ABSTRACT
Keystone Accountability explores and develops ways in which the views and experiences of those intended to benefit from development initiatives (the primary constituents) can meaningfully and systematically influence the way that programs undertaken in their name are designed, implemented, managed and evaluated. This chapter describes the emergence of ‘Constituent Voice’ (CV) as a cost-effective way of creating continuous systems of feedback and dialogue that turn farmer voices into real-time performance management data and reliable evidence on the performance, relationships and emerging outcomes of smallholder agriculture development projects.
The methods described here are being developed and adapted ‘in the field’ working with government extension systems, international NGOs and foundations, private companies and farmer organizations. The chapter explores successes and failures along this journey. Along the way Keystone discovered that feedback from frontline field staff provides valuable data on the performance of higher decision-making levels. Creative use of farmer and frontline staff feedback can do much to create a ‘responsive performance culture’ in otherwise top-down technocratic and bureaucratic initiatives.
CV is an evolving work in progress. Experience suggests that there can be real developmental value in ‘imperfect data’, and that data quality improves through using it for collective learning. But collecting feedback is the easy part. Keystone’s latest and most interesting efforts are focused on affordable, practical and empowering ways to enable all constituents to access, analyse and engage with each other over the data and what it means: to use feedback to frame an inclusive process of listening, learning and improving. We call this the Feedback Commons.
