WORKING WITH AFRICA’S VOICES IS…
Photo: Dodoma, Tanzania. Credit: C. Schubert (CCAFS)
OUR PARTNERS SAY:
“INVALUABLE IN INFORMING HOW WE ENGAGE WITH OUR TARGET BENEFICIARIES.” – JOYCE KABUE, OXFAM IN KENYA
“LIKE LISTENING AT THE KEYHOLE OF A GIANT CONVERSATION.” – ROB BURNET, WELL TOLD STORY
OUR FRIENDS SAY:
“REALLY IMPORTANT SINCE THE UNDERSTANDING AND THE AGENCY OF THE PEOPLE MUST HAVE A CENTRAL ROLE IN ATTEMPTS TO ENHANCE THEIR LIVES.” – AMARTYA SEN, NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING ECONOMIST
Photo:Radio broadcaster in Yei, South Sudan Credit: Werner Anderson
WE LISTEN INTELLIGENTLY TO PEOPLE IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Africa’s Voices has developed a unique way to listen intelligently to communities in Africa. We spark discussions in popular forums, such as radio, and invite participation through digital channels including instant messaging, SMS, and social media. Drawing upon our research at the University of Cambridge, we use multidisciplinary techniques to analyse this citizen-generated data and produce rich insights into people’s attitudes, opinions and beliefs. We are being recognised for our innovation and growing impact, and won the Market Research Society’s President’s Medal 2016.
Photo: Mobile phone booth in Uganda. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
WE ARE SEIZING THE DATA REVOLUTION
Our approach harnesses the strengths of mixed-methods research to collect and analyse local language data from digital forums. We create large, digitally connected focus groups, guiding discussions and deriving rich qualitative and quantitative insights from audience participation. By gathering data from real-world contexts, our approach allows us to shape and listen to discussion in a way that is tailored to local social realities.
Photo: Wote, Kenya. Credit: C. Schubert (CCAFS)
WE ENABLE MORE EFFECTIVE PROGRAMME DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION
Our vision is to put citizens’ voices at the centre of every development and governance project in African countries. By turning authentic conversations into robust, actionable evidence, we equip organisations with nuanced understanding into citizens’ beliefs, norms, and practices. Our insights inform public goods so that they are designed and delivered in more responsive and accountable ways, ultimately helping organisations to enhance the wellbeing and agency of the citizens they serve.
Photo: Aid worker administering the polio vaccine. Credit: UNICEF
UNICEF SOMALIA In 2015, we designed and delivered eight interactive shows on twenty radio stations across Somalia, exploring beliefs and practices related to polio and routine vaccinations, maternal and neonatal health. Our programmes engaged cross-sections of Somali society, drawing in participants from all provinces of the country: 44% were women, 86.4% were 15–29 years old and 54.9% were parents. We analysed over 15,000 messages from over 8,400 people, and visualised the insights using interactive online dashboards and reports. We have launched a further 26 weeks of interactive radio programmes with UNICEF. These will reach 45% of Somali territory to engage 60 districts in Somaliland, Puntland and South-Central Somalia. Discussions will explore a broader range of health topics, including malaria, cholera, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo: Oxfam community meeting in Nakukulas, Turkana, Kenya. Credit: Lightbox/Brian Inganga
OXFAM IN KENYA
In partnership with Oxfam in 2015, we designed two projects asking for citizens’ views on oil and gas extraction in the Turkana region via a series of community meetings and interactive radio shows. We found that granting companies access to land was a key matter of controversy. Men from rural areas were especially opposed to it, because they had not been consulted about the use of what they considered their land. We have extended our Oxfam partnership to conduct interactive radio shows in three different languages and three counties – Nairobi, Turkana and Wajir – researching people’s views on tax justice and priorities for the national budget. Following a successful pilot, we are in conversation about extending the same methods to more of Oxfam’s target communities.
Photo: Julie, a 19 year old hairstylist, reading Shujaaz.FM comic book. Credit: USAID/Riccardo Gangale
WELL TOLD STORY IN KENYA
Well Told Story is the Emmy-award winning media company behind Shujaaz — a multimedia platform that engages young Kenyans, triggers conversations, and changes mindsets. Since 2014, Africa’s Voices has been working with Well Told Story to clean and analyse 1.3 million text messages in Swahili and Sheng (an urban youth slang). To do so, we have developed an interactive app to code sentiment of Sheng messages, and language resources such as lexica-based themes and word banks. Combined with other analyses, these tools enable us to segment the audience according to their interests, attitudes/ sentiment, language, and demographics. In turn, Well Told Story can target content to specific audience groups and assess the impact of Shujaaz.
Photo: Young people participate in a march in Soweto, South Africa. Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
LIVITY IN SOUTH AFRICA
In the lead-up to South Africa’s 2016 municipal elections, we partnered with Livity Africa on its #2X multi-media campaign — aimed at encouraging youth involvement in politics. By analysing audience messages sent via WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, we explored who the campaign was reaching, what issues mattered most to young South Africans, and whether the online campaign had an impact on young people’s propensity to vote. Gavin Weale, the Managing Director of Livity Africa, said, “Africa’s Voices team has provided us with valuable insights and lessons, such as the importance of listening and responding to our audiences’ ideas and applying an adaptive, segmented approach to content. These have informed and shaped an upcoming campaign”.
WHAT WE DO
OUR OFFER SOCIAL INSIGHTS
THICK AND BIG DATA ANALYSIS
RESEARCH DESIGN
DIGITAL CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
INTERFACES FOR DATA INTERACTION
IMPACT MEASUREMENT
BASELINE AND FORMATIVE RESEARCH
CITIZEN FEEDBACK AND PROGRAMME MONITORING
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
HOW WE HELP
COMMUNICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT
OUR TEAM NAIROBI George Kaburu Head of Operations
Deborah Sambu Researcher
Partha Moman Project Manager Moses Maina Project Manager
Rita Zรกgoni Researcher
CAMBRIDGE Dr. Sharath Srinivasan Director
Dr. Claudia Lopes Research Advisor
Rainbow Wilcox Impact Manager Dr. Matti Pohjonen Senior researcher
Dr. Alex Lewis Researcher
listen intelligently
GET IN TOUCH WEBSITE: www.africasvoices.org
TWITTER: @Africas_Voices
EMAIL: info@africasvoices.org
FACEBOOK: Africa’s Voices Foundation
Africa’s Voices Foundation is a UK registered charity no. 1159589. UK: 17A The Courtyard, Sturton Street, Cambridge, CB1 2SN Phone: +44 (0)1223 321 653 Kenya: Mezzanine 2, The Garage//Westlands (The Mirage Building), Chiromo Road, Nairobi Cover image taken at an Oxfam community meeting in Nakukulas, Kenya. Credit: Lightbox/Brian Inganga