TAIs). There has been little research on…
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The dark side of digital politics: understanding the algorithmic manufacturing of consent and the hindering of online dissidence
JOURNAL ARTICLEVarious strands of literature on civic engagement, ‘big data’ and open government view digital technologies as the key to easier government accountability and citizens’…
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Building an ecosystem around data: using interactive radio for accountability to farmers in Tanzania
PRACTICE PAPERIn 2015, Farm Radio International applied to Making All Voices Count for a practitioner research and learning grant. Farm Radio International (FRI) is a…
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Client experience of rape victims accessing governmental post-rape services in South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTThis study aims to better understand the experiences of rape victims accessing governmental post-rape services in South Africa. It was part of a larger…
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Semi-annual Report Year 4
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTMaking All Voices Count is an international initiative that harnesses the power of innovation and new technologies to support effective, accountable governance. Working in…
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Taking scale into account in transparency and accountability initiatives
RESEARCH SUMMARYScale shift describes the way that localised collective actions spread to become social forces with national scope, or to resonate in transnational arenas –…
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Women and the right of access to information in Bangladesh: executive summary
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new study from the Carter Center examines women’s right to information in Bangladesh. The research assessed whether women are able to exercise the…
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Sometimes it is about the tech: choosing tools in South African and Kenyan transparency and accountability initiatives: findings and summary
RESEARCH SUMMARYTo better understand the process of finding effective digital technology tools in transparency and accountability initiatives, researchers interviewed organisations in South Africa and Kenya…
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Technology innovation hubs and policy engagement
RESEARCH REPORTMany technology innovation hubs are developing impactful, locally relevant civic tech solutions to pressing commercial and social issues. Given that most hubs’ ‘double bottom…
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Privacy, anonymity, visibility: dilemmas in tech use by marginalised communities: summary, findings and reflections
RESEARCH SUMMARYT4T&A (tech for transparency and accountability) initiatives intend to make the public functioning of government visible, and states accountable to citizens for their actions.…
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Faith, empowerment, church and community mobilisation advocacy: insights from Tearfund’s partner in Uganda
PRACTICE PAPERTearfund, a Christian faith-based international non-governmental organisation, has for 15 years supported local churches to mobilise communities through a process called Church and Community…
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Mobilising citizens for transparency and accountability in education through Textbook Count
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Campaigning for agrarian reform in the Bondoc Peninsula
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Empowering communities for housing and community services
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Intensifying the anti-mining campaign
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Campaigning for the rights of indigenous peoples
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Building disaster-resilient communities
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Advancing reproductive health rights
RESEARCH SUMMARYA new generation of strategies for government accountability is needed, one that fully considers entrenched, institutional obstacles to change. Vertical integration of coordinated civil…
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Citizen-generated data and sustainable development
RESEARCH REPORTThe development data and information landscape in Kenya and Uganda has changed significantly over recent years. Officials, civil society and the private sector are…
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Social accountability initiatives in health and nutrition: lessons from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
RESEARCH REPORTSouth Asia is home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population and is a region of dynamic economic growth, yet it performs relatively…
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I know what I know (but how do I know what I don’t?)
EVENT REPORTLearning events are designed to foster trust and collaboration among participants, but they should also encourage the kind of disruptive discourse that can inspire…
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Improving the transparency, inclusivity and impact of participatory budgeting in Indonesian cities
RESEARCH REPORTDecentralisation has provided the opportunity for the participatory model of development planning and budgeting to be applied in Indonesia. Through a participatory planning and…
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Giving voice to clients of post-rape services: building and piloting a feedback mechanism in Tshwane
PRACTICE PAPERFoundation for Professional Development (FPD) is a private South African higher education institution, which received an innovation grant from Making All Voices Count to…
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What data do we want? Understanding demands for open data among civil society organisations in South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTMany governments, international agencies and civil society organisations (CSOs) support and promote open data. Most open government data initiatives have focused on supply –…
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One step to a thousand miles: building accountability in Liberia
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTThis report shares the findings from an impact assessment of Accountability Lab, conducted between August 2016 and March 2017 as part of a research…
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More accountable and responsive governance: how do technologies help make it happen?
EVENT REPORTThe change Making All Voices Count wants is more responsive, accountable governance. The programme has contributed to this change by supporting tech-enabled initiatives for…
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Democratic accountability in the digital age
RESEARCH SUMMARYThere is, this Brief argues, a new governance paradigm emerging, characterised by the rise of “governance by networks” and “rule by data”. This flux,…
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A citizenship in crisis: voice, welfare and other contestations in the digital state
RESEARCH SUMMARYThe vision, design and implementation of e-governance in India with its attendant “datafication” leads to many pertinent questions about the changing nature of governance…
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Open Data in Philippines: from access to awareness
RESEARCH SUMMARYAs a democratic country, the Philippines values citizen participation in ensuring that people’s voices are heard and that they are part of important decision-making…
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Digital mapping in Warwick Junction and the remaking of ‘space’: notes from South Africa
RESEARCH SUMMARYThere have been significant shifts in the policy environment of South Africa that are transforming the way citizen engagement takes place in the country.…
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Citizen participation and the rise of the Open Source City in Spain
RESEARCH SUMMARYIn the public sector, Spain has made big efforts not to lag behind digital leaders in terms of public e-readiness and e-government, but the…
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It matters who produces data: reflections on two citizen-generated data initiatives
PRACTICE PAPERDevelopment Initiatives (DI) and Development Research and Training (DRT) received a Making All Voices Count practitioner research and learning grant to examine the purpose,…
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A tale of two consultations: online participatory practices in Brazil
RESEARCH SUMMARYWhen it comes to ICT-mediated governance participation in Brazil, Internet penetration still remains a major challenge, with only around half of homes having connectivity.…
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When digital democracy falls short: insights from Colombia
RESEARCH SUMMARYColombian e-government development has been internationally recognised by the UN as a leader in Latin America, and one of the 20 most developed nations…
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New pathways for citizen agency: Open Government National Action Plans in Uruguay
RESEARCH SUMMARYSince the implementation of the first Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (OGP-NAP) in Uruguay in 2012, open government has evolved from a focus…
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ICT-facilitated accountability and engagement in health systems: a review of Making All Voices Count mHealth for accountability projects
RESEARCH REPORTInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) and mHealth innovations hold great potential to improve health systems and health outcomes while at the same time enhancing…
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Building safe spaces to support young women’s participation in local governance in Indonesia
PRACTICE PAPERBarriers to young (especially unmarried) women’s participation in public spaces include the prevailing view that doing so violates social norms, young women’s often low…
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Complaining to improve governance: four stories of complaint-handling systems in Indonesia
RESEARCH REPORTSince joining the Open Government Partnership in 2011, the Indonesian Government has shown some commitment towards implementing initiatives that increase citizen voice and government…
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Accountability in health systems and the potential of mHealth
RESEARCH REPORTThe rapid spread of ICTs – and of mobile phones in particular – across low- and middle-income countries has generated considerable excitement in development…
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Pathways to accountability from the margins: reflections on participatory video practice
RESEARCH REPORTTwo of the central challenges in building accountability for marginalised people are how to reach and meaningfully involve the most excluded, and how to…
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When top down visions meet grassroots digital activism: notes from Netherlands
RESEARCH REPORTThe Netherlands provides several avenues for citizen participation in formal policy-making, and is often described as a global leader in e-participation and e-government. Yet,…
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Translating complex realities through technologies: lessons about participatory accountability from South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTAccountability is a complex issue in South Africa. The country has high levels of inequality, and marginalised groups struggle to make themselves heard by…
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Do more empowered citizens make more accountable states? Power and legitimacy in legal empowerment initiatives in Kenya and South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTMany marginalised groups face difficulties in accessing essential services, such as housing, health care and water – even though their rights to these services…
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Budget oversight and accountability in Nigeria: what incentivises digital and non-digital citizens to engage?
PRACTICE PAPEROpening up the budgets of economies such as Nigeria’s continues to be a challenge, and most citizens remain in the dark on how the…
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Voice or chatter? Making ICTs work for transformative citizen engagement
RESEARCH REPORTWhat are the conditions in democratic governance that make information and communication technology (ICT)-mediated citizen engagement transformative? While substantial scholarship exists on the role…
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Voice or chatter? Making ICTs work for transformative citizen engagement: research report summary
RESEARCH SUMMARYWhat are the conditions in democratic governance that make information and communication technology (ICT)-mediated citizen engagement transformative? While substantial scholarship exists on the role…
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Tools, platforms and mechanisms to support accountability to disaster-affected populations in the Philippines
RESEARCH REPORTWhen Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013, a number of national and local government tools, platforms and mechanisms were put in place to…
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Marco Civil vs.Copyright Reform: a comparative study
RESEARCH REPORTIn 2009, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice partnered with the academic organisation Center for Technology and Society of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, to build…
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Ons Geld citizen initiative, Netherlands
RESEARCH REPORTOns Geld (Our Money) is a Dutch citizen initiative seeking to put the question of money production on the public agenda. Ons Geld pushed…
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Open data and citizen engagement, Philippines
Benigno Aquino III ran for the position of President of the Philippines in 2010, with a campaign slogan of “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”…
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Participatory mapping in e-Thekwini Municipality, South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTGreater ICT availability in South Africa suggests a growing possibility for citizens to use mobile phones and Internet to hold government accountable. However, there…
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Open mapping from the ground up: learning from Map Kibera
RESEARCH REPORTIn Nairobi in 2009, 13 young residents of the informal settlement of Kibera mapped their community using OpenStreetMap, an online mapping platform. This was…
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Doing digital development differently: lessons in adaptive management from technology for governance initiatives in Kenya
RESEARCH REPORTDevelopment projects don’t always work as planned. This has long been acknowledged by those in the sector, and has led to several approaches that…
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Innovations to engage youth in accountability work in Liberia
PRACTICE PAPERIn Liberia’s post-conflict context, there is a new generation of young people coming of age who did not experience the conflict. The Accountability Lab,…
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Competing to deliver? Political workers and service delivery in Pakistan
RESEARCH SUMMARYWhy do some citizens receive better municipal services than others? Comparative political economy is deeply concerned with this question, but most answers so far…
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Connecting communication: using video to open spaces and mediate exchange between Kenyan grass-roots activists
RESEARCH REPORTBunge La Mwananchi (BLM) is a Kenyan grass-roots social movement that creates space for unrepresented people from the poorest backgrounds to raise and debate…
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Featured Research Now Available from Making All Voices Count
RESEARCH SUMMARYAs Making All Voices Count enters its final sprint of producing publications and disseminating findings, we’re sharing links to some featured research from our…
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Open Government Plan 2011-2015, Uruguay
RESEARCH REPORTThe Open Government National Action Plan (NAP) development and roll-out processes analysed in this paper reveal Uruguay’s effort to enable new ways of agency…
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Country overview Brazil
RESEARCH REPORTThe inclusion of social participation concerns in public policies in Brazil reflects a contemporary approach to democracy, according to which modern citizens should be…
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Country overview Netherlands
RESEARCH REPORTCitizen engagement in the Netherlands is formalised at both national and local levels. The legal avenues for citizen engagement at the national level consist…
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Country overview Philippines
RESEARCH REPORTThe recent and rapid rise of digital technologies among citizens and civil society organisations (CSOs) offers extensive possibilities of strengthening citizen voice not just…
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decidim.barcelona, Spain
RESEARCH REPORTIn September 2015, Madrid – the capital of Spain – initiated a participatory democracy project, Decide Madrid (Madrid decides), to enable participatory strategic planning…
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Forthcoming Research from Making All Voices Count
As Making All Voices Count enters its final sprint of producing publications and disseminating findings, we’d like to tell you about some research that…
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Evolving an open e-governance index for network societies
RESEARCH REPORTThe Open e-Governance Index (OeGI) is a framework for measuring open e-governance, developed and tested in four Asian countries in 2012. This report discusses…
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Indonesia’s Village Law: enabler or constraint for more accountable governance?
RESEARCH REPORTVillage underdevelopment is considered a major contributor to Indonesia’s high levels of inequality. Law No.6 / 2014 (‘Village Law’) on villages’ governance and finance…
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Tech for governance programmes in Kenya
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTMaking All Voices Count has been a grant-making programme supporting tech for accountable governance initiatives, which in this report are defined as “projects, programmes…
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Trust, responsiveness and sustainability in complaints systems: Transparency International’s experience with Uwajibikaji Pamoja
PRACTICE PAPERKenya’s arid and semi-arid regions have faced recurrent drought, famine, and inter-community conflicts. High levels of need have led to large humanitarian relief programmes…
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Urna de Cristal, Colombia
Urna De Cristal (UDC) is an e-participation platform launched by the presidency of Colombia in 2010. The platform allows citizens to raise queries/concerns to…
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Country overview South Africa
RESEARCH REPORTSouth Africa offers wide spread ICT infrastructure in the country and adoption is high amongst the population. With greater ICT availability, there is a…
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Country overview Uruguay
RESEARCH REPORTUruguay is a particular case within Latin American in terms of how strong, stable and traditional its democratic institutions are. The country has also…
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Country overview Colombia
RESEARCH REPORTIn Colombia, technological modernisation coexists with activities supported through obsolete technologies and conservative mindsets. The country is in a permanent struggle between tradition and…
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Tech for governance programmes in Tanzania
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTThe Making All Voices Count programme is working towards a world in which open, effective and participatory governance is the norm and not the…
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Learning to make all voices count: Lessons and reflections on localising the Open Government Partnership
RESEARCH REPORTThis report reviews the evidence from Learning to Make All Voices Count (L-MAVC), a programme funded by Making All Voices Count and implemented in…
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Izolo: mobile diaries of the less connected
RESEARCH REPORTA significant body of evidence points to a strong relationship between those who are economically, socially and/or politically marginalised, and those who are marginalised…
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The techno-centric gaze: incorporating citizen participation technologies into participatory governance processes in the Philippines
RESEARCH REPORTIn recent years, government and civil society organisations have increasingly deployed digital tools in their efforts to increase the participation of citizens in various…
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Participatory budgeting: adoption and transformation
RESEARCH SUMMARYParticipatory budgeting programmes are spreading rapidly across the world because they offer government officials and citizens the opportunity to engage each other in new…
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Connecting citizens to their governments: lessons from ICT-based governance initiatives in Indonesia
RESEARCH REPORTIn recent years, Indonesia has seen significant growth in the number of initiatives that aim to tackle governance challenges through information and communications technologies…
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Politicians’ perspectives on voice and accountability: evidence from a survey of South African local councillors
RESEARCH REPORTA growing body of research exists on democratic accountability. Much of this research focuses on citizen strategies for expressing their views, and on efforts…
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Learning to Make All Voices Count: Lessons for OGP, donors, and practitioners
The Open Government Partnership (OGP), donors and multilaterals, and social accountability practitioners across the world are among various constituencies attempting to harness and actualise…
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Poverty, voice and advocacy: a Haitian study
RESEARCH REPORTOver the past ten years, Fonkoze (a non-profit organisation in Haiti) has adapted the ‘graduation’ model of lifting families out of extreme poverty through…
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Supporting local learning and adaptation: Understanding the effectiveness of adaptive processes
An increasingly compelling body of evidence suggests that governance reform is inherently political and complex, and that reform efforts are most likely to be…
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Addressing failure in ICT-enabled ‘citizen voice – government responsiveness’ interventions: unpacking core assumptions and essential components
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTWithin the governance arena, many ICT-enabled interventions focus on raising citizens’ voices with government. They aim to make it easier for citizens to feed…
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Appropriating technology for accountability: messages from Making All Voices Count
RESEARCH REPORTMaking All Voices Count was a programme designed to solve the ‘grand challenge’ of creating more effective democratic governance and accountability around the world.…
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Supporting innovation and the use of technologies in accountability initiatives: lessons from Making All Voices Count
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTMaking All Voices Count was an international initiative that harnessed the power of innovation and new technologies to support effective, accountable governance. Focusing on…
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The Free State Housing Campaign: supporting people-led demands for social justice and accountable governance
PRACTICE PAPERIn South Africa, community advice offices (CAOs) have historically played an important role as intermediaries for community issues and in efforts to increase accountability.…
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The art of ‘bureaucraft’: Why and how bureaucrats respond to citizen voice
RESEARCH SUMMARYDespite the recent increase of empirical research and conceptual development in transparency and accountability, much of this has been on the side of citizen…
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The effect of civic leadership training on citizen engagement and government responsiveness: experimental evidence from the Philippines
RESEARCH REPORTWhat are the effects of providing civic leadership training to community leaders from marginalised groups? Can it lead to increased participation by new leaders…
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Increasing citizen voice and government responsiveness: what does success really look like, and who decides?
PROGRAMME LEARNING REPORTNarratives in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) for governance are full of claims, of either enormous success or almost none. But…