Objectives and added value of the deep listening process for the Stabilisation program

Based on the learning obtained in the previous processes, a partnership was initiated between ALC and UNDP Mozambique to coordinate and implement a portfolio approach in the province of Cabo Delgado. The objectives of the partnership are (1) to reinforce internal capacities in systems mapping, deep listening and co-creation of activities within UNDP Mozambique, and (2) to identify and select a set of interconnected initiatives, informed by systems thinking, that can be delivered within the Stabilisation Programme or more broadly in the country office. 

Following the outbreak of conflict in the province of Cabo Delgado, UNDP's Stabilisation Programme has been set up to support the government to sustain essential governance structures to ensure a safe return of displaced populations, strengthening resilience and economic recovery. For this to happen, it is necessary to listen in real time to the immediate needs of the affected populations and leverage the human capital of this strategy. To this end, since its inception, UNDP has been implementing continuous feedback processes in the affected communities to improve and strengthen its interventions. In this context, the deep listening UNDP is carrying out with ALC constitutes an improvement compared to pre-existing consultations and allows UNDP to build a better understanding of the collective narratives operating in Cabo Delgado, by delving into the different ways of interpreting the same reality. By using established listening channels, but also incorporating new ones, UNDP is able to collect patterns of people's lived experiences and analyse how these are shaped by underlying values and behaviours. 

The deep listening exercise complemented by system mapping and sensemaking, enables UNDP's Stabilisation Programme to segment these perceptions and better understand whether the various (and sometimes contradictory) needs, challenges and opportunities of the displaced and host communities are being addressed in a way that is conducive to the development of a sustainable and equitable system. The results will allow UNDP to understand the stabilisation program as a portfolio of interconnected initiatives, in which pre-established interventions are complemented with new suggestions that emerge from the listening process.