Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Overview
Prepared by (Name of the experimenter)
Kristina Nikolic
On date (Day/Month/Year)
29/9/2023
Current status of experimental activity
Implementation Stage
What portfolio does this activity correspond to? If any
Depopulation portfolio within UNDP country office in Serbia
What is the frontier challenge does this activity responds to?
· Depopulation of Serbia (including topics such as: Circular migration; migration away from Serbia and (Re-)connecting with Serbia’s large diaspora through an agile platform.)
What is the learning question(from your action learning plan) is this activity related to?
How might a new platform for engagement with highly skilled diaspora function? What are the key services needed? What type of communication would be engaging?
Please categorize the type that best identifies this experimental activity:
Pre Experimental (Trial and erros, prototype, a/b testing)
Which sector are you partnering with for this activity? Please select all that apply
United Nations agency, Public Sector, Private Sector, Civil Society/ NGOs
Please list the names of partners mentioned in the previous question:
UN agency: close cooperation with UNFPA
Public Sector: Prime Minister’s office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diaspora office
Private sector: Rakuten Viber (initiated the group), Private companies interested in targeted advertising (e.g. Airlines, recruitment companies)
Civil Society/NGOs: Serbian Diaspora orgs (e.g. OSSI – Organization of Serbian students abroad, Nikola Tesla Academic network)[SG1] [KN2]
Design
What is the specific learning intent of the activity?
We decided to use this project to test our main hypotheses related to the Returning Point
- What will happen if we open new pathways of communication with the diaspora, potential returnees and all the successful individuals who have already returned to Serbia to work and live here?
- What does a different kind of communication with a formal or informal tone mean for our diaspora?
- How to centralize communication and create a quicker, more agile way of communicating with the Serbian Diaspora and providing them with useful information?
o How useful are additional features (e.g. stickers, forums) in this way?
What is your hypothesis? IF... THEN....
· If we gather all the diaspora and their representatives on an agile and popular communication informal platform and provide them with relevant content and gather feedback, then they will be more likely to have a greater connection to Serbia and will know where they will get information on Serbia.
Does the activity use a control group for comparison?
No, it does not use a control group
How is the intervention assigned to different groups in your experiment?
Other
Describe which actions will you take to test your hypothesis:
· Rakuten Viber, as it is the most popular platform used in Serbia and within its diaspora, contacted Returning Point to create this group
· Created “Dijaspora Srbija” channel
· Used Returning Point Social media to promote the channel and attract Viber users
· Received training from Rakuten Viber to familiarize with the platform rules, have effective communication and produce best content (e.g. brevity, using emoticons and stickers for best effect)
· Posted relevant content (news about diaspora and Returning Point activities and programs) to a closed group of users
· -- Used feedback to calibrate
· Organized open days when new members can join and also when users can ask questions (Ask-me-anything style)
o -- Used the group for testing various initiatives for Returning Point (e.g. asking for opinions and polls about having a dedicated section for parents on the website)
o -- Crowdsourced ideas from the group for new initiatives
· Later, opened the Viber group
o -- To any new Viber member
o -- Provided administration rights to other diaspora organizations (e.g. OSSI – Organization of Serbian Students Abroad, Nikola Tesla Academic network, ), who could provide suitable content
· Kept up to date with Rakuten Viber features (creating stickers, creating specific topics that can be commented on)
· Provided moderation throughout to remove inappropriate content (spam, sharing of personal information, etc.)
What is the unit of analysis of this experimental activity?
One Viber group with 4600 Viber members
Please describe the data collection technique proposed
· User feedback
· Analysis of feedback
What is the timeline of the experimental activity? (Months/Days)
35 months (Ongoing since 12 October 2020)
What is the estimated sample size?
More than 1,000
What is the total estimated monetary resources needed for this experiment?
Less than 1,000 USD
Quality Check
This activity is relevant to a CPD outcome, The hypothesis is clearly stated, This activity offers strong collaboration oportunities
Please upload any supporting images or visuals for this experiment.
Please upload any supporting links
What are the estimated non- monetary resources required for this experiment? (time allocation from team, external resources, etc) If any.
Time with Rakuten Viber
Time with other diaspora organizations to get onboard with the Viber group T&C and make a strategy for the Content
Researching Rakuten Viber community guidelines
Rakuten Viber training
Promotion of the Viber group
Results
Was the original hypothesis (If.. then) proven or disproven?
· Proven - Good feedback and growth of the group
Do you have observations about the methodology chosen for the experiment? What would you change?
· None
From design to results, how long did this activity take? (Time in months)
· 37 months (since August 2020)
What were the actual monetary resources invested in this activity? (Amount in USD)
· None – Retuning point was approached by Rakuten Viber to create the group and it was Rakuten Viber who covered the costs
Does this activity have a follow up or a next stage? Please explain
· Continuous activity as long as the group survives
· Expansion of partnerships with organizations and companies who would use the group
Is this experiment planned to scale? How? With whom?
· Yes – inclusion of more organization and companies interested in reaching the diaspora
Please include any supporting images that could be used to showcase this activity
Please add any supporting links that describe the planning, implementation, results of learning of this activity? For example a tweet, a blog, or a report.
Considering the outcomes of this experimental activity, which of the following best describe what happened after? (Please select all that apply)
Learning
What do you know now about the action plan learning question that you did not know before? What were your main learnings during this experiment?
· Users are very keen to communicate and share their own ideas without prompt
· It is good to provide a space for people to chat
· Other Returning Point programs focus on the highly skilled diaspora: this group is diverse and provides more open communication with various parts of the diaspora, which allows us to see commonalities of many problems
· Moderation is crucial but is a time consuming process
· Cooperation with other organizations was good as they were also able to provide relevant content
· Even non-diaspora members of the group were useful in reaching diaspora as they would let their relatives in the diaspora know about events/issues
· Diaspora and returnees are a diverse set of individuals with varied interests and the most effective communication is one that directly addresses common needs (e.g. practical law changes, financial benefits)
What were the main obstacles and challenges you encountered during this activity?
· While Viber is the most used app in Serbia and among the diaspora and returnees, it can miss out on the users of other apps
Who at UNDP might benefit from the results of this experimental activity? Why?
· Colleagues working on topics related to Migration, Depopulation, and connection with Diaspora, Returnees and Foreigners (in general)
· Colleagues trying to change the narratives surrounding some issues similar to migration
Who outside UNDP might benefit from the results of this experiment? and why?
· All members of the Viber group (cca 4600 members )
· Other Diaspora organizations involved in this Viber group
· Media representatives
Did this experiment require iterations? If so, how many and what did you change/adjust along the way? and why?
· The group was initially closed and then opened
· While initially, it was only Returning Point who provided content, we gave the permission to other organizations to post and moderate content and discussions
What advice would you give someone wanting to replicate this experimental activity?
· Moderation is a crucial, but time-consuming and stressful process which requires immediate response whenever something inappropriate is shared
· Content creation is also strenuous, and requires planning to ensure you can do it regularly
· Collaboration with other organizations was useful as they were able to create their own relevant content and also promote the group to their members
Can this experiment be replicated in another thematic area or other SDGs? If yes, what would need to be considered, if no, why not?
· Yes, for similar issues
How much the "sense" and "explore" phases of the learning cycle influenced/shaped this experiment? In hindsight, what would you have done differently with your fellow Solution Mapper and Explorer?
What surprised you?
· Commonality of issues between our target audience (highly skilled diaspora and returnees) and Serbian diaspora and returnees in general
8Decent work and economic growth
9Industry, innovation and infrastructure
17Partnerships for the goals
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