Presentation on Twaweza and Citizen Agency, for Femina, Feb 2014

1. Citizen
Agency

2. Citizen Agency @Twaweza
uptake of information: uptake is more active engagement.
information makes sense, is relevant and is perceived to be of
use.
monitoring what’s going on: systematically collecting
information for citizens’ own use.
information that can be compared and analysed, not just
knowing about your own circumstances.
generally involves comparing policy / budget with practice or
actual delivery of money or comparisons over time or across
areas.
speaking up and debating: voice that can be heard.
local level which can, but doesn’t have to, lead to national.
taking action to make a difference: initiative to make a
difference.
generally either through demanding more from government or
service providers, or using their own time and labour to get
things done.

3. Being informed
Previously knowledge was the missing link to action – of people knew they would act.
Information can be thought of in two ways – addressing information asymetry or
information as persuasion.
What does it do?
prompt a few (outliers / active citizens / positive deviants) to act
help create a supportive environment for more active citizens
create silent pressure / common knowledge – nationally and locally
be a tool for political entrepreneurs
be used to create a problem out of a condition

4. Being active
Key concepts:
Determinants to action
Types of action
Strategic incrementalism
Movements / organizers

5. Determinants
What makes people likely / ready to act?
Three main categories: opportunity (external); ability (knowledge, skills, efficacy);
motivation (attitudes, values, beliefs, norms)

6. Do I understand
the information?
Is it new
information?
Does it suggest that
the situation is worse
than I had expected?
Do I care?
Do I think that it is my
responsibility to do
something about it?
Do I have the skills
to make a difference?
Do I have the sense of
efficacy to think that my
efforts will have an impact?
Are the kinds of actions
I am inspired to take
different from what
I am already doing?
Do I believe my own
individual action will
have an impact?
Do I expect fellow
community members
to join me in taking
action to affect change?
No Impact
No Impact
No Impact
No Impact
No Impact
No Impact
No Impact
No Impact
= yes
= no
Impact
Impact
No Impact
Information to
Action Chain

7. Choosing determinants
Defining which ones seem particularly important
Understanding your capacity to influence these – we are not starting from a blank
slate
Understanding the interplay

8. Types of Action
private public
individual reading with your
child
going to talk to the
head teacher
collective michango demonstration
Also keeping in mind choices between:
• direct (e.g. contribute to hire an extra teacher) and indirect (e.g.
petitioning district authorities for more teachers)
• voice and exit
• negative action - violence, repression

9. Which action?
Answer depends on what problem you
are working on.
Is the issue that there is just not enough
citizen agency / engagement / action?
In which case any type of action is useful.
Or if there is a specific problem you are
trying to solve?
Then analysis required to work through
what actions are possible / plausible and
likely to bring the type of change we are
looking for.

10. Goals Stakeholders Actions Opportunities Constraints Knowledge
ie: What do we
want?
ie: Who is
involved?
ie: What 3 things should they do? ie: Drivers?
Motivations?
ie: Barriers? Efficacy? ie: What info do we think
they need?
SDE2: 90% of
funds are
disbursed to
schools.
Source:
SzW brief 3, June
2013: Capitation
grants in primary
education.
[Facts below
could involve
other audiences]
79% of
Tanzanians have
never heard of
the capitation
grant (pg 2).
93% of head
teachers report
shortages of
books (pg 5).
Head teachers
are dissatisfed
witht the
capitation grant
disbursement (pg
6).
District
Education
Officer
(on behalf of
the District
Treasury)
Advocate for schools and:
1) Authorize grant disbursal timely
from District Treasury.
2) Confirm disbursal amount with
MoE.
3) Confirm disbursal amount with
head teachers.
Greater trust and
respect from HTs.
Less follow up
from HTs.
Recognition for
good results.
Increased
allocations.
Beaurocracy. Transparency.
Corrupt practices.
Competing priorities.
Loss of private gain.
Shortage of resources.
63% of HTs are dissatisfed
with the CG disbursement.
17% of HTs do not follow up
on capitation grant if it does
not arrive i.e. 83% do follow
up. DEO's role and authority
related to CG.
Head teachers 1) Contact DEO if CG is not
transferred timely.
2) Publish CG disbursements on
noticeboard, together with school
expenditure.
3) Discuss with parents and other
community members which
actions to take when CG is missing.
Increased
income.
Recogition for
good results.
More resources
for school or
private gain!
Corrupt practices. Financial
literacy. No interest in school
performance.
63% of HTs are dissatisfed
with the CG disbursement.
17% of HTs do not follow up
on capitation grant if it does
not arrive i.e. 83% do follow
up. 80% of HTs report that
CG expenditure is displayed
in public noticeboards. 93%
of HTs report shortages of
books.
Parents 1) Know the CG amount + purpose
+ frequency.
2) Engage student to understand
status of school resources.
3) Find 5 other parents who want
to ensure CG is received and used
properly.
4) Proactively go to the school with
other parents to check on CG
status and use.
Relation to
children. Hope for
children. Relation
to school. Current
unnecessary
expenditure.
Knowledge of capgrant
amount and purpose. Fear of
authority. Lack of ownership
(motivation). Distance to
schools. Literacy of parents.
Opportunities to engage at
school level.
Primary CG is TZS 10k per
child. Secondary CG is TZS
25k per child. CG is meant
for textbooks and other
materials, small repairs,
adminsitration costs, exam
expenses. Disbursed
quarterly. Expenditure and
receipt is meant to be
displayed on a public
noticeboard. 34% of primary
schools did not receive any
2013 CG by 25 April 2013.
Average annual receipt
between 2010 and 2012 was
TZS 2,202 per student.

11. Strategic incrementalism
Asking people to tackle big issues or even directly trying to
tackle macro issues can be difficult, lead to disjointed work
and despair when you don’t achieve them. Instead it is
about focusing on the smaller things that you think will put
you on the path to tackling the larger part.
The story of civil rights – people will be unlikely to respond
to ‘let’s end inequality’ meaningfully – how do you even
start?
Wedge issues
Not small things for the sake of small things but that you
assess as flash points, possible points of impact
Assessing external opportunities
Feedback loops

12. What can we impact?
Outputs – full control, what we produce and can ‘guarantee’
Quality outcomes
Do people like the
material, does it
resonate. These
feedback into the
content we produce
and inform us how
to make it better
Outcomes on
determinants
Did it increase their
knowledge, are they
more motivated –
also useful for
feedback loops
Action outcomes – if
we wanted people
to do something did
they do it? This is
unlikely to be the
result of just our
material but is part
of what we aim for
Outcomes
Impact – what we hope and dream of but is a combination of our efforts and
others’, we are not guaranteeing this will result from our work but we hope to
show that our work could have or did contribute.

13. Social movements
Organising
The value of mass participation
Social movements as a pyramid
Organisers –
planning, keeping
momentum driving
the agenda, people
with a plan
Mass participation –
people need the
sense of contributing
/ sacrificing. Product
boycotts / sponsored
runs etc

14. Organisers
Large-scale social change, involving mass participation,
is driven by committed individuals who mobilise
people around shared goals.
Key qualities of an organizer:
relationship-building (bringing people together,
uniting them around a common purpose,
understanding leadership as relational –leaders need
followers)
story-telling (through stories people are motivated, the
why of taking action; identity)
strategizing (ensuring optimal use of resources and
skills / turning what we have into what we need to get
what we want)
action (turning commitments to action or outcomes,
ensuring skills, metrics and accountability to do so)
structuring (clarity of purpose, norms and roles –
including shifts in who is playing a leadership role).

15. What does it all mean for Femina?
Ready-made platforms – deciding what they best convey and achieve
Fema clubs as a good basis for organisation – how do you find the most
motivated individuals who can lead the charge within these structures?
What issues? Or just wanting young people to engage more?
Is it demand side engagement that you are most interested – putting you in the
accountability field? Or direct action too?
Unpacking the relationship between entrepreneurship and agency