From research questions to calls for participation

In 2000, world leaders promised to halve extreme poverty by 2015 with a global plan called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. Spot the Future (we’re building it collaboratively here) is a follow-up to the first round of post 2015 consultation. The consultation involved over 1 million participants all over the world so it makes sense to use the findings as a starting point for our learning journey.

This group is where we summarise the key issues highlighted in the reports for each country and help one another to paint a picture based on critically questioning the status quo/ available survey data and articles etc. As a result we will come out with a shared understanding and a number of questions we feel are relevant to us and the work we do. Each research question will then be shaped into a creative call for participation around the topic to be published on the blog, in various social media channels.

Where does this all go? Into preparing for the Edgeryders tour of Armenia, Egypt, Georgia and where ever else community members take us.

The post2015 consultations report presents findings resulted from the application of a mixed methodology: web and household survey data and facilitated group consultations. Over 10000 people were engaged in the process, out of which 725 in physical group discussions.

Overall, Georgians’ priorities do not differ much from the citizens’ at global level: good education (prioritized among urban youth), better healthcare, better job opportunities + support for people who cannot work, honest and responsive government. Georgians also rank high protection against crime, affordable & nutritious food, physical and social security (among elderly), access to clean water and sanitation.

However survey data makes it unclear whether these are the things Georgians care most about or the areas they think need most urgent intervention/improvement. The information on the detailed perceptions of citizens, outside formal ranking of pre-designed options, is good food for thought for Spot the Future, because it offers a plethora of opportunities to challenge it.

Could it be that a less determined choice of alternatives and especially different framing of “priorities” yields different results in terms of how citizens identify with issues?