"SMS services have become a very efficient tool to warn people of health threats such as epidemics or water pollution, but smartphones can also be utilised to stream information in the opposite direction when they are used as tools for snap surveys. In both emergency settings and well-planned nation
...
al surveys, questionnaires on smartphones can replace traditional paper forms and transmit answers directly from the field to a centrally placed server for immediate analysis. This report documents the experience of such a survey that was piloted in Zimbabwe by a local NGO, the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre (HIFC)." (Page 2)
more
"This publication covers five different projects carried out in six different locations. There were two projects in Bolivia, one focusing on empowering female indigenous leaders and the other provided female victims of domestic violence with a safe virtual environment where they could receive suppor
...
t and exchange experiences and information. Another project was carried out in two separate countries on the coast of the Indian Ocean. The project focused on ecological sustainability, diversification of livelihood, basic training in ICT and focused primarily on women’s self-help groups in Kenya and India. In Rwanda the project focus was on integrating ICT into women’s basket weaving practices in order to explore the opportunities of an online presence as well as the preservation of traditional practices. A research project in Vietnam focused on the consideration given to gender in the development of ICT." (Page 5)
more
"Although many countries are aggressively implementing the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program, there is a lack of empirical evidence on its effects. This paper presents the impact of the first large-scale randomized evaluation of the OLPC program, using data collected after 15 months of implementat
...
ion in 319 primary schools in rural Peru. The results indicate that the program increased the ratio of computers per student from 0.12 to 1.18 in treatment schools. This expansion in access translated into substantial increases in use both at school and at home. No evidence is found of effects on enrollment and test scores in Math and Language. Some positive effects are found, however, in general cognitive skills as measured by Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a verbal fluency test and a Coding test." (Abstract)
more
This book features case studies and reports on the use of web 2.0 and social networking applications and services to increase the impact of research on policy in Latin America. During 2010 and 2011 Fundación Comunica, with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) an
...
d assistance from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), supported a series of small research projects examining the use of online social networking services to link research and policy in the region. For the Impact 2.0 projects, the most successful uses of web 2.0 and online social networking to connect research and policy were those that involved the public in campaigns and consultations. Less successful were those projects that focused on the direct relationships between researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders.
more
"missio setzt sich im Rahmen der Aktion Schutzengel „Für Familien in Not. Weltweit“ mit einer Unterschriftenaktion für saubere Handys dafür ein, dass führende Handyhersteller sicherstellen, dass ihre Handys kein Coltan aus Konfliktregionen der Demokratischen Republik Kongo verwenden, mit dem
...
der Krieg finanziert wird. In diesem Hintergrundpapier wird die Bedeutung des Erzes Coltan bzw. Tantal beschrieben, der Zusammenhang mit dem Bürgerkrieg in diesem Land verdeutlicht und vor allem politische Rahmenbedingungen für sichere Herkunftsnachweise vorgestellt. Ziel aller Aktionen darf keinesfalls der Boykott des Rohstoffes sein. Es geht um den kontrollierbar zu machenden Nachweis der Handyunternehmen, dass vom Verkauf von Coltan keine Milizen, Rebellengruppen etc. profitieren. Um dies zu erreichen, bedarf es einer engen Kooperation aller am Abbau, an der Zulieferung, der Verarbeitung und des Verkaufs beteiligten Akteure." (Einführung)
more
"Analyzes the growth and evolution of mobile telephony, including the rise of data-based services delivered to handheld devices through “apps” (applications) and other ways. Summarizing current thinking and seeking to inform the debate on the use of mobile phones to improve livelihoods, the repo
...
rt looks, in particular, at key ecosystem-based applications in agriculture, health, financial services, employment, and government, with chapters devoted to each, and explores the consequences of the emerging “app economy” for development. The global conversation is no longer about the phone itself, but about how it is used and the content and applications that it opens up. These apps and “mash-ups” of services, driven by high-speed networks, social networking, online crowdsourcing, and innovation, are helping mobile phones transform lives in developed and developing countries alike." (Back cover)
more
"This technical report seeks to understand the impact of improved access to information technology on farmers’ agricultural production and marketing practices in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Niger. Related research suggests in that access to mobile telephony can reduce communicatio
...
n and search costs, thereby increasing rural households’ access to price and labor market information. Reducing information asymmetries should, in theory, allow households to better respond to shocks. We find that increased access to a mobile phone via an adult education program increases the diversity of crops planted, particularly marginal cash crops grown by women. This also increases the likelihood that these cash crops are grown, but does not increase the farm-gate price received." (Abstract)
more
"Getting SMS campaigns right is not simple. The right content, delivered at the right time in the right context, is critical. Adding the right kind of interaction to campaigns can make them more engaging, and increase their power in encouraging positive change. Positive behavior change campaigns sho
...
uld also ideally be measurable - this is never easy, but when your recipients are difficult to access physically, as is often the case with SMS campaigns, this becomes more challenging. This guide seeks to introduce some key points to think about when planning to use SMS for behavioral change campaigning." (Introduction)
more
"Despite the massive uptake of mobile phones by agricultural producers, there are few quantitative studies that provide hard evidence of a link between technology and poverty reduction. Those studies that have explored this, however, found that farmer access to market information through radio, mobi
...
le phones and internet resulted in higher farm-gate prices and a better bargaining position with local traders. To make good on the promise of ICT transformation, however, the paper suggests that organizations from the public and private sectors will need to create new types of partnerships and business networks with the millions of smallholder farmers in the developing world. Some general recommendations for ensuring these technologies contribute to sustainable and equitable development include: promote investment policies that give communications companies incentives to cross subsidize investments from higher profit areas to expand infrastructure into less commercial rural areas; support income levies within the commercial communications markets so that a percentage of profit is made available for public goods services; in more remote areas combine wireless technologies with electrical power sources that can be used by communities to support other vital sectors, such as health and education; promote and support the development of content in local languages to improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of ICT applications." (Executive summary)
more
"Considerable attention has been focused on the opportunities presented by new information and communication technologies for development (“ICT4D”) and for government (“ICT4GOV”). The purpose of this report is to analyze their impact on human rights (“ICT4HR”). As Philip Alston, the form
...
er Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, explained in a report to the General Assembly: “New technologies offer a great many potential solutions to some of [the] problems [in human rights fact-inding], and offer signiicant improvements in existing factinding methodologies.” He notes, however, that there has been “[l]ittle sustained work . . . by the human rights community as a whole to apply existing technologies or to study their potential uses and problems.” This report aims to remedy that gap. Using case studies largely from three countries, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Dominican Republic, the report considers both the opportunities and risks presented by new technologies for human rights. The report concludes there are beneits that can be realized through the deployment of new technologies in human rights projects. New technologies offer the potential to reduce the cost of collecting information about human rights issues and to increase participation in human rights advocacy efforts. Each of these possible beneits, however, gives rise to new risks and challenges. Although new technologies can reduce the cost of information gathering, it can be dificult to ensure the accuracy of the information generated, and the associated volume can make it challenging and expensive to identify relevant data. There is also no guarantee that increased participation or information will be translated into action or concrete outcomes for the community." (Executive summary)
more
"As Africa becomes increasingly urban, the reach and use of mobile telephones and other portable digital devices inevitably are becoming a mass medium. This shift creates new opportunities for existing broadcasters and publishers. And it creates new opportunities for a much larger number of new inde
...
pendent media, including new providers of news, information, education, health care, entertainment–and program streams combining many or all of these elements. It also creates new ways for citizens to monitor and petition their governments. And it creates new avenues for governments to reach and influence citizens, for good or ill." (Conclusion)
more
"Movements towards open data involve the publication of datasets (from metadata on publications, to research, to operational project statistics) online in standard formats and without restrictions on reuse. A number of open datasets are published as linked data, creating a web of connected datasets.
...
Governments, companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across the world are increasingly exploring how the publication and use of open and linked data can have impacts on governance, economic growth and the delivery of services. This article outlines the historical, social and technical trajectories that have led to current interest in, and practices around, open data. Drawing on three example cases of working with open and linked data it takes a critical look at issues that development sector knowledge intermediaries may need to engage with to ensure the socio-technical innovations of open and linked data work in the interests of greater diversity and better development practice." (Abstract)
more
"This paper explores the use of new information technologies in Russia to examine the next generation of media development and to ask how the ability of the “network society” – and the new forms of collective action it allows to contribute to social change can be supported. Building on the ide
...
a of the “fifth estate,” and how networked individuals and institutions can use the Internet as a platform to challenge the influence of other more established bases of authority, these examples of social media and online activism – specifically blogging and crowdsourcing – show how Russia’s networked society is helping invigorate the country’s civil society and traditional media." (Executive summary, page 1)
more
"This article outlines the potential mechanisms through which ICT could facilitate agricultural adoption and the provision of extension services in developing countries. It then reviews existing programs using ICT for agriculture, categorized by the mechanism (voice, text, internet and mobile money
...
transfers) and the type of services provided. Finally, we identify potential constraints to such programs in terms of design and implementation, and conclude with some recommendations for implementing field-based research on the impact of these programs on farmers’ knowledge, technological adoption and welfare." (Abstract)
more
"Freedom Fone allows anyone with a phone to access or contribute information on a specific issue 24 hours a day and seven days a week. It takes advantage of audio and text to address language and literacy barriers when reaching out to marginalised audiences that don't have access to other media. No
...
internet access is required by either you or your audience for this. Freedom Fone uses interactive voice menus to deliver information to and record information from a caller. You will be familiar with this kind of menu already: "press 1 to access your account, press 2 to speak to a representative, press 3 to record a message...". We all sometimes have to deal with this kind of system when we dial a number to top up the credit on our mobile phone account, or to talk to a support person, etc. Freedom Fone enables you to design your own interactive menus to: share audio information with your audience; this audio information can take many forms including voice menu (press 1, press 2, etc.), educational dramas, short news items, or even a song; organise a poll to enable your audience to vote on an issue using their phone; collect SMSs from your audience - these might be updates about specific news events, alerts or similar time critical information; get your audience to leave audio messages to share their opinion on a particular topic or make reports in their own language." (Page 4)
more