By Edrisa Ssentongo.
A new mobile application is poised to enhance management of grievances at regional flagship Technical and Vocational Institutions in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania supported by the World Bank through the Eastern Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP).
The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU) for EASTRIP, is coordinating the development and implementation of this centralized Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) mobile app. The development of the Mobile App comes at a time when technical and vocational education institutes are implementing various infrastructure projects, as part of EASTRIP, that require continuous tracking of grievances and complaints associated with project implementation.
The GRM App is a result of a collaborative effort between Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) and IUCEA. DIT is one of the Regional Flagship TVET Institute in ICT that is supported by EASTRIP. The mobile app is designed to be more convenient for application by all project stakeholders.
Speaking at the Validation Workshop in held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dr. Cosam Joseph, the Regional Coordinator for EASTRIP, said: “The workshop is important in gathering feedback, discussing necessary improvements, and establishing a timeline for the app’s complete operationalization”.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders, including Environment and Social safeguards specialists from Regional Flagship TVET Institutes (RFTIs), and National Project Coordination Units (NPCUs). During the five-day workshop, participants engaged in various activities, including presentations on the app’s features and functionality by the DIT app development team, up-to-date reports on environmental and social safeguards from RFTIs and NPCUs, and hands-on sessions for entering sample data and generating reports.
The App aims to provide a more flexible platform for handling grievances, especially those involving confidential information and stakeholders in remote locations. The system is also designed to support the collection, analysis, and reporting of grievance data, with plans to present this information in a dashboard format accessible at various levels, including RFTIs, NPCUs, and the RFU. “The development of the EASTRIP GRM mobile application underscores a commitment to efficiently and effectively manage grievances that may occur during the project’s lifecycle,” Dr. Cosam said.
Upon successful deployment, the GRM mobile app is expected to become an important tool for ensuring transparency and accountability within the EASTRIP project and contribute to the successful implementation and the achievement of the project goals.
The mobile app can be accessed at: https://shorturl.at/0NKgK.