A government driven innovation in Pakistan, digital currency in South Africa and SMS reporting system for maternal health in Indonesia took the top three prizes at Making All Voices Count’s Global Innovation Competition.
This competition, launched at the Open Government Partnership, scouted the world for fresh ideas to boost citizen engagement and government accountability.
Asim Fayaz and Imran Sikandar Baloch of BSDU
Government driven innovation Bahawalpur Service Delivery Unit (BSDU) emerged as the winner of competition, led by a District’s Chief Executive from Pakistan Imran Baloch and Asim Fayaz from Pakistan. This innovation seeks to improve service delivery in under-resourced, conflict areas with lack of data-driven performance management systems.
At the Global Innovation Gala, where all ten selected finalists made their final pitch, Baloch explained: “
Our initiative, by enabling monitors to report through smart phones and by simply ringing parents, saw teacher AND student attendance increase from 78% to 92%.” He continued, “technology was an enabler in this process; not the end result. We want to use this £65,000 grant to extend our initiative into health, livestock, & agriculture.
Chair of the Jury Dr. Sheila Ochugboju explained, “this performance management system has three components: it’s results based, focuses on inclusion and uses tested technology. In addition, this is a model that can be replicated outside of Pakistan.”
The two runner-ups, who each received a £35,000 grant plus expert mentorship over a six-month period, were GEM – Going The Extra Mile from South Africa and Reducing Maternal Mortality with SMS from Indonesia.
David Shields and Kagiso Motsumi of GEM
GEM, created by David Shields is a digital system that rewards citizens who participate in government-led initiatives such as waste management, immunisations and vaccinations.
Ilham Srimarga and Widi Heriyanto of Reducing Maternal Mortality with SMS
Reducing Maternal Mortality with SMS created by Ilham Srimarga is an innovation that seeks to reduce the high maternal mortality rate by connecting local hospitals and citizens’ requests for pregnancy services. The other seven finalists each received a grant of £5,000 to assist in further development of their innovations.
Making All Voices Count’s Global Innovation Competition was set up to recognize and rewards creative and cutting-edge innovations that enhance government transparency and accountability. A total of 196 entries being submitted and following an online voting system, 31 semi-finalists were drawn from the top 27 voted ideas along with 4 wildcards.
The Global Innovation Competition Jury comprised of respected experts in information systems and governance, together with other peers, shortlisted 10 finalists drawn from eight countries: Kenya, Indonesia, South Africa, Pakistan, Ghana, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Watch video summaries of the Global Innovation Competition Day One, Two and Three.