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Keystone’s ‘Constituent Voice’ methodology and Feedback Commons web technologies aim to make feedback from impact populations and implementing partners routine and as easy to use as possible. It is an approach being piloted by CARE to create a low- cost, DIY (Do it Yourself) feedback system. This system aims to support timely and responsive decision making, and mutually accountable relationships between CARE, its implementing partners and its impact populations.

See Constituent Voice website for a full explanation of the methodology

See this two-page summary of the pilot's mid-term results:

final_ciuk_cvfm_2-page_summary.pdf

See this two-page summary of the CARE on-line feedback platform: CARE's Feedback Commons and key lessons from the Constituent Voice pilot ( March 2019).

What it is : The Constituency Voice feedback mechanism is an approach that CARE is piloting to improve relationships between CARE, its partners, and target populations. It is being piloted in four COs – Nepal, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Ghana (8 projects/programmes overall). CARE Zambia has previously engaged in a similar pilot of this approach. The aim is to use lessons emerging out of the pilots in these five countries to develop a CARE-wide model of feedback that enhances CARE’s accountability to stakeholders in an easier and more regular way;

Why we are doing the pilot : the CV pilot responded directly to the AF review, particularly the recommendation that CARE comes up with models of accountability that improve CARE’s accountability to different stakeholders, especially those less powerful than CARE. It is aimed at providing a flexible tool for collecting perspectives from different stakeholders, analysing the feedback regularly, and acting on the findings. In this way, the methodology also responds to the growing support for more ‘adaptive development’, providing faster and more cyclical check-in junctures, where feedback on our work comes in and can be used as a management tool.

What value it brings: The CV model is aimed at making CARE’s accountability to stakeholders that are less powerful than itself more operationally easier and convenient. The model has four core elements that contribute to this. 1. It is based on the net promoter score, where it focuses on 3 categories of responses – promoters, neutrals and detractors. This gives one a quick picture of who their promoter is and encourages them to maintain the things that promoters like, while remedying those that the detractors denounce; 2. It is based on very few questions, in fact, just one question to establish promoters, detractors and neutrals. This helps in making it very easy to collect information and analysing it. 3. It promotes use of information generated in simple ways – formation of a course correction team that discusses emerging issues and resolves collective problems with the constituents one works with; Overall, the CV model promotes the use of already existing processes, systems and resources in the organization and as such it does not require heavy investment in maintaining an effective feedback mechanism that improves relationships between CARE and other stakeholders.

The (anticipated) impacts: So far, no concrete results are expected until the end of the pilot in the five pilot COs in December 2017; Zambia however has posted some results based on its initial pilot in 2016; there was a noted improvement in the processes of collecting and analysis of feedback from its partners, mainly government officials implementing a nutrition improvement program in 14 districts across Zambia. Once the pilot has been done and everything works according to the pilot design, we are anticipating three main results, namely: 1. Relationships – improve relationships amongst different actors within the program (including between implementers and the direct impact groups), 2. Impact – improve program efficiency, effectiveness and impact, 3. Evidence – track evidence of program progress towards key outcomes.

Pilot reports

Public Engagements

The Constituent Voice pilot was shared during Accountable Now hosted webinar on : Learning from people on how to improve.

Presentation here:

improving_accountability_to_those_less_powerful_than_us_-_webinar_ppt.ppt