Crowdsourcing as a tool for political participation? - the case of Ugandawatch
Abstract
Uganda has democratic deficits where demand for democracy exceeds its supply. As a consequence it is argued that a segment of Ugandans might participate and honour the freedom to speak out, assemble, and associate given new opportunities outside the traditional political channels. With expanded mobile coverage and access to mobile devices and services in mind, and using the concept of open crowdsourcing, the platform UgandaWatch was launched prior to the 2011 general elections with the intention to meet the demand, to offer increased equality of political participation, and to advance efforts toward increased citizen engagement in Uganda. From a community informatics point of view, the study examined how and under what conditions access to ICT tools (mobile devices, networks, and a crowdsourcing platform) can be made usable and useful for people and communities for increased political participation in a given context. By combining the collection and analysis of quantitative (SMS-survey) and qualitative data (focus groups) through a mixed-method approach, this study answers the questions, What are the key factors that influence users’ willingness to use mobile phones and crowdsourcing platforms as a channel for political participation?, and What concerns do users have with respect to using mobile phones and crowdsourcing platforms in the participation process? The study shows that users participated because they hoped it would bring real change to Uganda’s electoral and political landscape, that it was a convenient channel to use (quick and easy) and that confidentiality was assured. The user concerns relate to costs, trust, and safety. Crowdsourcing offers an alternative channel and may substitute or supplement traditional means of political participation. It can increase participation in some groups, including among those who normally do not participate—something that increases equality of political participation in a positive direction.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bailard C et al. 2012. Mapping the Maps: A Meta-Level Analysis of Ushahidi and Crowdmap. Internews Center for Innovation & Learning, Washington DC.
Bott M and Young G. 2012. The Role of Crowdsourcing for Better Governance in International Development. PRAXIS The Fletcher Journal of Human Security, Vol. XXVII – 2012.
Boulianne S. 2009. Does Internet Use Affect Engagement? A Meta-Analysis of Research. Political Communication 26(2), pp. 193–211.
Bratton M and Houessou R. 2014. Demand for Democracy Is Rising in Africa, But Most Political Leaders Fail to Deliver. Policy Paper 11. Afrobarometer.
Cornwall A. (2003). Whose voices? Whose choices? Reflections on gender and participatory development. World development 31(8), pp. 1325-1342.
Currion P. 2010. If all You Have is a Hammer - How Useful is Humanitarian Crowdsourcing? Retrieved November 14, 2011. http://mobileactive.org/how-useful-humanitarian-crowdsourcing
DEMGroup. 2010. Press Release 2 June 2010: Launch of UgandaWatch 2011. Uganda, Kampala.
Dodson, L., Sterling, S., R., Bennett, J., K. 2013. Considering failure: eight years of ITID research. 9 (2), ICTD2012 Special Issue, pp. 19–34
Donner J. 2010. Framing M4D: The Utility of Continuity and the Dual Heritage of "Mobiles and Development". EJISDC: The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries, (Vol. 44, No.3). pp. 1-16.
European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM). 2011. Uganda Final Report, General Elections 18 February 2011.
Grossman G, Humphreys M and Sacramone-Lutz G. 2013. Does Information Technology Flatten Interest Articulation? Evidence from Uganda.
Gurstein M. 2007. What is community informatics (and why does it matter)? Milan (Italy): Polimetrica.
Hardt M and Negri A. 2004. Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire. Penguin, New York.
Heeks R. 2008. ICT4D 2.0: The next phase of applying ICT for international development. Compute, 41(6), pp. 26-33.
Hellström, J. 2010. The innovative use of mobile applications in East Africa. Sida Review 12. Stockholm: Sida.
Hellström J. 2011. Mobile Governance: Applications, Challenges and Scaling-up. In Poblet M (ed.), Mobile Technologies for Conflict Management: Online Dispute Resolution, Governance, Participation, Springer Verlag, pp. 159-179.
Hellström J and Karefelt A. 2012. Participation through Mobile Phones - A Study of SMS use during the Ugandan General Elections 2011. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2012), 249-258, ACM.
Hellström J and Tedre M. Forthcoming. Failing forward – mobile services in East Africa. Working title.
Hermanns H. 2008. Mobile democracy: Mobile phones as democratic tools. Politics 28(2), pp. 74-82.
Howe J. 2006. The rise of crowdsourcing. Wired magazine 14(6), pp. 1-4.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Voter Turnout Data for Uganda. http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?CountryCode=UG (2014-02-26).
Joyce M. (Ed). 2010. Digital activism decoded: the new mechanics of change. International Debate Education Association, New York.
Mattes R, Kibirige F and Sentamu R. 2010. Understanding Citizens Attitudes to Democracy in Uganda. Afrobarometer Working Paper #124.
Monterde A and Postill J. Forthcoming. 2014. Mobile ensembles: The uses of mobile phones for social protest by Spain’s indignados. In G. Goggin and L. Hjorth (eds.) Routledge Companion to Mobile Media. London: Routledge, pp. 429-438.
Mora F A. 2014. Emergent digital activism: The generational/technological connection. The Journal of Community Informatics, 10(1).
Morozov E. 2011. The net delusion: the dark side of internet freedom. 1st ed. Public Affairs, New York.
Pateman C. 1970. Participation and democratic theory. Cambridge University Press.
Poblet M. (ed.) (2011). Mobile Technologies for Conflict Management: Online Dispute Resolution, Governance, Participation. Springer Verlag.
Powell M, Davies T and Taylor K C. 2012. ICT For or Against Development? An Introduction to the Ongoing Case of Web 3.0. IKM Emergent Research Programme, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI).
Price K, Azelton A and Fogg K. 2013. Enhancing Citizen Participation through Information & Communication Technology. White paper by Citizen Participation Team, NDI, Washington.
Rheingold H. 2002. Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Perseus, Cambridge, MA.
Sida. 2009. ICTs for Democracy: Information and Communication Technologies for the Enhancement of Democracy – with a Focus on Empowerment. Department for Empowerment, SIDA.
Smith M L, Spence R and Rashid A T. 2011. Mobile phones and expanding human capabilities. Information Technologies & International Development, 7(3), pp. 77-88.
Ssonko D. 2013. Decentralisation and Development: Can Uganda now pass the test of being a role model? Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance (13/14), pp. 30-45.
Tangri R., and Mwenda, A., M. 2013. The Politics of Elite Corruption in Africa: Uganda in Comparative African Perspective. Routledge, New York, USA.
Tangri R, & Mwenda, A., M. 2010. President Museveni and the politics of presidential tenure in Uganda. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 28(1), pp. 31-49.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). 2014. Uganda National Household Survey 2012/2013. Kampala Uganda; UBOS.
Uimonen P and Hellström J. Forthcoming. ICT4D Donor Agencies and Networks. In International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication & Society.
Van Belle J P and Cupido K. 2013. Increased Public Participation in Local Government Through the Use of Mobile Phones: What Do South African Youth Think? The Journal of Community Informatics, 9(4).
Wasik B. 2008. And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture. Viking, New York.
World Bank. 2014. http://data.worldbank.org/
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.