Making All Voices Count aims to find new ways to make it easier and less costly for citizens to engage with those that govern and for governments to become more responsive to citizens’ voices.

The relationships between governments and their citizens are complex and the governance problems that exist are multifaceted with power and politics at their heart. It’s fair to say that there are no “silver bullets”.

Making All Voices Count is structured in recognition of this complexity, with learning, research and evidence building, and the brokering of new relationships, as central strands in the programme’s design. These strands combine to improve knowledge and practice in initiatives funded by Making all Voices Count,and among the wider range of actors and initiatives looking to improve governance.

The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) leads the Making All Voices Count Research & Evidence Component. As well as funding and conducting academic research on key themes, this specifically supports applied research for learning, so as to improve practice and contribute to building up the evidence base for the field of governance, voice, accountability and government responsiveness.

The Learning & Inspiration Event in Tanzania from 26-28th May 2014 will bring together a together a wide range of participants, including Making All Voices Count partners, potential partners, and experts in transparency, voice, accountability, and technology, to focus on:

• Bridging different life-worlds: Surface, define and build complementary ways of working between tech, development, government, social activist and private sector actors working on accountable governance and transparency

• Evidence into practice: Share participants’ experience and other contemporary, relevant research and evidence and foster critical reflection on it, as the basis for better policy and practice for making all voices count.

This three-day event is designed to enable participants to share knowledge and experience, develop new relationships with others working on these issues, and offer space for reflection on the evidence that exists as they embark on the new initiatives Making All Voices Count is supporting.

This Learning and Inspiration Event is part of an ongoing Making All Voices Count research and learning process which has included a review of literature and experiential evidence and a facilitated e-Dialogue. The e-Dialogue, or series of online discussions, brought together a wide range of experts and practitioners in the field to provide a an opportunity to discuss and share knowledge on key issues relevant to Making(Innovation) All (Inclusion) Voices (Citizen engagement) Count (Government responsiveness). Read a summary of each discussion – Making Part 1/Part 2 – All – Voices – Count.

Follow the week’s activities with #MAVCLearn.