Mobile-based Civic Engagement in Pakistan

1. Citizens in Pakistan have limited access to up-to-date information on local government initiatives to address issues such as electricity shortages, gas supply, health and unemployment. 

2. Viamo, in partnership with telecom operators, has launched the free “3-2-1” service to host pre-recorded voice messages on key topics in local languages. These messages are accessible on any phone using IVR, no matter how basic, and reach across literacy and gender barriers.

3. If scaled globally, 3-2-1 has the potential to bridge critical information gaps between citizens and government,thereby increasing transparency and accountability.

Partnering with UNDP in March 2019, Viamo conducted a first-of-its-kind Pre-Budget Poll in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The goal of the poll was to help the local government identify the most important issues for citizens during the budget planning process. Prior to this effort, information on voter concerns had been conducted in person through local village councils and SMS, which was ineffective due to Pakistan’s low literacy levels of 56% (UNESCO, 2015).

The poll reached a total of 505,832 people through a mix of SMS, Interactive Voice Response, and social media channels. As a result, we were able to identify that electricity shortages were the most important issue for 33% of citizens, followed by gas supply (23%) and unemployment (18%). However, this information is not useful until and unless the government is successfully able to translate budget allocations to impactful projects. 

To effectively bridge the gap between the govt. and the masses, it is important that data collection is treated as a relationship building exercise. Hence, with key data points already collected representing a province of 35.5 Million, the need is to deliver life-enhancing and meaningful information as well as government initiatives.

Increased government accountability and targeted spending will improve the lives of all Pakistani citizens. Specifically, we are targeting the 71% of Pakistani households that own a mobile phone and can use it to access information. This number is significantly higher than the radio ownership (11%) or TV ownership (60%) (World Bank).

Viamo will engage citizens in the creation of the new 3-2-1 (audio) content through user-centered design with field testing and stylization workshops. All of the content we create for the 3-2-1 service is designed in the context of a content development workshop with all of the local experts and other relevant stakeholders. Next, our content is field-tested for the optimal style: should we use a male voice or a female voice?, should we use a peer voice or an authority voice?, should we use a drama or a game?, etc. 

This solution will address the need to build trust between citizens and their government by closing the feedback loop of data. Instead of a one-way exchange where citizens provide their opinion on public services without seeing the results, the 3-2-1 service will allow Pakistanis to monitor the progress of their government towards addressing their most pressing issues. 

In partnership with non-partisan organizations such as the UN system in coordination with government bodies, Viamo is proposing to create new and engaging content areas on the 3-2-1 service that will provide up-to-date information on the top three issues concerning citizens: energy/utilities, health and unemployment.

The 3-2-1 Service is a toll-free, automated hotline which delivers information on a wide range of development topics in local language on even the simplest of phones. It is unique among large scale mobile phone initiatives because both callers and partners benefit from free access to the service content. Viamo’s MNO partners agree to provide free airtime and promote the service among their subscribers. Viamo’s content partners pay a fee to develop and host the content regardless of how many thousands (or millions) of end users listen to their messages.

Today, Viamo provides the 3-2-1 Service in 15 countries to make it accessible to +200M million mobile subscribers. More than 8 million unique mobile subscribers used the service in 2018, with an average of 1M unique users per month. The Service represents a paradigm shift in development. No longer do people have to wait passively for the information they need. They can proactively consult the 3-2-1 Service’s directory of hundreds of localized, expert-developed audio and text messages on important development topics via an interactive voice response (IVR) menu.