WikiPOLS

wikiPOLS wi · kē Noun A website developed collaboratively by a community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content.

Abbreviation for Policy

A Platform for Community Engagement Tereza Maarova, Charles Fisher, Michael Lieberman and Jacques Faye

CONTENTS 1. Context Analysis

p. 1

1.1 Identification of Key Issues 1.2 Existing Practices and Innovation 2. Wikipols

p. 5

2.1 Main Objective and Potential Impacts 2.2 Process and Programme 3. Methodology and Activities

p.11

3.1 Methodology 3.2 Activities 4. Partnership Strategy

p. 16

5. Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation

p. 19

5.1 Programme Monitoring and Evaluation 5.2 Evidence Gathering 5.3 Evaluations and Impact Assessment 5.4 Sharing-Model 6. Assumptions, Risks and Mitigations

p. 23

6.1 Assumptions 6.2 Risks and Mitigations 7. Pilot Programme

p. 27

7.1 Cairo 7.2 Programme Specifics 8. Press Release

p. 30

9. References

p. 31

ACRONYMS DRR-- Disaster Risk Reduction IT – Information Technology LRRD – Linking Rehabilitation Relief and Development POP – People Oriented Planning PRA – Participatory Rapid Appraisal NGO - Non Governmental Organization UN- United Nations

CONDITION + Slow decision-making

= Bureaucratic systems

Inequality

Accurate policy to direct resources to the most vulnerable

Well-connected communities

NEEDS

Efficient decision making

VISION + to create Platform for an exchange network

Training Programme

Open-ended policy

and give People a voice to shape their own communities

1.0 context analysis

“

I do believe there is space for mobile and ICT techonology solutions to support developing education in low income communities, but it will be when, and only when, they are designed, developed and implemented with: 1) a genuine understanding of local community culture, context of school infrastructure and teacher abilities, 2) provision of extensive and appropriate training, technical support and ‘check ups’, and finally 3) a recognition of the fact that one size doesn’t fit all.

Amy Watson Field Coordinator, IDEX Fellowship in Social Enterprise (2013)

In 2000, the Secretary General of the UN announced the introduction of the Millennium Development Goals; it was seen as a reaffirmation of the commitment to the principles, enforcement and protection of Human Rights in development (UN MDGs 2000). Specific indicators were selected to achieve target goals by the year 2015. Among those, the end to extreme poverty, environmental protection and the suggestion of a ‘global partnership for development’ were debated as encompassing the general social-economic dilemma of adequate housing (OHCHR 2002). Subsequently this discussion has been readdressed in the general conversation on the original UN Declaration of Human Rights article 25, (UNDHR 1948), Agenda 21 and the recent Rio+20 conference. Currently over 50% of the world’s housing stock is considered either informal or illegal, contributing to over 1 billion people being ‘inadequately housed’ (Barakat 2003). Simultaneously, the World Wide Web has expanded exponentially since its introduction and continues to exert its influence on the socio-economic leadership of the world.

It has been shown that the world’s poor and middle classes possess sufficient assets, but that many countries remain undeveloped because those communities lack the mechanisms to access markets and provide adequate documentation ‘in such a way as to produce capital’ (De Soto 2001). The question still remains, in what way the advocacy of rights on behalf of the world poor, and the introduction of new and improved technologies can serve to create equity, reduce inequality and improve access to that effect.

Social media has now been associated with driving change in revolutions, as well as effectively influenced political elections, and according to statistics, represents the third largest population in the world. Now, not only active online institutions embrace the use of online identities, but also most semi-active and traditional businesses and institutions tend to require the establishment of an online identification process, as part of their usual transactions. In essence, a transformative agenda has unintentionally created a plausible environment, where in, those who were previously unable to engage their physical, human and social capital; who lack recognizable formal identity, can now do so without the traditional expectation of land ownership or possession of other verifiable means of wealth or identity. The result of which represents a large-scale possibility for the global poor to participate in the development of their own well-being (Dasgupta 1993). Implied by both positive and negative rights, without waiting for the assistance of their government, individuals should be provided the capability to achieve their own self-interests (Nussbaum, 1997).

Without principle ownership and access to existing structures, communities often suffer from negative effects on their right to adequate housing, or social and economic development; (Cornwall, 2004) among these are the right to privacy, free association and property.

Accordingly, non-governmental organizations and Housing and Urban Development departments are being restrained by policies that are often directly opposed to solutions for poverty reduction (OHCHR 2004). Even when institutions are aligned with proposed solutions, traditional interpretations of value and ownership, fail to include informal

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communities in their economic assessments, prevent prejudicial practices or suffer from a general inability to recognise those who are disadvantaged, illiterate or otherwise unwanted.

Thereby, the reason this marginalization, is potentially a result of yet to be adopted identity processes that have been made available through the World Wide Web. [WikiPols social network platform is intended to contribute to the legitimization of this process.]

1.1

IDENTIFICATION OF KEY ISSUES

1. Top-down approach in development Governments, businesses and wealthy landowners are often composed of a select group who represent special interests. Thus creating a hierarchy within social structures, leads to a dichotomy of power within development and humanitarian interventions. There is often disconnect between policies and program design, resulting in inappropriate decisions and a lack of community participation. This usually results in bad policy or developmental projects that do more harm than good. There is a need for institutional structures to be reformed to decrease poverty, inequity, and marginalisation, through the application of technology, capital and collaborative policy generation mechanisms (Escobar 1995, Murphy et al. 2009).

Programmes that grow from the bottom up, and are initiated by the stakeholders and beneficiaries whom these programmes effect, are much more likely to address the needs and aspirations of the community.  2.Coordination and Communication and Sustainability Disconnected relationships within organizational structures of multilateral organizations, NGOs and CBOs restrict the conversations and agreements about beneficiary status. As large non-governmental organisations have come to operate more and more like businesses, their ways of identifying objectives have also shifted. Cost-efficiency, rather than long term change and impact is often influenced by traditional program planning and funding mechanisms. This often results in self-interest oriented goals as opposed to communal and democratic goals (Anheier & Themudo 2002). There is indeed a lack of coordination amongst different stakeholders (international NGOs, governments, the private sector, local NGOs, CBOs, communities, as well as individuals), which creates problematic relationships and an unclear idea of developmental aspirations (Jordan & Van Tuijl 2000). By communicating more frequently, efficiently, and with a tracking mechanism, different parties can be held accountable to their promises and work towards solutions that would positively influence the global civil society. As Fraser (2004) highlighted: “Multi-stakeholder processes must formally feed into decision-making forums or they risk being viewed as irrelevant by policy-makers and stakeholders�

3. Lack of participation in generating policy The lack of coordination and communication between stakeholders leads to the generation of bad policy, created without participation from members of society. For example, inadequate housing and urban planning policy is closely tied to issues of marginalisation, socio-economic instability, poor access to the urban economy, increased violence, and formation of illegal economies. Existing conditions in informal settlements can indeed be attributed to poor socio-economic relationships and government policy, however the process of arriving at a solution for these conditions is not so easily met. The economist Hernando de Soto has suggested that the issue of ownership is not the only reason for informal communities remain outside the system (Kreuckenberg 2004). He states that providing the ability for communities to access their existing capital is of equal importance to principal ownership. Thus to the majority of developing communities democracy and political action is equally important as the political economy (Storm, 2004) in solving their problems.

4. Inefficient data collection Assessments suffer from inaccurate reporting and faulty data sample collection, which alters

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the results. More accurate data will inform the effectiveness of an approach used by either NGOs or government. There is general lack of qualitative surveys, accuracy of information gathered, transparency in the data collection process, and lack of trust in the results provided (Berinsky 2004, Lerer 2010). One aspect that could be altered is the identification and collection of indicators (Fraser 2006). If people are engaged in the process of selecting indicators, it can provide an opportunity for communities to take charge of what information is being gathered and for what purpose.

5. Lack of transparency and accountability Without transparency, organizations cannot be held accountable for their decisions or outcomes of those decisions. Access to their research and data will allow for greater trust established between different stakeholders (B채ckstrand 2006).

6. Inappropriate application of technology in development There are several constraints when it comes to solving developmental issues with technological tools. There is no single perfect solution. Rather, a mix of different approaches has to be employed in order to address a variety of issues at hand (Pearce & al. 2012). One size does not fit all. Certain technologies, such as tablets, cannot be used efficiently in all environments or cultures. Access to a Wi-Fi network is one obstacles, but at an even more basic level, electricity is not widespread around the globe, dust or water can easily ruin the hardware, and literacy remains a considerable issue for success. Flexible trial and error techniques need to be combined with user participation and collaborative learning in various disciplines (Murphy et al. 2009). Technological tools, just like any other, need to be tested and adapted for particular contexts.

1.2

EXISTING PRACTICES AND INNOVATION

Ushahidi http://www.ushahidi.com Ushahidi overcomes problems associated with data collection and accountability by acting as an open source platform. Information collection, visualization and interactive mapping is enabled, increasing transparency. Overall, information is democratized.

Radar https://twitter.com/OnOurRadar https://kenyaonourradar.crowdmap.com https://www.facebook.com/OnOurRadar?fref=ts Radar enables mobile phone users to share information that is then shown and processed on online platforms such as twitter, facebook, and crowdmap. In the case of the Kenyan elections 2013, voters could report when and where they voted. This information could then be compared with official statistics in order to prove or disprove legitimacy. They also reported any abuse or harassment that could be accessed directly. In this way, Radar capacitates even people on the margins of society to voice their opinions and report what they are experiencing.

FrontlineSMS http://www.frontlinesms.com FrontlineSMS connects humanitarian workers with their beneficiaries in order to implement programmes in marginalized communities. They are focussed on credit access, legal aid, radio outreach, learning programmes, distribution of health services, as well as good governance strengthening. In this way, FrontlineSMS addresses the disconnection that often exists between stakeholders.

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RapidSMS http://www.rapidsms.org/en/develop/ RapidSMS is a free and open-source system that enables even large multilateral organizations such as the United Nations to collect data, coordinate logistics, and communicate with SMS mobile technology. It can be customized to meet specific project needs and demands of stakeholders at any scale.

I Paid a Bribe http://www.ipaidabribe.com Initiated in India, I Paid a Bribe attempts to tackle corruption by allowing people who have experienced bribery to report on it. By harnessing information about the location, number, patterns, or values of transactions that took place, a better understanding of the action can be achieved, along with a way to fight it. Again, this is a free and open-source tool to achieve better transparency and act against injustice through mass action.

The Humanitarian Genome Project http://www.humanitarianinnovation.org/projects/large-grants/groningen Admitting failure is a key way to move forward and ensure improvement of humanitarian action. The Humanitarian Genome Projects aims to, once again, use open-source technology in order to capture the wealth of data available in the humanitarian sector and critically evaluate the failures of certain projects. This should create a lessons-learned web based application.

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2.0 Wikipols

2.1 MAIN OBJECTIVES AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS The principle of the WikiPols process is the evolution of partnership relationships with existing organisations to promote agency, autonomy, and anonymity for community organisers. The purpose is to reduce social exclusion, extreme poverty, increase advocacy, and contribute to more community participation in policy-making. The WikiPols programme is designed to fit into existing development processes and avoid repetition of participatory processes already in action. Through the institutional support of Acre international, the priorities of the WikiPols process is threefold: 1. Management of membership identification programmes 2. Increase of beneficiary subsidies 3. Maintain networks designed to connect development programme stakeholders and participants.

The WikiPols technological process is an autonomous social media platform for those participating in development programs to build their own online identities. In so doing, the beneficiaries are provided with the ability to develop their own homepage as a resume, participate in online activities, have access to community forums and job postings, as well as earn benefits through participation.

Established agreements through Acre international, the creation of agencies for autonomous networks can contribute to increased poverty reduction, social protection and community participation in development programs. The basis of international support for WikiPols can assist in the need for better statutory institutions to uphold basic human rights principles on behalf of informal communities.

The WikiPols process is intended to work in direct partnership with existing local and international non-governmental organisations to help programme participants maintain their relationships. While NGOs and CBOs may have limited manpower or time frames for project cycles, the WikiPols platform offers an opportunity to extend the long-term outcomes for beneficiaries. The WikiPols partnership process offers opportunity to coordinate with other development programmes and serves to build an international employment management process for community volunteers.

The targeted groups would be: • • • • •

community members as a whole those already engaged in cash for work programme (or other projects lead by governments/NGOs) slum dwellers people without an official identity residents of government subsidized housing

The introduction of the WikiPols software environment to beneficiaries is a joint contribution to development processes and combined organizational strength. By working with existing NGO programmes stakeholder engagement is already determined by the vulnerability and capacities analysis of the project management. Partner organisations are able to employ their awareness of local conditions while building additional networking resources during their programme implementation.

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A crisis of identity confirmation naturally occurs in most social media operations, the tendency for individuals to create multiple personas might likely influence the outcomes of democratic processes. This is addressed by direct confirmation of involvement in existing programs and specific membership criteria. The WikiPols community is a combination of growing trends in the use of social media and the practical functionality of user homepages; merging the impact assessment of ongoing development programmes with the knowledge of community problems and attitudes, which are hindered by a need for increased connectivity.

Markets, as well as, small and medium enterprises in less developed countries are especially affected by either over regulation or illicit and black market activities. Corruption, bad policies and governance, quite often contribute to the decision for many people to remain informal, the result is multiple layers of avoidance on the part of businesses and individuals.

Very often this is the cause of exclusion from welfare programmes and either neutral or negative results from development assistance. WikiPols seeks to bridge those relationships by providing autonomy to the program participants and confidentiality for users to share their voices and opinions to assist their own communities. Reducing the risk of repercussions from criminals and the authorities, this is also an opportunity to encourage grassroots actors to encourage community led action in an environment that can grow without the negative influences; and, allowing for development processes to include vulnerable groups, such as women and minorities.

The context and rationale for verified participants of NGO programmes to become active participants in WikiPols is their ability to contribute to programme designs, ongoing conversations on policy formation and increased community involvement. The design of the WikiPols platform is intended to be context specific depending on the location and nature of partner programmes. Detailed criteria build on the aggregation of existing social media activities, use membership to raise awareness of development activities and encourage participation through subsidies and membership rewards. The WikiPols platform functions as a validation process in which programme participants’ build upon the merits of their contributions. This raises the impact value of individual programs, creates an internal monitoring and evaluation process, and increases the networking and outreach of the partner programs.

2.2 PROCESS AND PROGRAMME WikiPols is a ‘freemium’ web technology based on DataDynes’ ‘SSWFT: self-service, webbased, freemium technology’ (Datadyne, n.d.) profitable model. The technology is therefore supported by the subscription of major INGO’s, academia, government, multilateral donors and individuals (1% of participating subscribers). The overheads are incredibly low (servers, hosting, maintenance and coding) compared to the normal staff and resource constraints in traditional development programmes.

The WikiPols process is to target specific media design. Unlike other social media aggregating platforms the basic concept of the WikiPols membership is to grow an internal community of personnel, who can contribute specific knowledge and have earned their membership through community participation. That process is then augmented through the building of their online profile and earning reward credits that can contribute to further employment, gaining credibility within the community and develop their online leadership potential.

The programme framework can be seen to involve international and domestic interests, divided between governance and business related activities.

Including: • • •

Policy and rights advocacy through international organizations Partnerships and program designs in coordination with iNGOs Donor, philanthropic, social enterprise and venture capital support for web based

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• • • •

technologies Micro entrepreneurship education, training and support Security agreements with governments and national telecommunications providers Domestic cooperation with eGovernance and Housing and Urban development programs Project coordination with local NGOs and CBO for registration, participation and labor management

The advantage of using web-based technologies is the streamlined approach to start-up implementation and design. As a product and service WikiPols has the potential for multiple forms of funding and is context-flexible, the result of which can maximise the objectives of partners, stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Wiki.Info, Wiki.Collect, Wiki.Peer The system has generated a number of pivotal points for considering innovation within the project: • • • • • • • • • • •

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User/Stakeholder registration programme (visitor/ membership functionalities) NGO registration toolkit User Identification integration “gravatar’(‘CAPTCHA for participation’) User login credits system High-tech progress indicators - a streamlining process for development practitioners to reduce time spent on paperwork and financial-efficiency.

Deliberative democracy - a forum for citizens to explore perspectives of difference and how and why perspectives differ.

Positive sum voting - Not just one winner and one loser (zero-sum) but something closer to representing the expansion of free trade which embodies the participation and dynamism that modern political systems should engender.

Forporations - an economic system that maximises long-term benefits whether they be social, environmental or political for tomorrow and future generations.

Peer-to-peer Leadership - communication between leadership structures across all levels to develop combined and shared outcomes.

Multi-membership representation Impact statements of social equity - visualising a derived social benefit.

wikiPOLS: a platform for community engagement

Organisation Diagram

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USERS

wikiPOLS MEMBERS MONITORING

REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS WANT TO BE INVOLVED?

LOCAL RESIDENTS

REGISTERED?

YES NO

NEWSBOARD

WHATS HAPPENING IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD?

PARTICIPATE IN AN ORGA PROGRAMME MANAGER VERIFIES IDENTITY

NGO

ID:

54871

SOCIAL VENTURE CAPITALIST

wikiPOLS: a platform for community engagement

COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURS

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GOVERNMENT OFFICAL

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HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS

PERSONAL DONER

Policy data flow diagram

wikiPOLS ONLINE EVALUATION

DASHBOARD

HOW MANY POINTS DO YOU HAVE?

(WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?)

WHERE ARE THE PROGRAMMES NEAR YOU? REGISTRANT REQUIRES A SIMPLE MOBILE PHONE

NEEDS ANALYSIS

WHERE ARE THE PROGRAMMES NEAR YOU?

.PEER

RECOMMEND A VULNERABLE PERSON

ANISED COMMUNITY ACTIVITY NGO MAY PROVIDE $10 MOBILE PHONE

.COLLECT

SURVEYS

COMMUNITY (REAL)

.INFO

FOCUS GROUPS SURVEYS

GOVERNMENT OFFICAL

INTERNATIONAL

NEEDS ANALYSIS

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3.0 methodology and activites

3.1 METHODOLOGY Goal The goal of the WikiPols community is to provide change existing development processes through increasing connectivity between stakeholders’ issues in informal communities. If in the process of working for ownership and formality, communities are forced into worse conditions or violence, then the costs inherently outweigh the benefits.

The establishment of an IT platform to work with programme participants provides a mechanism to help communities become involved in their own interests without the risks of exposing themselves to civil or criminal repercussions.

WikiPols proposes to provide an intersection between communities and NGOs. The programme involves connecting participants to an online network, creating labour management for national development workers and assisting communities formalize their rights through identity and confidentiality.

The programme activities in coordination with ongoing NGO programmes are designed to provide registration and membership support including the creation of online identities and provide subsidies for community participants for Internet access. Through partnering agreements with NGOs and eGovernance programmes; WikiPols empowers CBOs to verify active users, create constructive dialogue between programme participants and generate interest in online scoring, peer review, merits and skills acknowledgment and income generation.

The need for coordination has been discovered in Humanitarian Clusters as recommended by the 2011 Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR, 2011), in models such as The Consortium for British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA) that has created faster response times through coordinated approaches. There persists the need for a trans-national coordination network, owned by no single entity for the benefit of all, which can streamline the route to delivering poverty reduction (or ideally elimination) unhindered by organisational or national mandate.

Our first practical step to establish the network is to create the overall network infrastructure from the top level to create an environment for local programmers to develop contextual tools related to needs. It is important that we engage local people to develop with existing tools to collect, analyse and visualise relevant data.

The distribution model anticipates a snowball method of dissemination, as the system gains traction there will be a resultant positive feedback loop that provides exponential growth of the network. This will depend on incorporating the feedback into the system for development and not seeing negative programme response as failure, as is the case in other projects. Using current business approaches to uncertainty, the system will regard failure as constructive. This model of embracing uncertainty would be reflected in the financial models i.e. one success outweighs nine failures.

Finance Support for the WikiPols process can be developed through multiple funding and support mechanisms, involving donor assistance, social enterprise, venture capital and private

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revenue streams. The results of which can also be divided into sustainable program support, cost saving and reproductive funding for technological processes and increased subsidies and benefits for program participants.

Education and training, can also lead to micro enterprise support for start-up entrepreneurs, particularly for investment in Internet cafes. Membership interest in income generating activities and programme participation is coordinated through education facilities. This is also intended to produce an entrepreneurial environment that can generate a community of WikiPols networked Internet facilities and other income generating activities. This aspect of WikiPols planning can achieve better access to micro lending through identity confirmation, involvement in programmes and membership support.

Literacy and Inclusion Ideally WikiPols is intended to reduce the exclusion of unwanted poor from having access to programme benefits and provide an enabling environment for marginalised groups to achieve better connectivity. The design of the whole system is also intended to be available to those who may be illiterate or have limited accessibility due to impairment. Aspects of the program design, VCA and microfinance support are intended to create an environment in which these issues are addressed as an incentive, but also as the criteria for selecting program participants. Ideally, not only targeting the poorest of the poor but also creating a process in which their participation becomes a means to identify problems within the community which create social exclusion.

Agency The online programme design is designated to achieve the community needs as demonstrated by the partner NGOs analysis of perceived capacities and vulnerability.

The Idea persists that programme involvement is a condition of participation in ongoing development projects. So it is possible to identify gender and minority issues or other cultural and political dilemmas, which may be at the root of housing dilemmas. With the right level of accessibility to all users and a visual environment designed to help overcome issues of illiteracy. The partner project management can coordinate with marginalized sectors to help maintain security and guarantee autonomy in the network creation.

One of the main contributions to the tripartite relationship between beneficiary, NGO and eGovernance is the resulting identity verification, which, may not produce a direct means to entitlement, but can contribute to improved social benefits, tenancy support and community action in disaster risk reduction and social protection. This is intended to reduce exploitation and increase community capabilities. Ideally this can also serve as a secure mechanism for financial distributions, conditional cash transfers and cash for work payments to individuals.

Depending on the scenario this may in fact work as an internal banking or credit system within the NGO community.

Security WikiPols planning also requires investment in dedicated information technology architecture.

The programme design entail network agreements with national telecommunications providers and secure connections to eGovernance programmes. Legal agreement between Acre International and public or private telecoms, as well as state run security services are

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intended to assist in security of access and maintain the right to privacy of programme participants. In addition WikiPols technical support would be required to provide and maintain serves and remote networking capability to ensure uninterrupted service.

3.2 ACTIVITIES Activities Specific to WikiPols 1. Creation of the IT platform 2. Invite policy makers’ partners targeted to demonstrative workshops where they can learn about the system and the benefit for them to participate in the programme.

3. Engage Governments where WikiPols is operating to support officially the programme as the after-effects are in line with their own policies.

4. Invite the private sector to perceive the interest for them to identified potential business opportunities linked to the use of the platform (advertising, sales and networking).

5. Introduce donors to the platform so they perceive that their criteria are not hampered by the use of the system by their beneficiaries and meanwhile increase the credibility of WikiPols.

6. Organise community workshops that popularise the social media platform and inform future users about the advantages of being a participant in the project as an individual but also as a community.

7. Monitor the achievements and impacts of policy maker partners accomplished through the system 8. Release periodically reports that provide feedback on the activities in which users have engaged in to partners and donors.

9. Demonstrate accountability by providing regular feedback to the stakeholders in form of press releases 10. WikiPols management will consider economic sustainability with a business desk for revenues generated activities. In addition, there will be a public relations bureau and an IT team of programmers.

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3. Strengthened capacity of community to act against corruption

2. Increased beneficiary participation in projects run by nongovernmental and community organisations

1. Increased pro-activeness within communities to address local issues

Outputs:

Establish the WikiPols platform as a networking tool by September 2013 to facilitate activism, organization, and self-promotion within communities

Purpose:

Contribution to the increase in connectivity between stakeholders

Goal:

OBJECTIVES

% increase in monetary subsidies

% reduction in crime statistics

# of users communicating with organisations about their projects

Reports from CBOs

# of new local activism groups formed through the WikiPols platform # of projects established through the WikiPols platform that incorporate user participation

Media coverage and police reports

Pre- and post- knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) questionnaires, surveys

Surveys amongst WikiPols users and project beneficiaries

NGO/CBO project reports

Statistics gathered by the WikiPols system

Comparison with baseline survey

Community based surveys and in-depth interviews

# of projects established by users of the WikiPols platform

Media coverage

Greater activism has taken place at a community and national level

Baseline survey and comparison with monitoring data.

User surveys and in-depth interviews

# of verified active user accounts

# of local needs assessments carried out by users of the WikiPols platform

WikiPols data collection

MEANS OF VERIFICATION

The WikiPols platform is operational

INDICATORS

WikiPols: Logical Framework

Communities are willing to address corruption.

Crime statistics will be available

Users will not have multiple identities

Partners fulfil their obligations

Beneficiaries will want to be more engaged in projects

Cooperation with the National Government

The community will learn to use WikiPols and want to participate as well as take the lead to address local issues.

Willingness of stakeholders to use the WikiPols platform in order to create positive change from within communities

ASSUMPTIONS

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Computer (initial)

Computers

Willingness to create partneships

Advertise and demonstrate the various features of WikiPols

Beneficiaries will be interested

Accessibility to the internet and hardware

Partner with Spirit of Youth (local NGO that set up the Recycling School for Boys)

5. Pilot in Cairo with cash for work trash picking project

Application fro license will be accepted

Users will be possible to contact and willing to learn about WikiPols

Sufficient funding from ACRE to implement first stages of platform creation.

The criteria will be useful

WikiPols team are sufficiently experienced to deal with feedback.

There are no staffing issues

Administrative costs

Advertising costs

PR Campaign

Consultants with experience in data collection

PRA approach

Servers

Server costs (yearly)

ASSUMPTIONS & RISKS

No hacking into the system will occur

Reports from users holding organizations accountable

COSTS & SOURCES

Data will be accurate and truthful

Organisation statistics

Staff

INPUTS/RESOURCES

# of projects using WikiPols to monitor data

Increased % of data publicly available from organisations that use WikiPols

4. Obtain Creative Commons license for future improvements to the system.

3. Market the WikiPols platform to potential users

2. Develop criteria for data collection and analysis

1. Build the WikiPols online platform with recruited programmers and web-designers

ACTIVITIES

4. Increased transparency and accountability of organisations due to using the WikiPols platform

4.0 Partnership Strategy

Partnerships in development tend to be designed as agreements to use shared assets, communication and organizational structures in which, complementary skills achieve mutually agreeable goals. Thereby, this process depends on the mixing of organizational, institutional, government and community ideologies that hope to attain the desired outcome. Wikipols in and of itself is designed as a complementary partner process. The result of which should enhance outcomes on behalf of the stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Partnership issues regarding mutual accountability, organizational transparency and the power relationships by which the agreed partners wish to achieve their goals, on most occasions rely the partners’ adherence to the agreed principles (Tennyson 2008). The balance of which inherently influence development outcomes, and are often a cause of additional costs and disagreement. The WikiPols program exists as a partner strategy that capitalizes on the strengths and advantages of partner opportunities without the additional bureaucracy and negotiation. The WikiPols service provides improved communications, government relations and community participation. In an open and honest environment Wikipols partner programs function to help adjust existing housing policies through open source communication and reliable information sharing.

By improving the interactions of development actors, Wikipols offers opportunities in partnership that operate in three specific aspects of exchange: 1. Network information among members 2. Coordination among organizations including resources, representation and management 3. Collaboration among program participants also defining joint activities

In that sense, Civil society, Communities, Governments, Academics, Donors, NGOs and others actors are invited to provide legal, political and logistical support to the platform to inform their programmes and development policies by assisting members of the WikiPols networks.

It is said that four main points are underlying a good partnership in development: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Build trust through mutual understanding and meaningful communications Focus on underlying interests rather than positions Widen the options, be creative and think laterally Reach agreement that adds value for all parties

These principles will be the ground of any partnership whether dealing with an organisation or individuals.

Accountability Wikipols acting as the coordinator between policies generated at an International level and those that are in practice at a local scale will stimulate the practicality of the action engaged on the ground without being itself involved in the operational management of theses activities.

Thus, accountability will not be required from partners but will be delivered by WikiPols

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according to two orientations as describe by its coordinator role of transposing desirable International policies to local policies that put people at the centre. The interdependence of Wikipols with partners is obvious in the sense that the platform constitutes a bridge between proposing policies and making them realisable thanks to the information collected and shared on the platform.

Power Balance Partner’s interest in engaging with the Wikipols programme, can be expected from them to influence organizational power imbalances. Wikipols offers voluntarily accountability to partners, as well as the means to execute programmes that create agency. Wikipols builds equality within the partnership agreement. Stakeholders will recognise the benefit for them in participating in the data collection and sharing that the platform offers.

This also provides an environment and opportunity for INGOs and CBOs to improve communications and documentation processes, reducing bottlenecks and misalignment in organizational size and structure within the partner relationships.

Hierarchy and Relationship Quite often partnerships in development do not really offer an opportunity for 0rganisations to raise themselves as equals. There is inherently a dominant relationship between partners’ dependant on resources, organisational size and structure, as well as socio-political conditions.

Wikipols partner processes assist smaller organizations in adopting powerful networking and web technology into their program design, implement real time impact assessments and enhance their monitoring and evaluation process.

In terms of individuals that are members of the social media platform, they can be perceived equally as partners/ stakeholders/ beneficiaries within the Wikipols environment. This is a constant reminder of the potential of the Internet. The open source nature of the WikiPols software environment encourages constant feedback and improvement from the participants.

Social Protection and Rights Community development is influenced by lack of social protection for inhabitants. Settlers are caught in informality due to exploitation by slumlords and black-market, meanwhile they perceived as illegal by their own governments. As the parent organization for WikiPols autonomous community networks, Acre international support falls into their realm of securing international agreements for multilateral support.

Their support and guidance is required to provide frameworks and outline policy objectives of national housing issues, cooperative finance options and promote human rights institutions.

These commitments are designed to secure international agreements to protect informal communities. The parent organizations objectives are to establish development partnerships, international cooperation to promote housing solutions and to advocate for the formalization of rights through Identity and confidentiality.

NGOs engage community processes through development objectives, but can fail to increase long-term capacities of communities post withdrawal. WikiPols partnership cycles are intended to increase the long-term aspirations of beneficiaries. The guidelines for acre international partnership include accountability through specific reporting mechanisms, operational transparency and participatory monitoring and evaluation.

Diplomatic relationships can be seen as a two way street with member state and national governments seeking to improve their eGovernance programmes. Acre can also serve as an intermediary with national telecommunications companies and web service providers.

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Technical support for community Internet, promotion of formalization and security cooperation serve in the interests of national governments and community organizations. Establishing shared responsibilities for privacy rights and securing network autonomy can greatly improve the effectiveness of housing and urban development planning departments.

The total arrangement of partner activities also provides a logistical basis for the promotion and protection of international human rights standards through statutory institutions and access to financial services for pro poor development. This process also can greatly contribute to national statistics surveys and cadastral authority in the support of land ownership and tenancy.

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5.0 monitoring, learning and evaluation

5.1 Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the WikiPols programme is essentially a three part process: 1. An semi-automated evidence gathering system which enables ongoing monitoring 2. Evaluation of data carried out by participants and partner organisations 3. Sharing-model - dissemination through the Wikipols.info website. Sharing, success and more importantly failure, in order to create constructive learning outcomes for the entire network.

Due to a reduction of bureaucratic and labour-related costs in documentation and logistics, the use of technology in monitoring and evaluation processes has been shown to dramatically reduce programme costs by upwards of 70% (Schuster & Brito 2011).

Any M&E framework should take account of the ‘invisible’ political, cultural and social effects specific to a region. Mapping linkages between actors, the facilitation of activity and the trust that enables further action is important within the non-operational status of WikiPols. Data that is ordinarily left undiscovered in network programmes will be revealed through various gathering and visualisation outputs.

A networking framework allows for the monitoring of dynamics and power relations within the system. In the use of a ‘light-footed’ alliance, an organisational process in which stakeholders meet up at key events but manage their various roles using internet, and email technologies (Gosling and Edwards, 2011), WikiPols will visualise evaluative evidence supplied by partner resources. Due to the cross-cultural nature of WikiPols, there cannot be a reliance on just one form of data gathering or presentation style, and so despite diagrams being culturally inappropriate for certain circumstances they will be the central method of visualising successes and failures within the system.

As mentioned in the introduction, WikiPols is non-operational and exists as a facilitator between the roles of partner groups. The online participation system utilises its own data

Policy data flow diagram

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Government International National Local Community

Housing Data Tenants Owners Land Mapping Waste

Request

Collect

wikiPOLS: a platform for community engagement

Policy Management National and Local Inform and Direct

Group Mobility Community Organization Social Networks

Questionnaire Progamme Planning Design Criteria

Apply

Improve

analysis as part of the programme design. As member participation grows, the levels of interaction collected by the system can be compared to the numbers of beneficiaries involved, which reveals the degree of stakeholder engagement (See graphs) If programme participants are involved in organised community activities then the information they produce online can be deemed as relevant, through peer review, as well as data authentication. Similarly as the programmes in which membership have defined as community activities, the online components can be modified to emulate the nature of their activities. So that the monitoring and evaluation process of the WikiPols online community is a continual process of user defined activities.

WikiPols services, INFO, COLLECT and PEER, are key to the organisation, evaluation and dissemination of data within a programme.

5.2 Evidence Gathering The corroboration of information through stakeholder engagement and partner programme information also can become a mechanism for increased assessment of effective functionality of the online community. As an internal system the organization of the WikiPols membership forums can be evaluated by increased interest and use. Specific WikiPols features can then be adapted to the needs of the membership.

Data gathering is on going and automated as information is fed into the system programmeto-programme. The programmes implemented on the ground affect the rights of local people. Those that are directly affected by the programme make decisions about the structure of the programme. Using the mass-voting and discussion capabilities of the Internet one can begin to capture opinion and trends.

The vital aspect of using new technologies is so that records are instantly updated and organised into a system ready for interpretation. The use of computers in the data-gathering process is useful for receiving clean data and producing clear reports. The mobility of computers enable project partners to carry the devices which allows them to reach. There are real costs with implementing a project reliant on computer systems however our structure is more software-dependent and so the WikiPols system looks to local and big business to provide hardware solutions.

Computers are valuable to facilitate clear and precise communication between programme partners. Initially the projects utilising WikiPols will already have an existing computer skillbase until capacity in the area has increased through training. The types of programs that will be used are: • • • • •

Spreadsheets Database Management information Systems (MIS) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Statistics programs

•

Word-processing programs

Large-scale data collection processes such as the Indian governments biometrics and

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Identification programme have demonstrated complex engineering problems (SOURCE). This would be possible either through the success of the WikiPols organisation or, the interest and partnership of combined computer programmes.

Through Participative Learning and Action (PLA) tools, the network participants can begin to gather data revealing the successes and failures of projects and programme techniques. This system anticipate that actors already own the hardware and so the responsibility would lie centrally with agencies and other organisations to ensure thorough feedback is being given.

•

Photographs would be uploaded using COLLECT including appended audio and comments so that organisational partners can validate strengths and weaknesses.

Photography is an accessible tool and is not dependant on having a smartphone or expensive camera, although digital devices are certainly preferable for sharing.

•

Video, although larger in data-size, can be valuable in order to capture deeper data on techniques, strengths and weaknesses. Video can also capture analogue mapping techniques, as they occur to promote further discussion and to involve community groups who were not present at the time.

5.3 Evaluations and Impact Assessment: Partner-led WikiPols M&E also represents a mutual feature of the role of partner programmes, WikiPols membership and the WikiPols planning to engage in an evolutionary process which supports networking solutions for programme participants and helps community organizations implement their own strategies.

The evaluative set-up for WikiPols utilises the resources of programme partners as a point of authority and, depending on the context, local people can be engaged to evaluate the successes and weaknesses of the development response.

5.4 Sharing-model: Wiki Sharing partner information is particularly useful in monitoring and evaluation processes that involve a level of certainty of the physical contributions of the WikiPols online process. Since the membership is comprised of a working community, the ability to create stakeholders out of beneficiaries, results transparency and accountability as part of self-interest. Advocacy would be encouraged with the assistance and using the capacity of partner-organisations.

Advocacy assessment will include:

•

Surveys to indicate what was achieved at all scales.

•

Interviews to gain opinion and facts on programme success

•

PLA techniques - video, audio and participatory diagramming.

•

Case studies on process partners (Governments, Private and local businesses, NGOs)

The impact of advocacy work done as a result of the sharing-model must be assessed in relation to the scale of policy change that is needed. At the large scale there will be

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a monitoring system implemented at a country-wide-level that looks at the capacity of government to enact change and the vested interest of officials that prevents change. A review of budget spending, in partnership with the government, on public services can highlight whether or not: • • • •

National budget is allocated to a particular cause outlined by users in the WikiPols platform The particular governmental department responsible for that piece of policy change receives the funds.

The local governmental official responsible for transferring the funds to communities has received the funds.

Whether resources have found their way to service users and citizens

Due to the focus on the development agency the monitoring and evaluation must: ● Achieve a level of cultural appropriateness ● Invite the participation of youth ● be sensitive and inclusive of gender issues. ● Use collaboration with local organisations (Save the Children, 2003)

1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

Programme Housing Rights

Job Creation

Street Cleaning

Computers for Kids

80,000

100,000

Altruism indicator.

Shows the number of participants against participation points to demonstrate willingness among communitymembers to help each other.

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6.0 Assumptions, RISKs AND MITIGATIONs

6.1 Assumptions

Government Cooperation Political, economic and social benefits of the project may not match the government’s view of public interest. This can potentially effect: • Agreements • Security • Program Benefits • Corruption of social activities As a support to eGovernance, WikiPols intends to serve the interest of the State through grassroots actors and social mobility. This still does not guarantee that the conditions exist in which a government will be willing to approve of the activities contained in the WikiPols environment.

Community Participation There are many issues that could influence community involvement. Distrust for community actors, outside influence, fear of reprisal can all deter the decision to participate openly or the willingness to discuss sensitive issues.

Also, the training offered to learn programming skills in order to add to the platform while not essential, is very important to the project. It is assumed then even people with little education can participate and some degree of literacy is necessary. That the IT training will be desirable within a community is key on the other hand: WikiPols popularity is not a condition of its functionality.

Good governance, rights, equality and justice.

The platform offers the ability to experience citizen journalism by having the possibility to report and converse about the community problems. Thus, human rights should increase and accountability will be more perceivable from a top-down, but also bottom-up level, should this be possible within the society. This however does not confirm that all actors have the same intentions or that all parties agree on how to achieve the best results for poverty reduction and economic growth.

Successful Entrepreneurship.

Internet cafes function in communities, but usually for after school activities and gaming.

In order to help individuals improve their livelihoods through investment in Internet cafes, the level of their success, will also depend on their deepening involvement in the WikiPols program or other income generating activities. Thus, the training and education programmes need to provide adequate information and support for entrepreneurship; combined with the micro loans to provide incentives for people to enroll and opportunities for growth.

Private Sector involvement Most planning is oriented in the development of the private sector, although this will be a good way for networking. The market and private investors tend to be interested in how to attract customers. This potentially results in a conflict of interest on the part of the beneficiaries and stakeholders.

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Donor and Partners Support The clear and neutral ambition of WikiPols as a coordinator between the platform and members is to deliver networking whose results may not conform to organizational policies. While this is seen as an ambition of the project to create autonomy and decentralized processes there is also the possibility of extreme misalignment resulting in conflicting relationships.

Domestic Laws and Policies National government may be willing to agree to the WikiPols process but domestic laws may impede the transfer of general data to WikiPols. Personal information within the system may require personal consent, intervene with other laws and regulations or obstruct enforcement of other laws designed to protect of the registered member of the community.

Confidentiality and Privacy As part of community capabilities and the shaping of their environment, the project assumes that a strong sense of confidence that the system will materialize positive outcomes for stakeholders. In that sense there is nit necessarily a complete connection between the program intent and potential benefit. While many systems have been designed to protect information technology these processes are hard to explain and even so would not necessarily alleviate doubt.

Rewards and Activity Benefits The sense of community is assumed for people; or that leadership and development actors and would agree to associate in activities that have a global impact on the group. The linkages between what is in the immediate sphere of the activities and how that translates into the larger scale impacts of the programme design. This may depend on the redistributive capabilities of the organisations and available resources. While it can be argued that there are large financial benefits from the implementation of WikiPols in what ways the benefits are able to manifest could depend on how they evolve.

Socio-Economic Divide All social segments of the population are expected to understand, approve and go along with the project. From wealthy neighborhoods to middle class dwellings, including the disadvantaged communities it is assumed all these social sections will engage with the social platform, as their competencies might be required. However it can be well understood that not all segments of society have their best intentions at hand when they are making decisions that could affect their own interests. This is a more complicated process than can be understood by any one circumstance and is involved in many social and political aspects of any society.

6.2 Risks and Mitigations Multiple identities: The incentives offered by the system could result in people creating multiple identities. In Egypt, as well as many other countries, it is know that people are still facing problems of identification document (Dale, 2012). That situation of late registration implies that the system of national identification could easily present flaws as having people with several identities. •

Partners engagement will help to check identities, they will provide users with a personal number that they can use in order to take part in the networking scheme.

•

It is expected that if the Government fully cooperates and provides data sourced from biometric files, this problem could be bypassed.

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Corruption: The WikiPols team will be tested on their honesty. It is vital that integrity and credibility in the face of the stakeholders and the general public is preserved.

•

Good wage incentives and recruitments done with a human resource experts will ensure that workers have personal motivation due to the social impact of their actions, but mostly due to the personal gain they will experience in the process.

Homogeneous users: It is possible that the most vulnerable (women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, minority ethnic groups, the homeless, the extreme poor, illiterate people) will be discouraged or prevented in participating in the programme by other members of society.

•

• •

The training session will look to involve different segments of the society at the action planning stage of the project. Thus, beneficiaries should perceive the benefit for them to take part in the project and even include the most marginalised groups by helping them set up their own hubs because of the reward system of the platform.

The educational support and visual simplification for illiterate people and/or children The use of multi-sensory tools could be developed in order to include certain people with disabilities (ideally, they would have a carer who would represents them)

Transparency: Increased accessibility should also increase transparency, but this might be a reason why NGOs might not want to use WikiPols. As beneficiaries have the possibility to communicate about projects in which they are involved. This will most probably expose NGO weaknesses and failures. This is often something that organisations are reluctant to show as they depend on donors who will not be impressed with unsuccessful organisations, thus withdraw their funding.

•

The regular reports of WikiPols activities sent to partners would certainly help NGO’s to learn from similar organisations failures and help them to anticipate or change possible flaws in their own programmes.

Accessibility issues: There will be people who won’t be able to access the Internet, either due to a remote geographical area, limited free time, or financial constraints.

•

Involvement of partners orientated in micro-finance and entrepreneurship with which agreements in principle will be tied to promote and sustain campaign for access to internet, and will result in more internet cafes.

It is necessary that all stakeholders be clear before registering to WikiPols that partners operations have a strict role of offering networking to participants according to the mixture of policies of its members. That can be done in addition to the strategic communication with agreement clause at the registration.

Socio-political tension due to awareness of rights: This project could be perceived as complementary to the social media already actively popular as it will raise the level of rights awareness similarly than those that have been used for the Arab spring and serve to citizen journalism around the globe.

• •

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Governments are invited to use the features of the system to gather information for prevention and management of protestations based on false allegations.

They can also use the platform to manage a political communication as propaganda and argue for a fair and realistic management of the city.

wikiPOLS: a platform for community engagement

Accountability of all users: Reliability, transparency and honesty can be a problem because of many reasons related to the management of the partner’s organisations and registered members. They can promise thing they can deliver to other user of the platform • •

This can be clarified to partners as a vital requirement to maintain partnership with WikiPols and failure to respect this clause could lead to cessation of the alliance.

Also, the features of the platform monitor closely all the activities of partners. This offers to WikiPols the possibility to act like as an external supervisor.

Provision of corrupt data from partners: There will be risks from partners to provide corrupted data to the system (to enhance visibility, hide facts) •

This could be hampered by matching data from different sources.

Hacking and New technologies: WikiPols project will evolve in the IT industry as a social media platform. This is a fast paced environment where new technologies are in constant progress and security issues a big challenge. Thus, the website that will handle sensitive information will always be under the threat of potential criminal or manipulators.

• • •

The realistic way to mitigate this is by relying on the skills up to date of its programmers.

Close monitoring of the website A partnership with an IT company that will offer training to WikiPols programmers when necessary, and most of all will immediately inform about updates available required by the site.

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7.0 Pilot - Cairo

“

Like their fellow waste workers around the world, Cairo’s Zabbaleen are the invisible entrepreneurs on the frontlines of city cleanliness, recycling value chains and environmental protection. They fight on a daily basis for their legitimate right to equal entrepreneurship, the same rights enjoyed by the formal corporate sector which invests in waste management.

Iskandar & Kamel, 2012

7.1 CONTEXT Lead with the problem and the people The initial pilot will be undertaken in Manshiet Nasser, an area of Cairo known for being an irreparable slum. In actual fact the population of Manshiet Nasser has a very diverse community despite the fact that they received no government assistance to create the area.

Baseline Study - Situation before the initiative began Manshiet Nasser is one of the largest informal areas in Egypt. The population was growing while they lack basic services and suffer from chronic problems. The original plan was demolishing it. After a while, the plan was to provide water and waste water networks while local people were not involved in any meaningful way. This provides an opportunity to create a proposal that is collaborative at its core (UN Habitat, 2008).

The location of Cairo within Egypt

Cairo

EGYPT 27

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wikiPOLS: a platform for community engagement

Adapted from a map on The Urban Age <http:// urbanlabglobalcities.blogspot. co.uk/2011/11/todays-infographics-measuring-human.html>

its

y

ro ai

cit

lim

C

Central Cairo

Manshiet Nasser

Population 24,243,250 - Area 1,203 sq km - Density 20,152 pp / sq km

2 miles

7.2 PROGRAMME SPECIFICS El Zabaleen in Cairo Omar Shafi, WikiPols’ first pilot individual, lives in Manshiet Nasser on the Moqattam Slopes Currently a participant in the Recycling School Program at the Egyptian NGO Spirit of Youth (SOY). Although not a founding member (2004), Omar joined in 2006 following the creation of a private sector contract that meant the loss of income on several streets that Omar worked on.

Omar is looking to use his working knowledge to teach computer skills at ‘The Recycling School for Boys’, a unique learning centre based on giving underprivileged children an opportunity to combine work and learning. The school curriculum is based on Procter and Gamble shampoo bottles, which are collected locally and used for maths and literacy skills related to data collection. The private sector multinational company then pays the students for every bottle recorded before the students turn them into plastic powder to be sold to local recyclers. The income received covers part of the teachers’ salaries.

Omar lives in informal housing, however due to its illegal nature, Omar does not have ownership documents which means that he cannot benefit from official subsidies or privileges from the Ministry of Housing or the National Housing Program. Bank and Mortgage lenders will not get involved either.

Working through WikiPols on behalf of SOY he has been advocating for official housing documents subject to.

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10,000PTS Omar’s points bar

OMAR LEARN PROGRAMMING

street cleaning programme

(built on existing literacy skills)

1000PTS

400PTS

Platform Services

20,000PTS

.info

teach PROGRAMMING

100PTS / day

500PTS / student

ASSISTED WITH SETTING UP OWN BUSINESS

.collect .peer

free personal web dashboard

Premium service for ngo’s, govS AND academia. free for local participants.

VISUALISES PROGRESS AND SHOWS TRENDS

ZABBALEEN YOUTH

Omar’s route through Spirit of Youth and WikiPols

PAPERWORK FOR NGO

SPIRIT OF YOUTH (LNGO)

COLLECTOR

wikiPOLS

MESSAGE BOARDS, KNOWLEDGE COMMONS AND SHARING TOOLS

PROCTER AND GAMBLE

COMMUNITY

.PEER

TRADER SORTER OMAR

PROCESSER SELLER

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NUMERACY LITERACY COMPUTING DRAMA

ENTER INTO wikiPOLS .COLLECT .PEER

PAYMENT PER BOTTLE RECORDED SELL TO LOCAL MERCHANTS

8.0 Press release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (INTERVIEWEES AVAILABLE FOR RADIO/TV)

‘Refuse collectors surf on political change’ The urban poor living in informal settlements of Cairo are the latest to take political action using new social media platforms. Manshiet Nasser, home to the Zabbaleen, an informal community of waste collectors and recyclers, has been rapidly building a large web-presence using the networking tool WikiPols to forge partnerships with businesses, international organisations and local government who had not previously listened to their needs.

Through generating mass opinion, community-members, whose right to land-ownership and equality of entrepreneurship is not formally recognised by the Egyptian government, can now make their voices heard at the very highest-level of decision-making in Cairo.

In collaboration with Acre International, local and international NGOs, community-based organisations, and online users, WikiPols has become a key component of positive change in Cairo’s informal communities. Not only has communication and collaboration between all partners increased, the residents of Manshiet Nasser are now organizing themselves and initiating projects primarily online.

User Identity is established by building

online profiles, credits that can lead to further employment, gaining legitimacy within the community and developing leadership potential.

Spokesperson for ACRE International: ‘having street children be able to talk to ministers has been a gamechanger for the way we work in Cairo. This is the first project that we have launched with WikiPols and it brings us closer to what people really want. It bridges the gap between the street and government.’

“It is a very efficient way of communicating. Not only can I develop ideas on how to improve our conditions with my neighbours, I am also able to interact with the authorities and make sure that my voice is heard”, explains Omar Safi, a 22 year old active WikiPols user who has been working with Spirit of Youth, a local non-governmental organization which advocates for Zabbaleen livelihoods in Cairo.

Providing people with the tools to organise and communicate with actors at all levels, whether international, national or local, is an essential step in achieving greater equality and rights within society.

For further information or to arrange interviews with ACRE or Omar Safi contact the media officer Charlie Fisher at cfisher@acre.org ENDS

•

• •

Note to editor: Waste management is a major issue in Cairo. Especially in Manshiet Nasser, garbage collectors have been fast to come together and act against the poor living conditions associated with rights deprivation of those living in informal settlements. They are scheduled to meet with the Minister of Housing tomorrow to try to come to an understanding over the changes that need to occur at a national policy level.

User Identity is established by building online profiles, credits that can lead to further employment, gaining legitimacy within the community and developing leadership potential.

For more information on Spirit of Youth go to http://garbagedreams.com/downloads/Spirit_of_Youth_ Brochure.pdf

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9.0 References Alkire, S., 2002. Valuing Freedoms : Sen’s Capability Approach and Poverty. Oxford: OUP. Anheier, H.K. and Themudo, N., 2002. Organizational forms of global civil society: implications of going global. In: Glasius, Marlies, Kaldor, Mary and Anheier, Helmut K., (eds.) Global civil society 2002. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 191-216.

Bakewell, O., Adams, J., Pratt, B., 2003. Sharpening the development process: a practical guide to monitoring and evaluation, Intrac:Oxford Barakat, S., 2003. Housing reconstruction after conflict and disaster, ODI: The Humanitarian Practice Network.

Berinsky, A.J. 2004. Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America. Princeton: Princeton University.

Bhatt, M.R., 2005. Disaster Risk Mitigation: Potential for microfinance, Geneva: ISDR. Chapman, J., 2005. Rights-Based Development: The challenge of Change and power, Oxford: global poverty research group.

Clark, D., 2006. The Elgar Companion to Development Studies. Northampton: Cheltenham.

Dale, T. 2012. Cairo’s central slum under threat. Egypt Independent, 5 July 2012. Available at: http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/cairo-s-central-slum-under-threat Dasgupta, P., 1993. An Inquiry into Well-Being and Destitution, New York: OUP. De Silva, C. 2010. Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software. Technology Innovation Management Review. December 2010. Available at: http://timreview.ca/article/399 [accessed 21 April 2013] De Soto, H. 2001. Why Capitalism Works in the West but Not Elsewhere. International Herald Tribune, 5 January 2001. Available in: http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/ why-capitalism-works-west-not-elsewhere Escobar, A. 1995. Imagining a post-development era, in J. Crush (ed.) Power of Development, London: Routledge.

Fraser, E. D. G., Dougill, A. J., Mabee, W. E., Reed, M., & McAlpine, P. 2006. Bottom up and top down: analysis of participatory processes for sustainability indicator identification as a pathway to community empowerment and sustainable environmental management.

Journal of environmental management, 78(2), 114–27.

Freire, P. 1970. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York, NY: Continuum.

Global Humanitarian Assistance (n.d.). Financing channels and mechanisms. Available at: http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/data-guides/financing Gosling, L., Edwards, M., & the Children Fund (Great Britain), S. (2003). Toolkits: A Practical Guide to Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment. Save The Children.

Haan, H., 1989. Urban Informal Sector Information: Needs and Approaches. Geneva: ILO. Hamdi, R. G. a. N., 1988. Making Micro-Plans a community based process, s.l.: Practical action.

Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR). 2011. (March).

Hunt, J., 2008. Aid and Development. In: international development challenges and issues. s.l.: pallgrave macmillan, pp. 74-103.

Jordan, L. & P. van Tuijl, 2000. Political Responsibility in transnational NGO Advocacy, World Development, vol.28 issue 12, pp.2051-2065 Kruekenberg, D., 2004. The Lessons of John Locke and DeSoto: What if Your Dreams come True?. Housing Policy Debate, 15(1), pp. 1-24.

Lerer, A. 2010. Implementation and evaluation of an IVR rendering platform for data collection in the developing world, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://dspace. mit.edu/handle/1721.1/61169

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McDonald, D. 2013. Learning from the World Bank’s ‘Big Data’ Exploration Weekend. GovLoop. http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/learning-from-the-world-bank-s-big-data-exploration-weekend Melish, T.J., 2010. Maximum Feasible Participation of the Poor: New Governance, New Accountability, and a 21st Century War on the Sources of Poverty, Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal 13 (2010): 1-133. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ tara_melish/1 Murphy, H.M., E.A. McBean, K. Farahbakhsh, 2009. Appropriate technology – A comprehensive approach for water and sanitation in the developing world. Technology in Society, 31:2, pp. 158-167.

Nyamu-Musembi, C. and Cornwall, A, 2004, ‘What is the Rights-based Approach all about?

Perspectives from International Development Agencies’, IDS Working Paper no. 234, Institute for Development Studies, Brighton Nussbaum, M., 1997. Capabilities and human rights. Fordham Law review, Volume 66, pp. 273300.

OHCHR, 2004. Human Rights and Poverty Reduction, New York and Geneva: UN. OHCHR, U.-H., 2002. Housing rights legislation, Nairobi: UN. Pearce, J., Albritton, S., Grant, G., Steed, G., & Zelenika, I. 2012. A new model for enabling innovation in appropriate technology for sustainable development. Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy 8(2):42-53. http://sspp.proquest.com/archives/vol8iss2/0901-002. vanmierlo.html.

Rashed, 2011. A Wake Up Call - Cairo Slums. Urban Peek, 13 June 2011. Available at: http://urbanpeek.com/2011/06/13/a-wake-up-call-cairo-slums/ Rao, M. S. S., 2004. Market-Led Globalization and World Democracy:Market-Led Globalization and World Democracy:. Development and Change , 35(3), pp. 567-581.

Roberge, 2011. Modernization of cadaster and land rights infrastructure in Haiti, s.l.: Organization.

Save the Children, 2003. Toolkits: a practical guide to assessment, monitoring, review and evaluation, Gosling, Louisa (2nd ed.); Save the Children Fund; Edwards, Mike. Save the Children Development Manual, no.5 Schuster, C., & Brito, C. P. (2011). Cutting costs, boosting quality and collecting data real-time – Lessons from a Cell Phone-Based Beneficiary Survey to Strengthen Guatemala’s Conditional Cash Transfer Program, The World Bank, En Breve (166), 1–4.

Accessed 14 March 2013, <http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLAC/Resources/257803-1269390034020/EnBreve_166_Web.pdf> Smith, D.A., 2011. Unsound structures: part 1, when it collapses. Affordable Housing Institute, 29 September 2011. Available at: http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/ us/2011/09/unsound-structures-part-1-when-it-collapses.html Tennyson, R. McManus, S. 2008 Talking The walk: A Communications Manual for Partnerships Practitioners The Partnering Initiative Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas, 2013. Development Plan for Informal Urban Areas Agreed. Available at: http://egypt-urban.net/development-plan-for-informal-urban-areas-agreed Ramalingam B., K. Scriven, & C. Foley, 2009. Innovations in international humanitarian action.

London: Overseas Development Institute. Available at: http://www.alnap.org/pool/ files/8rhach3.pdf [accessed 20 April 2013] Walker P. and Pepper K. 2007. The state of humanitarian funding. In: Humanitarian Reform: Fulfilling its Promise?

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