Globaldev careers: The community accountability coordinator

A psychologist by training, Jennifer Piñeros worked in data-related and programmatic roles in the field before starting as Mercy Corps’ community accountability and reporting mechanism coordinator for Colombia. Now responsible for ensuring that the organization is accountable to the participants and the communities it serves, her team of seven reviews feedback and brings forward allegations of fraud, waste, and corruption. Since November 2019, the team has handled over 30,000 pieces of feedback, ranging from positive messages to requests for information to accusations of community members impersonating Mercy Corps staff. “We want to make sure that we create a bridge between the organization and the participants,” Piñeros said. “I have to make sure that every single participant receives an adequate response, that we close the feedback loop … [then] make adaptations, if necessary.” Her role also involves conducting focus groups and analyzing the data to see where improvements can be made. For example, using more accessible language in communication materials. Devex finds out more about the work of a community accountability coordinator, a relatively new role to the sector. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. “You have to be very committed to the participants. … The participants are your clients [so] treat them like it.” --— Jennifer Piñeros, community accountability and reporting mechanism coordinator, Mercy Corps What are the biggest challenges of the job, and also the best parts of it? A lot of people don't trust in the mechanisms to report or present a complaint because they feel they are not going to be heard, that they are not going to solve the problem, or that they are going to have a bad experience reporting [an issue]. That’s a problem [here] in Colombia — people don't trust a lot of organizations that provide these mechanisms. We have to build community trust if we want the participants to report [issues] … [and] encourage people to speak out. Talking about [topics such as] fraud and corruption is not easy ... but once you have built trust with the community, they start to speak out, to report, to ask [questions], and it's wonderful to see this … [and] it helps the program a lot. What lessons or skills help you overcome these challenges? My background in psychology has helped. The main skill you need is to care about the community — you have to commit to them because you have the responsibility to raise their voices to make sure that their concerns … are going to be listened [to] and that we are going to take action. You need to have very good listening skills but [more than that] you have to make sure that you understand what [participants] want to say on a deeper level. On the technical skills, data analysis [is important]. You have to know how to read how the data speaks to the mechanisms [around indicators such as] gender [or] age. For example, if [most reports are made by young people] then what is happening with the elderly people and why are they not communicating with us? Another skill is around technology for communication. You have to keep looking for ways to improve communication and automate some things. How do you see the impact of your work? [Seeing] adaptive management is amazing — how just a couple [pieces of] feedback or something that you may think is not that relevant can help you to make adaptations to your program and make it fit the participant needs. If [for example] a lot of participants are calling to ask us when they are going to receive the next transfer, the team then knows that they have to clarify this information to program participants. Or, if [lots of participants] cannot attend a workshop, then we realize that that time and date doesn't work. Small [pieces of] feedback help you like to make small [but important] adaptations. How have you seen your scope of work changed in the last years as the sector has changed, and then more recently because of the coronavirus pandemic? When I started [working on] the accountability mechanisms, we were just [applying these to] a cash delivery program but we have since moved to other programs like land and development, livelihoods, and the approach of these programs is very different. You need to adapt the mechanisms to every single context, the participants, the location, the budget. It's true you have to follow some standard operations and minimum standards but you also have the opportunity to adapt and you need to make sure that you're making the [mechanisms] fit well to the program and to the participant's needs. With COVID, we needed to [adapt] our operations to work virtually through technology because, of course, we were not able to gather [data] in person. We had to improve and increase [ways] that participants can approach us, make sure they understand how to use the hotline, how to call us or contact us through WhatsApp, how to contact us through the website or email. We wanted to make sure that participants knew that we [remained] close … and available for them. What advice do you have for other professionals interested in this type of work? [As I mentioned] already, you have to be very committed to the participants. They are people that have lost trust in agencies, in governments ... you have a responsibility to provide a response and make sure that they are going to be heard and treated well. The participants are your clients [so] treat them like it … [think about] your accountability mechanisms, listen to them and support them. What kind of person is well suited to do this work, or what should someone know before pursuing this kind of role? This is a very new [role] … [that] is open to people from different [profiles] that can help build these mechanisms [but] you need knowledge around community and trust, transparency, accountability. … I took some courses on, for example, how to prevent fraud within an organization, how to protect communities around safeguarding, and how to [use] data analysis for social purposes … [these] have helped me to build these community mechanisms. Now there are [more] specific courses starting to appear. [Before I started in this role], I wish I knew that you can't help everyone. Of course, the mechanisms are designed mostly for program participants but they are still open to other community members to communicate. [They might] ask to be part of the programs, tell you ... their stories and those can be heartbreaking. You listen [and provide information but have to] explain that you're not always available to provide help and that's one of the toughest things of this role.