Youth Got Tech: U-Report Uganda
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Varsha Srinivasan
August 8, 2021
Youth participation in Uganda is heavily dependent on establishing trust in the government, especially given the doubt the current political system has cast on its citizens. This case focuses on the mobile U-Report platform developed to promote youth civic engagement through access to technology. Through its development, UNICEF is able to collect information directly from its young citizens (those under the age of 35) about what is happening in their communities through voluntary participation. This initiative encourages youth to advocate for themselves and stay technologically connected to the world around them. It also promotes the use of technology as a tool for mobility by allowing youth to publicly express their views on what they think is right and wrong in their societies.
Externally, U-Report allows UNICEF to better understand the needs of different regions within Uganda in an effort to effectively intervene. This technique provides context-specific evidence rather than generalized conclusions about the nation as a whole. However, because the platform functions through SMS and serves as an opt-in participatory process, accessibility to the general public is limited and not representative—only those with access to a cell phone can use it. Despite this limitation, U-Report is so popular in Uganda that UNICEF will pilot the program in other nations.
UNICEF collaborates with local organizations to recruit participants directly and indirectly; youth are given significant public responsibility through the SMS platform as they respond to polls and raise awareness about specific problems in their communities. Currently, the majority of participants are male, but there is a diverse representation of age. Participants have provided commentary on events ranging from public health initiatives and refugee settlements to disaster preparedness and use of corporal punishment in schools. In some cases, participants’ data was used to pinpoint region-specific outbreaks, such as in the banana bacterial wilt response. In other cases, such as the Ebola epidemic, the data helps gauge the efficiency of general community responses. U-reporters also are more connected to the surrounding environments for refugee outreach to be able to signal to UNICEF about local health emergencies among more remote communities or during disasters. The platform also allows for real-time mapping for community needs.
Data also is disseminated among local leaders so local governments get a better idea of what their citizens need based on geographic variation. This data has been particularly useful within the Ministries of Finance and Health and the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, providing a more informative framework of what supports and reforms need to be modified or implemented. Given the informal nature of data collection, U-Report is not difficult to implement, but because participants fluctuate, the changing response numbers could have a significant impact on consistent data collection.
Some challenges to using the platform include: biases in the studies, given respondents’ demographics and limited access for individuals without cell phones; limited responsiveness to polls; associated costs for implementation may outweigh the benefits. Additionally, if U-Report is converted to an app, access will be restricted further to those with cellphones. Future recommendations include implementing metric-specific goals to better ascertain related policy changes.
U-Report is working toward solidifying public trust by making their agreement public. Overall, the platform is a creative initiative to encourage youth civic engagement, especially in nations needing specific support relevant to universal United Nations goals. This tool could be very beneficial in providing a framework for setting an inclusive agenda, but more feasible metrics and region-specific context will make the data collection process smoother.
To learn more about this case, visit https://participedia.net/case/4389. To read about other innovative applications of public participation, visit www.participedia.net.
Author: Varsha Srinivasan is a foreign language area studies fellow pursuing a dual MPA and IR degree at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they relate to multicultural education and cultural sensitivity, specifically in relation to immigrant diasporas in the United States. Her previous experiences include serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Colombia from 2019-2020 and teaching 7th grade science through Teach for America in the Las Vegas Valley from 2017-2019. She received a BS and BA from Emory University in May 2017 and an MA from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas in May 2019. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Youth Got Tech: U-Report Uganda
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Varsha Srinivasan
August 8, 2021
Youth participation in Uganda is heavily dependent on establishing trust in the government, especially given the doubt the current political system has cast on its citizens. This case focuses on the mobile U-Report platform developed to promote youth civic engagement through access to technology. Through its development, UNICEF is able to collect information directly from its young citizens (those under the age of 35) about what is happening in their communities through voluntary participation. This initiative encourages youth to advocate for themselves and stay technologically connected to the world around them. It also promotes the use of technology as a tool for mobility by allowing youth to publicly express their views on what they think is right and wrong in their societies.
Externally, U-Report allows UNICEF to better understand the needs of different regions within Uganda in an effort to effectively intervene. This technique provides context-specific evidence rather than generalized conclusions about the nation as a whole. However, because the platform functions through SMS and serves as an opt-in participatory process, accessibility to the general public is limited and not representative—only those with access to a cell phone can use it. Despite this limitation, U-Report is so popular in Uganda that UNICEF will pilot the program in other nations.
UNICEF collaborates with local organizations to recruit participants directly and indirectly; youth are given significant public responsibility through the SMS platform as they respond to polls and raise awareness about specific problems in their communities. Currently, the majority of participants are male, but there is a diverse representation of age. Participants have provided commentary on events ranging from public health initiatives and refugee settlements to disaster preparedness and use of corporal punishment in schools. In some cases, participants’ data was used to pinpoint region-specific outbreaks, such as in the banana bacterial wilt response. In other cases, such as the Ebola epidemic, the data helps gauge the efficiency of general community responses. U-reporters also are more connected to the surrounding environments for refugee outreach to be able to signal to UNICEF about local health emergencies among more remote communities or during disasters. The platform also allows for real-time mapping for community needs.
Data also is disseminated among local leaders so local governments get a better idea of what their citizens need based on geographic variation. This data has been particularly useful within the Ministries of Finance and Health and the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, providing a more informative framework of what supports and reforms need to be modified or implemented. Given the informal nature of data collection, U-Report is not difficult to implement, but because participants fluctuate, the changing response numbers could have a significant impact on consistent data collection.
Some challenges to using the platform include: biases in the studies, given respondents’ demographics and limited access for individuals without cell phones; limited responsiveness to polls; associated costs for implementation may outweigh the benefits. Additionally, if U-Report is converted to an app, access will be restricted further to those with cellphones. Future recommendations include implementing metric-specific goals to better ascertain related policy changes.
U-Report is working toward solidifying public trust by making their agreement public. Overall, the platform is a creative initiative to encourage youth civic engagement, especially in nations needing specific support relevant to universal United Nations goals. This tool could be very beneficial in providing a framework for setting an inclusive agenda, but more feasible metrics and region-specific context will make the data collection process smoother.
To learn more about this case, visit https://participedia.net/case/4389. To read about other innovative applications of public participation, visit www.participedia.net.
Author: Varsha Srinivasan is a foreign language area studies fellow pursuing a dual MPA and IR degree at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they relate to multicultural education and cultural sensitivity, specifically in relation to immigrant diasporas in the United States. Her previous experiences include serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Colombia from 2019-2020 and teaching 7th grade science through Teach for America in the Las Vegas Valley from 2017-2019. She received a BS and BA from Emory University in May 2017 and an MA from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas in May 2019. She can be reached at [email protected].
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