SMS/Voice based Beneficiary Feedback Service Provision
Challenge
The Stability Fund’s decision-making is guided by key principles, including transparency and accountability. It is committed to providing regular and accessible information (where security considerations allow) about its operations, funding decisions, what is working, and what is not and Ensuring it solicits and is responsive to beneficiaries’ views. As a result the Stability Fund set-up in partnership with Shaqodoon SMS and voice beneficiary feedback system in order to solicit targeted feedback from beneficiaries and the community.
Project Goals
Shaqodoon has supported Somalia Stability Fund working to be inclusive in programs delivery to reach the hard to reach soliciting feedbacks from its programs beneficiaries sending their input about programs actions/interventions by sending suggestions, inquiries, aspirations, complaints and valuable comments about its projects providing access to thousands of Somalis benefiting from the varies of projects through a custom mobile information service. Partnering with the country’s main mobile networks, the service is offered at no cost to participating community beneficiaries breaking down barriers of access to millions of poor communities.
Key Activities
Set up a pilot SMS feedback system based on the Ushahidi open source platform to run in All Somali telecoms. Configure SMS gateway for four Somali telecom for communication with SMS application.
Provide Hosting of application.
Establish one same toll-free short code for use across the various telecommunications companies in South Central and Puntland.
Establish two-way SMS to and from subscribers.
Automatically categories each incoming SMS by geographic locations using the number planning of each telecom company to determine locations of respondents.
The SMS application must have the capability to seek/gather further information through SMS once the sender sends in their feedback such respondence age and location in addition to the feedback content.
The SMS application must provide first level sorting incoming SMS text messages automatically in to defined categories such as age, gender, location, type of feedback and allow for second level sorting manually.
Create text box to allow for recording of incoming voice calls in the system and allow for all necessary categorization.
Filter both SMS and voice calls to remove irrelevant/prank messages, collate the remaining feedback into specific fields.
Grantee bug free system and quickly resolves of any technical issues that arises from the application for the duration of the project.
Impact
Over 2,000 project beneficiaries and 19 partner Organization are using the service sending over 5,000 feedbacks via SMS. The service will now be expanded to new project locations and implementing partners in Somalia.
Mobile telephone penetration rates are already remarkable compared to a decade ago in Somalia; Somali telecommunication companies have estimated that their network coverage in Somalia and Somaliland is more than 90% of the country. Telecom operators in Somalia have been very active despite the continuous conflict and instability. It’s not a surprising that mobiles are starting to play a key role in people’s lives in Somalia, one example of this is mobile based technology services is that Shaqodoon Organization introduced a simple SMS/Voice Feedback System that promotes accountability and transparency as well as empowering the hard to reach communities, communities have access to a tool where they can participate and make their voices heard, the designing and programming processes of the donor funded community development programs in Somalia and Somaliland. Somalia Stability Fund (SSF) is a multi-donor fund which supports peace and stability in Somalia and its decision making in programming and delivering services is guided by key principles includes transparency and accountability.
This short video explains how Shaqodoon’s Beneficiary Feedback System works.
More Details
Project Director: Mustafa Othman | Email
Location: Somalia and Somaliland
Start Date - End Date: 3/16/2021 to 3/16/2021
Donor(s): Multi-donor Fund
Partner(s): Adam Smith International (ASI)