2016 ICT4D Conference

Even when citizens have a right to basic services such as healthcare or education, they often receive substandard services or none at all. The spread of digital tools and widespread (and increasing) access to mobile and internet connectivity present exciting new opportunities to improve the delivery of public services by amplifying citizen voice.

In this session, Reboot will discuss an open source tool that we built and piloted, along with an accompanying programmatic intervention, in rural Nigeria. We will share stories of how our user-centered design approach to developing and implementing the tool led to real-life impact, and we will offer a vision for how we hope to collaborate with others in adapting and scaling to improve public service delivery worldwide.

Reboot designed and first implemented My Voice first in rural Nigeria, but this flexible tool is ripe for adaptation and scaling to many different sectors and geographic contexts. We hope that the discussion inspires attendees to think about how they might use their own technology skills, networks, and own experiences to further the use of communications technology to improve analog service delivery experiences. In short, how might we convert the expansion of digital rights and digital access into improvements in the "analog" delivery of basic human services?