Using Mobile Devices to Collect Private Sector Feedback on Government Service Delivery

Overview of Guidance Note and Insights for Inspections Management

John R. WilleAmman, Jordan

June 2014

♦ Increases transparency, which reduces information asymmetries♦ Reduces corruption opportunities by minimizing face-to-face

interaction♦ Increases accountability of government staff by providing

opportunity for private sector to provide feedback ♦ Improves information-sharing across government, enhancing

regulatory oversight♦ Reduces costs of compliance for business and administrative

costs for government

How ICT Supports Improved Governance

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…The World Bank Group has supported the deployment of many web-based tools for collecting G2C feedback, but now beginning to leverage the reach of mobile apps for G2B interactions

♦ Business Licensing and Permitting – Specific feedback can be collected from business owners on their experience during the process of obtaining business licenses (e.g., time required, efficiency of staff, transparency of rate calculation)

♦ Business Inspections – Businesses can report on their experience in receiving business inspections (e.g., time required, knowledge and helpfulness of inspector)

♦ Trade Logistics – Freight carriers can report on queue times at border crossings and availability of inspectors

♦ Healthcare – Regulators can collect feedback on quality of services and patient safety issues from both public and private providers

Potential Areas to Collect Feedback

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Direct beneficiary feedback on G2B service delivery experience

♦ Feedback provided through Web interface or mobile devices

♦ Mobile apps offer the opportunity to collect more structured information (e.g., ratings, average waiting time), as well as summarize feedback through online “management dashboards”

♦ Management dashboards can display:

– Time series information on service delivery quality by “product” (e.g., specific license) or location (e.g., district office)

– Benchmarking against peer group or defined service standard

– Anecdotal information on service delivery problems or examples of exceptional service provision

…If implemented early in the reform process, feedback mechanism can also be a project M&E tool!

Implementing a Mobile Feedback Mechanism:Key Phases and Issues

CollectDevelop ResolveAnalyze

• Objectives• Nature of

feedback• Government

capacity• Funding and

sustainability

• SMS or App?• Devices and

OS supported• Software

tools• Hosting and

support

• Survey content

• How is feedback collected?

• Promotion and incentives

• How feedback is summarized and displayed

• Performance by unit?

• Time series analysis?

• How to act on feedback received

• How to communicate response to feedback providers

Many Technologies and Hosting Solutions Available

Open source software tools (e.g., Open Data Kit, FormHub) – project teams can use local developers to customize and host;

Proprietary tools (e.g., Magpi, CommCare) – vendors help with setup and provide hosting on a software-as-a-service model;

…Technology costs typically $50-70K plus ongoing hosting and maintenance

Prerequisites for Success

♦ Capacity of Government to sustain applications♦ Accountability for and development of back office processes for

handling feedback♦ Easily accessible by users through appropriate technologies (e.g.,

SMS, web, and smartphone/tablets)♦ Established and announced service delivery standards♦ Active solicitation of feedback/marketing of mechanism♦ Evidence that Government is actually listening