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Paper short abstract:

We will share practical experiences from our initiative, "Make it Grow", which has been working with rural community groups in Zimbabwe to support project planning, pitching and fundraising, using Participatory (Smartphone) Video Proposals.

Paper long abstract:

Whilst great ideas for solutions to food insecurity can be found at the grassroots level, community-led initiatives usually have the least access to start-up funding and the least capacity to develop written grant proposals, especially in the rural development context. However, with the rise of mobile ICTs, many communities now hold in their hands the means for creating and sharing videos. As an alternative to written grant proposals, smartphone videos are a compelling tool to support crowdfunding campaigns, to share on social media platforms, or to send directly to targeted donors. In this paper, we unpack how our initiative, "Make it Grow", has been working with rural community groups in Zimbabwe to support project planning, pitching and fundraising, using Participatory (Smartphone) Video Proposals.

We present three aspects of the approach developed by MIG. Firstly, we outline the facilitation approach, which centres around building small, peer-to-peer learning groups. Secondly, we discuss how the co-creation of a Participatory Video Proposal supports participants to crystallise, plan, pitch/fundraise for and implement their own ideas for local rural development projects. Thirdly, we present a Facilitation Toolkit for trainers/facilitators to support local out-scaling of the approach.

Our accompanying research (surveys, participatory impact pathway assessments, focus groups and interviews) has revealed challenges (e.g. digital exclusions) as well as benefits (e.g. self-representation) to the approach. We conclude that donor organisations should adapt grant-giving processes so that video can be mobilised in ways that enhance the accessibility of funding and give greater space to local initiatives and community voices.