Beneficiary Feedback Mechanisms: a Literature Review

The purpose of this literature review is to inform the work of Development Initiatives (DI) and its Ugandan partner Development Research and Training (DRT), to increase the priority given to the role of information and community feedback in promoting choice, opportunity and security for poor people. These organisations work at both community and policy levels and are funded by a Partnership Programme Arrangement (PPA) with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). Universal access to information, and subsequent feedback from aid recipients, is central to aid effectiveness. DRT is supporting communities in northern Uganda to access relevant information about aid flows to their region, and to provide feedback to the authorities on whether these funds are arriving and how they are being used. This represents both an accountability function and an empowerment mechanism. This literature review provides a baseline for the continuing work of DI and DRT in this field.