Effective tech use requires strategies that match audience, goals, and competencies

CSOs in Asia offer examples of two very different strategies for using tech tools to assist migrant workers in safer migration, highlighting the need to think through organizational strengths, specific goals and the target audience to maximize effectiveness.

As we aim for successful integration of technology into efforts to combat trafficking and labor exploitation, we need to thoughtfully consider which tool most effectively matches organizations’ target audience, key goals, and core competencies. Two CSOs in Asia offer examples of widely divergent approaches and how to employ them for maximum effectiveness. Plan International developed a mobile application that relies on the power of networks to expand their reach. It offers a comprehensive package of training in safer migration, but requires existing relationships of trust to encourage end user engagement. Conversely, Migrasia has harnessed the power of existing social media technologies such as Facebook to efficiently share tips and information relevant to migrant workers in a space they are already using. While their approach lowers the barriers to engagement, it is best suited for targeted responses to specific problems.

Fostering Accountability in Recruitment for Fishery Workers (FAIR Fish) Project at Plan International and their Swedish partner Quizrr recently developed a mobile app (also called “Quizrr”) with digital training modules on safe migration and responsible recruitment in the seafood processing sector in Thailand. Available on iOS and Android with access via a QR code, it offers training for workers as well as employers and recruiters in English, Thai, Khmer, or Burmese on how and why migration can be made more safe, the risks of labor exploitation, and where to seek help. While sharing about the app on social media did not drive sufficient engagement, reaching out to local CSOs and community leaders to encourage them to use the app as part of training sessions and workshops on safe migration led to a marked increase in use and completion of the app. In their experience, migrant worker communities are much more likely to trust and use the content in the app when it’s presented to them by someone whom they already trust.

From Plan International’s perspective, the app works best when trainers use it as a springboard for discussion. Trainers can help navigate language barriers for those who speak only more local dialects. Leaving time for conversation allows space for examples from lived experiences and other local knowledge, making the content more relatable and meaningful for the end user. Because the app’s content trains migrant workers on safer migration in a holistic way, it can help them foresee challenges and risks they might face when migrating for work, thus potentially empowering them from the beginning.

Migrasia, which primarily serves Filipino workers migrating overseas, has chosen to focus their efforts on meeting their target audience where they are already congregating and sharing information – namely, Facebook. Rather than developing an app for workers to download, they disseminate information via the creation of sites specific to content that migrant workers would search for or naturally share with their peers. Migrasia’s content educates on ethical recruitment, rights, relevant laws, and can help alert workers to the potential areas of exploitation, for example, that they might have been overcharged on recruitment fees. They would be encouraged to like, comment, or share if they’ve had that experience, which helps spread the message and once they engage with the content on Migrasia’s pages, they would be connected to migration specialists who come from migration-adjacent communities (for example, children of migrants), speak their language, understand their concerns, and can assist in building their cases or otherwise collaborate on empowerment, protection, and litigation for safer migration.

Migrasia has achieved an extensive reach organically, enabling them to identify victims and collect large amounts of data to build cases and provide timely, evidence-based services. Their strategies don’t require products that are expensive to develop or need constant maintenance. They’re not as geographically bound as in-person services, and for workers who have very limited time or emotional resources to seek help, it’s comparatively easy to send a message on Facebook. Working directly where vulnerable populations already are enables them to counter misinformation and participate in discussions in real time. This streamlined approach minimizes the introduction of new tools or steps which, in their experience, insert points at which people might drop off.

While Migrasia’s approach is agile and very cost-effective, it targets people who face very specific problems for which they are seeking solutions. It requires CSOs to have developed core competencies in managing cases remotely and it requires migrant workers to be comfortable with using messaging apps and communicating clearly online, which works well for their target audience which has a high digital penetration rates, but may not serve in other communities.

These two examples show very different strategies for reaching target audiences, making clear that when considering which tech tool to use, CSOs need to carefully consider who they’re hoping to reach and how specifically they’re best suited to provide assistance. Both strategies are powerful tools for engaging with at-risk populations – and offer complementary ways to reach as many vulnerable populations as possible.

Have You Considered…?

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of understanding systems holistically for a more effective understanding of what perpetuates risk. For example, a recent study in Java, Indonesia showed how an under-examined factor – agricultural land conversion policies – created conditions ripe for trafficking and labor exploitation. Rapid urbanization gave rise to land conversion policies to accommodate the spread of cities, and one result was a “floating mass” of farmers who could no longer farm, had no use for their skills, and could not compete with people educated in industries more suited to city employment. They were left vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. The study shows that rapid urbanization creates knock-on effects that lead to risk. Coping with expansion means that government policies need to consider people who will be displaced and offer protections, not just for the sake of individuals, but for national security against the growth and spread of this crime. CSOs can aid in thinking “upstream” about situations that lead to the risk of trafficking and labor exploitation and advocate proactively for policies to protect those who will become vulnerable.