Dvara Research has established itself as a thought leader in the realm of customer protection in financial services, data protection and digital financial services. Dvara Research has also been a relentless advocate for improved customer protection in financial services, particularly those targeting low-income households. Through the Customer Protection Program (CPP), housed within the Centre for Customer Protection (CCP) horizontal, we aim to design and advocate for products and interventions through which digital financial services (DFS) can meet the needs of poor, rural and women customers where they are, rather than waiting for them to achieve higher levels of financial literacy or awareness. The CPP is expected to improve access to and usage of DFS by improving customers’ trust in DFS providers.
The Centre is announcing a call for proposals for the Voice of the Aggrieved Customer (VoAC) project, under the auspices of CPP. The Centre invites Consumer Groups, Self-Regulatory Organisations (SRO), industry associations, Financial Service Providers (FSPs) including digital FSPs, DFS agents and business correspondents, financial planners/advisors, investigative journalists, institutional and independent academicians, research institutions/think-tanks and scholars to submit proposals to document authentic experiences of customers, in the context of digital financial services and customer protection. Experiences can range from unexpected and sub-optimal to unfair and violative. Special consideration will be given to studies with a focus on poor and women customers in addition to other vulnerable groups. The body of work we hope to create under the VoAC is expected to delve into and showcase the experiences of Indian low-income and women consumers with financial services i.e. nature of interaction, grievance areas, what works and what doesn’t. These stories will be harvested in a variety of formats including but not limited to qualitative surveys, focus group discussions, in-depth individual interviews, field diaries, and video documentaries.
Please refer the VoAC Request for Proposal (RFP) (download), for further details. Prospective applicants will need to submit an application form (download) along with the supporting budget file (download) to the following address: ccp@dvara.com , no later than April 30th, 2022.
Shortlisted Applicants:
Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International| Citizens Consumers and Civic Action Group (CAG) | Gram Vaani | Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Private Limited (HESPL) | India Migration Now | Khabar Lahariya |Shram Sarathi
