93615 November 1, 2012 Nigeria: Culture of Feedback Key to Boosting Community Participation and Building Rural Livelihoods Synopsis Increased focus on generating community feedback in the Nigeria Fadama project is helping to improve rural livelihoods by deepening the quality and quantity of communication between development practitioners, governments, and community members. Results have included a strong network of grassroots associations well-poised to capably harness the successful piloting of a new SMS-based system. Challenge “Fadama” is a Hausa name for irrigable land--usually low-lying plains underlaid by shallow aquifers found along Nigeria's major river systems. The land is fertile and water is easily accessible, but the Fadamas have also been the scene of conflict among farmers, fishermen, and pastoralists who are vying for land, water, and grazing resources. As a result, Fadama farmers have struggled in the face of grinding poverty and livelihoods have been undercut by low agricultural yields. The challenge has been further compounded by poor communication mechanisms and lack of participatory community dialogue. Not only have women and marginalized groups often been relegated to the background, but there has often been no avenue or mechanism for community members to proactively express their concerns and offer suggestions or ideas. Even when new infrastructure was added to support livelihoods, the lack of feedback mechanisms has often meant that the infrastructure was not designed in a way that ensured sustainability or truly met community needs. “Ensuring inclusive, participatory processes for determining investment priorities and improving community-government dialogue has been a central focus of the project from the beginning,” said World BankSenior Agricultural Specialist Abimbola Adubi. “This has required challenging societal norms through ongoing dialogue to give voice to women and marginalized groups that had traditionally been relegated to the background.” Approach The project approach has placed a premium on creating feedback and dialogue around the infrastructure that it built. Local community members, under the umbrella of Fadama Community Associations and Fadama User Groups, have overseen the design and implementation of the infrastructure investments. Specific mechanisms for ensuring transparency and citizen feedback have included widely posted signs explaining how projects are financed, a dedicated phone line for complaints, and employing specific community members to act as community facilitators. The community associations hold regular meetings, which creates a time and place for citizens to express their views. The project approach also incorporates the launch of a third party monitoring component, which will engage a local civil society organization to assess the project delivery and satisfaction using an SMS-based pilot mechanism.  “We are creating a culture of feedback where community members are proactively expressing not only their concerns, but also their ideas and suggestions,” said World Bank Consultant Merrick Schaefer, “Although several feedback mechanisms had been introduced by the project, there is still a desire to strengthen these through better integration and the leveraging of mobile phone technology. Our goal is to find a mobile technology solution that is scalable, re-usable, works across sectors and is cost accessible for beneficiaries to provide feedback. We want to use mobile technology to get as close as possible to beneficiaries.” Beneficiary Results The Fadama project has developed a vibrant network of inclusive community networks. These networks have created over 2,000 local development plans that actively incorporate the viewpoints of all stakeholders. Female participation in decision-making has increased monumentally and women now account for 40 percent of all participants. These associations ensure that community members are active in all stages of the project cycle and report on issues such as lack of capacity, fund disbursement, delays, and troubleshooting. Under the leadership of the national Civil Society Consultative Group, 24 civil society organizations  have begun implementing a third party monitoring system in eight states and more than 40 local government areas. The Fadama project has also launched a promising mobile phone and SMS-based system that will allow beneficiaries to provide feedback on a variety of indicators from the performance of project staff to suggestions on how to improve the timing of funds disbursement. Local farmers have already used this system to provide feedback that discounted fertilizer arrived too late for the use in the last growing season. World Bank Contribution The Fadama III project includes US$450 million, with $250 million from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's Fund for the Poorest, and $200 million from the Nigerian government and beneficiaries. The World Bank has also provided technical assistance, drawing upon its experience with community driven development approaches in other countries. Development Partners The Fadama project is currently operating in all the 36 states of Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory. Within each state, local governments implement the project with close oversight coming from the state government. The Fadama Desk Officers operate at the local level to facilitate project implementation.  Day-to-day direction and facilitation of community feedback comes from the Fadama Community Associations and the Fadama User Groups. In addition, the Fadama project is partnering with 24 civil society organizations operating under the umbrella of the Civil Society Consultative Group to implement a third party monitoring system to assess project effectiveness and beneficiary satisfaction. Moving Forward In the past few years, the Fadama project has built strong networks of community associations and user groups. The next phase will involve scaling up the feedback that these networks provide by further integrating mobile technology into implementation. Focus groups, sign posts, phone complaint systems, and piloting of an SMS network should be seen as a starting point for a system of feedback mechanisms that can provide both more quantitative and more qualitative information on project implementation.