Since 2005, the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) program in Jordan has connected people with their government by encouraging constructive and sustained interaction between citizens and local elected officials. The program incorporates a two-pronged approach: First, IRI works to develop citizens’ committees and strengthen citizens’ advocacy skills; and second, IRI provides workshops for elected municipal officials and their staff aimed at improving responsiveness to constituents. Using focus groups, formal and informal surveys and consultations to identify priority issues, IRI enables local citizens’ committees to organize issue forums which bring together community residents and local elected officials to raise awareness of priority issues and discuss possible solutions. Public opinion data enables municipal governments to gain a more comprehensive understanding of constituent priorities, satisfaction with local services and interaction with city hall. IRI also supports citizens’ committees in conducting voter education initiatives in advance of elections.
The Baldytak mobile application:
- Enables registered smartphone users to conduct local citizen surveys
- Displays survey questionnaires in a format that is easy to understand and complete
- Allows registered users to view results from previous citizen surveys
- Syncs to www.baldytak.com, where survey results can be sorted in numerous ways so that users and the public can further analyze survey findings