"Featuring a range of examples from ACP countries, this booklet includes testimonies on how Web 2.0 and social media have contributed to policy dialogue and advocacy (Chapter 1), value chain development (Chapter 2) and provision of information services (Chapter 3). The booklet features 18 stories co
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vering all ACP regions, documenting the transformative power of these innovative technologies." (Page 6)
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"The playbook addresses ten technology areas and explores how each might be applied to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). We provide a basic overview of each, discuss benefits, trends and challenges and make recommendations for what nonprofits, governments and the private sector can do
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to enhance the impact of these promising technologies against the SDGs. It is designed to be informative and actionable, a utilitarian resource for any organization seeking to leverage the most promising tools to address the highest priority challenges our world faces." (Foreword, page 5)
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"Mobile value-added services (MVAS) represent a growing collaboration between the private sector and the development community. In this paper, we examine one such MVAS, the Nokia Usaha Wanita service running on the Nokia Life+ platform in Indonesia, and we assess its impact as an innovative means fo
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r the economic empowerment of businesswomen. Data were gathered through 282 telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample of women who subscribed to Usaha Wanita. Our research found evidence that subscribers derived economic benefit from using the service. Subscribers reported that their business profits were greater, because of what they had learned from reading Usaha Wanita content. Women who were subscribers also had higher "good month's" profits as well. Increased profits were positively correlated with frequent reading of the tips and information provided by Usaha Wanita and subscriber perception that the service was useful for business. Women who exhibited entrepreneurial optimism also had greater business profits. Findings suggest that entrepreneurial optimism amplified the effect of mobile phone use on profits." (Abstract)
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"This handbook is intended to give people involved in international development work a framework for getting started with mobile technology. It is meant to be paired with training slides that provide more examples and context. It was created using training resources developed by myself and by Alison
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Koler, Jade Lamb, Joris Vandelanotte, and Reid Porter." (Foreword)
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"For some decades western institutions have shared an enormous enthusiasm for Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). Nevertheless, despite the field’s ever-increasing importance, research on it remains fragmented and lacks a theoretical foundation. By establishing a li
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nk between ICT4D and Modernization theory as one of the major development models, this paper aims to add some theoretical reflections to the body of existing research. Initially, a literature review of the most significant authors of Modernization theory serves as a theoretical base. Subsequently, empirical findings are systematized and embedded in the theoretical framework. The leading question is, whether ICT4D is connected to Modernization theory’s main lines of thought, both in theory and in the field." (Abstract)
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"According to ITU statistics, around 60 percent of Pacific Islanders had access to a mobile in 2012, compared to just 10 percent in 2006. In many Pacific countries mobile phones are, therefore, emerging as a key element of the local communication systems, and are being be built into disaster managem
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ent and communication plans. For these plans to be effective, however, we argue that access to, and affordability of, technologies represent only one dimension of what needs to be considered in effective disaster communication plans. They also need to consider appropriate technologies, local communicative ecologies, systems for the ownership and maintenance of infrastructures, and local knowledge and belief systems. With a focus on mobile and other telecommunications technologies, this paper provides an overview of disaster communication systems and infrastructures, practices and challenges in the region." (Abstract)
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"In this article it is argued that members of audience from different parts of Tanzania use mobile phones to participate in dialogue taking place on national radio (TBC-TAIFA) and/or national television (TBC1), and share their knowledge and lived experiences with the national audience as if they liv
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ed next door to each other. Further, the findings of this study show that TBC journalists use mobile phones to interact and involve the audiences in the processes of producing programmes. Consequently, TBC communication has become less hierarchical, more two-way, horizontal, and interactive. Moreover, the study reveals that the audiences use phone-in programmes on TBC as a platform to air the voices and concerns of the grass-roots population. Thus, the use of mobile phones as tools for participatory communication via TBC sets an agenda, which helps to bring about some social changes and transformation." (Abstract)
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"In this book, the author presents what he calls the 'Mobile Community Reporting' approach based on a six-year training experiment [of the Voices of Africa Media Foundation] in which he was involved as trainer and coach in eight African countries. The main argument underlying the MCR approach is the
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following: if a member of the community covers news using a reporting tool that is familiar to that community, and taking into account the values, interests and worldviews of that community, chances of capturing what the community thinks are very high." (Back cover)
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"This guide gives practical guidance to building organizational capacity in ICT4D. Drawing from the experience of the international development community, this guide connects established principles with processes for implementing new technology. 1. Why should I be interested in ICT4D and what does i
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t mean for my organization? 2. How do I build ICT4D capacity within my organization? 3. What are the practical approaches and best practices I can implement to improve success?" (Executive summary)
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"The articles contained in this publication are dispatches from a new frontline in humanitarian action: the digital frontier. All are written by those observing, experiencing and attempting to respond to the challenges created by the digital revolution and the very real threats it is creating for hu
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manitarian operations, and exploring the potential of new tools to create a safer, more responsive operational environment for aid workers." (Page 5)
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"This chapter extends a critical perspective on the economic impact of the Internet to the study of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for development, concentrating on the effects of the Internet on the lives of some of the poorest people and most marginalized communities. The disti
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nction between absolute and relative poverty is central to an understanding of the role of technology, and the Internet in particular, in development. Furthermore, the implications of the relationships between the Internet and ‘development’ are assessed in terms of development as economic growth, development as social equality, and development as political freedom. The Internet has been shaped and developed explicitly by the commercial interests largely of US capital. The success of the Internet in delivering development objectives depends very much on how such objectives are defined." (Abstract)
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