Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is the gap in qualitative data capturing the issues faced by people in Jordan. There is no open platform for Jordanians to share their daily issues, aside from radio shows or public service complaint mechanisms. Moreover, there is no systematic way for individuals to communicate their problems to the public and private sectors, nor for decision-makers and civil society organizations (CSOs) to measure and respond to these concerns.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
After COVID-19, trust in the Jordanian government dropped from 63% in 2020 to 43% in 2021 due to worsening livelihood conditions and persistent socioeconomic challenges. Additionally, one-third of Jordanians feel they have no influence in decision-making, reflecting a widespread sense of disenfranchisement. This perception of being unheard and excluded exacerbates social and economic frustrations, leading to decreased civic engagement and trust in public institutions. Addressing this gap is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and participatory society where all voices are valued and considered in shaping the country's future.
By creating a centralised platform, we can track and compare the nature and frequency of people’s issues based on age, gender, and geographical distribution. Capturing the daily struggles of people in Jordan and studying them in real-time within the context of local, regional, and global events would provide a deeper understanding of the trends' impact. When these issues are under-addressed, it can lead to frustration, hopelessness, and distrust in government and public services.
UNDP Jordan supports the country's reform process by providing participatory and consultative decision-making platforms. Our solution adopts a generalist approach, open to all themes and topics, and covers all geographies in Jordan, leaving no one behind. This platform has the potential to enhance accountability, transparency, and institutional responsiveness, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and responsive governance framework.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
After COVID-19, trust in the Jordanian government dropped from 63% in 2020 to 43% in 2021 due to worsening livelihood conditions and persistent socioeconomic challenges. Additionally, one-third of Jordanians feel they have no influence in decision-making, reflecting a widespread sense of disenfranchisement
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
There is a demand to understand the most pressing issues in Jordan, which has been communicated in front of the Lab in several activities including the current CPD for Jordan.
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
Our Accelerator Lab brings a unique and comprehensive solution to the challenge of capturing and addressing the diverse issues faced by people across Jordan. Unlike other initiatives that focus on specific geographical areas or issues, our platform covers the entire country, addressing a spectrum of concerns such as energy consumption, pollution, water shortages, and unemployment. This inclusivity ensures that we gather data from all regions, providing a holistic understanding of the challenges and facilitating more effective interventions.
The innovative use of AI for data analysis and thematic research sets our platform apart. Our AI model identifies urgent issues and directs users to appropriate helplines and performs reflexive thematic analysis to generate actionable insights and detailed reports. This allows for real-time understanding and response to emerging trends, which is crucial for timely and effective decision-making.
Our platform allows access to data by making the results public, enhancing transparency and accountability. It serves as a valuable resource for research, program design, private-sector opportunities, and policy advocacy, fostering multi-sector collaboration. By partnering with private sector entities, NGOs, and UNDP, we aim to enhance transparency and accountability.
Investing resources in this challenge is crucial because it addresses the root of civic disengagement and distrust in public institutions. By providing a centralised, accessible, and user-friendly platform for reporting and analysing daily problems, we can bridge the gap between the public and decision-makers, fostering a more inclusive and participatory society. Our lab's approach ensures that no one is left behind, and our AI-driven analysis provides the depth and scale needed to understand and address the complex issues facing Jordanian society.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
We are developing an AI-driven collective intelligence platform to capture and analyse daily issues across Jordan, from urban to remote areas. We aim to enhance transparency, inclusivity, and responsiveness by providing real-time insights and directing urgent cases to appropriate helplines
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
Mazaj Radio station
What sector does our partner belong to?
Private Sector
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Mazaj Radio will be crucial in promoting the platform through its programmes, raising awareness and encouraging public participation across Jordan. It also uses the themes from the platform to discuss in its programmes, some of which are dedicated to discussing pressing local challenges with government officials and decision-makers.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
Nama Strategic Intelligence Solutions
What sector does our partner belong to?
Civil Society
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Nama Strategic Intelligence Solutions brings expertise in data analytics and research methodologies, supporting our initiative with advanced capabilities in analysing and interpreting user-generated data. Their contribution will enable us to conduct robust qualitative and quantitative analyses, identifying trends and insights that inform strategic interventions and policy recommendations. They have a network of CSOs and are strong candidates to house the platform beyond the project’s timeline.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
How do people interact with AI-driven collective intelligence platforms that collect their daily issues? What motivates them to use the platform? How beneficial the results of the platform are? How can we mitigate AI unintended harm?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Explore, Test, Grow
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
These methods will help us evaluate the user's experience and iterate with the platform to see how it could engage the wider community in Jordan.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Please check the answers above. They address the same gap in data about the people in Jordan's daily issues, where there is no archive or accumulative resource putting them together to compare and analyse.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Collaborating with decision-makers, CSOs, and the private sector ensures that solutions are tailored to meet the people’s needs. For example, the private sector can access public posts on the website to identify gaps in the market. This information can be used as consumer research to develop products or services that address these needs. This multi-stakeholder engagement promotes sustainable development and fosters a supportive environment for inclusive growth initiatives across Jordan.
https://www.undp.org/jordan/blog/harnessing-collective-intelligence-change-jordan-journey-problem-you-faced-today
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10Reduced innequalities
11Sustainable cities and communities
16Peace, justice and strong institutions
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