Harnessing the Power of Communication & Technology to Increase Aid Accountability Tamara Leigh, UN Office for the Coordination

of Humanitarian Affairs Eastern Africa Nairobi, May 9th 2013 Good morning, I want to thank Transparency International for giving me the opportunity to talk about how we can harness the power of communication and technology in this region to improve accountability to disaster-affected communities Todays focus is on using feedback loops and complaint response mechanisms to improve accountability in development and humanitarian practice. Hearing what people have to say on their experience of international aid is crucial to improve the way we work, adapt programs accordingly, and increase accountability to those we support. But listening to what people have to say after we intervene, will not alone improve accountability. To work and respond to crises in an accountable and responsible way, we need to involve communities better from the word go. This is done through better two-way communication between aid agencies and disaster-affected communities, working more collaboratively, focus on supporting existing capacity and identifying local priorities, honestly managing expectations, following up and planning a mutually agreed strategy exit. There are some agencies that are already working in a more open and collaborative way, ensuring they consult people fully, and involve them fully in the response efforts. But most are not. Being accountable to the people we seek to serve considers disaster affected communities as partners in recovery, not as beneficiaries. If long term, sustainable solutions are to be found, they need to be equal partners in recovery efforts.

But most of the current humanitarian aid system is not conducive to this shift in power from HQ and donors, to the people themselves. Currently, international aid is a delivery system where providers with money and expertise make decisions. Aid recipients say that this system turns them into objects of others decision making and planning, rather than engaging them as agents in their societys progress. The buzzwords of the day: empowerment, participation, partnership, ownership, transparency and accountability all imply changes in power and relationships, from HQ and capitals of aid agencies, to people affected by disasters or poverty. This shift is already slowly taking place with increasing access to communications technology, especially in this region. It is crucial to engage and help catalyse this change, not prevent it. We believe today that communication and information are now central to a communitys capacity to self organize and we need to focus on supporting this. Which brings me to our recently launched report, Humanitarianism in the Network Age. According to the mobile phone company Ericsson, this is how the world will look in just five years time. Three-point-three billion smartphone subscriptions. Nine-point-three billion mobile phone subscriptions, with the majority of these phones being used in developing countries. The chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, forecasts that by 2020, everyone in the world will be connected to the internet. According to some forecasts, in five years smartphones will account for up to 40 per cent of all handsets sold in Africa. Along with the explosion in mobile phone use is the increasing popularity of social media and online information sharing. As this graphic of twitter use in Africa shows, the developing world is leading this growth. This data is from 2011, so has increased significantly since then. This trend is connecting disparate people and groups, amplifying their voice and empowering them to make decisions that affect their lives.

For example, in 2011 during the drought in the Horn of Africa, using the mobile money service MPesa, Kenyans mobilized millions of dollars to support people living in drought-affected communities. The Kenya Red Cross also established critical corporate partnerships to support this process. Today, the Kenya Red Cross continues to monitor its twitter account 24/7 to respond to emergencies across the country. This is emblematic of the vision in this report: increasingly informed, connected and self-reliant communities generating information accessible to everyone in real time and organizing themselves to act upon it. Mobile communications technology means that our relationship with people affected by emergencies and crises is no longer a one-way street, if it ever was. The world is becoming flatter. Hierarchies are disappearing. Partnerships must be built on equality and mutual benefit. Communications technology is enabling people in emergencies to raise their voices and we cannot afford to ignore what they are telling us. This report is aimed at helping people on the ground to make themselves heard, and helping humanitarian agencies to listen and act on what they are saying. Wherever you are, your priority in an emergency is to connect: to find help, to tell someone you are OK. Through their phones, disaster survivors can reach not just each other, but support networks across the globe. They can share information, organize ad hoc assistance, transfer money and broadcast their experiences. And people are prioritizing accordingly. In Kenya, research by the World Bank last year found that one in five of the poorest people routinely went without daily necessities to buy credit for their phones. For humanitarians, these developments present opportunities and challenges. We need to make sense of data as quickly as possible in situations where every minute counts. But we must also continue to meet standards of independence, neutrality accountability and transparency. So how can we adapt? This report identifies four key recommendations that I would like to highlight:

First, the ability of survivors to organize their own response depends on the information they are receiving. That information assumes extraordinary value. The message from affected communities is clear: people urgently need information and ways to communicate. Therefore, the first and most important recommendation is to recognize information and communication as basic needs in humanitarian response. This means establishing ways for people to communicate with each other, and to give feedback and voice their demands. Our second recommendation is to make sure that in crisis situations, information is freely shared and accessible to all who need it to inform their decision-making. Thirdly, if aid agencies are to get better at making use of new data sources and informationsharing models, they need to improve their technical capacity. The sheer volume of information is outpacing our ability to use it. One way in which OCHA is adapting is through the development of volunteer groups like the Digital Humanitarian Network. And our final recommendation is to ensure that information is used in an ethical and secure manner. Data is never neutral; it reflects political, cultural and socio-economic biases and it is always open to manipulation. We must guard peoples privacy and make sure that information is always used in line with humanitarian principles. Its a question of finding a balance between open data and safe data. This report envisages an interconnected world in which disaster survivors are at the center of response. The message is that we need to reach out to and support the volunteer tech communities, private sector, diaspora groups and governments that are leading this change. We have to adapt to and indeed champion, the shift of power from institutions to communities. Thank you.

Writing from Imogen Wall, Daniel Gilman & Tamara Leigh (UNOCHA)
Further Reading: Humanitarianism in the Network Age (OCHA) Humanitarianism in the Network Age: Groundbreaking Study (iRevolution)

Time to Listen: Hearing People on the Receiving End of Aid (CDA Collaborative Learning Projects) Still Left in the Dark? (BBC Media Action) How to Avoid Pitfalls in Participatory Development (Anna Colom/ The Guardian) The Challenges for Participatory Development in Contemporary Development Practice Keynote Address (Robert Chambers/ University of Sussex)