"This report recognizes artificial intelligence (AI) as an opportunity to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through its contribution to building inclusive knowledge societies. Based on UNESCO’s Internet Universality ROAM framework agreed by UNESCO’s Member States i
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n 2015, this study analyzes how AI and advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) will impact Human Rights in terms of freedom of expression, privacy, media, journalism and non-discrimination; how Openness needs to inform the technological and safety challenges related to AI; how Access to AI hinges upon access to algorithms, hardware, human resources and data; and how a Multi-stakeholder approach concerning AI governance can address the challenges and opportunities for the benefit of humanity." (Back cover)
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"Information technology and its multifold applications offer spectacular opportunities in business. They can also contribute to making public institutions more transparent and accountable. In recent years however developmental visions that are related to digitalisation have become darker. The reason
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is that technology in itself is not a blessing. Vested interests can use it to gain yet more influence or entrench monopolies – often even in illegitimate ways." (Page 18)
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"This publication discusses the extent to which digital technology can help tackle poverty and social inequality. Does it increase or restrict the opportunities for social and economic participation open to disadvantaged people? We analyse the history of e-commerce in the light of this question. We
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consider current developments in the world trade regime, because a new dynamic has developed in trade policy almost unnoticed. As the Digital Agenda adopted by the US government in 2000 shows, leading tech companies - principally those from Silicon Valley - are increasingly using commercial law to promote their own interests. This is no longer just about reducing tariffs on digital products such as software, or about uniform standards for telecommunications services. Patents on artificial intelligence and the (non-)regulation of data flows are now elements of commercial regulations and the subject of controversy in the World Trade Organization (WTO). For the countries of the Global South - but not only for them - there is a lot at stake, including the risk of a new, digital colonialism. This publication explores the potentials and limits of digital solutions. It analyses the lessons to be learned from supposedly model projects such as the mobile payment system M-Pesa and the spread of cashless payment in India. We also examine whether the digitalisation of transnational supply chains not only boosts transparency but also increases value creation for workers on the coffee and soya plantations or in factories. The question of how digitalisation can be organised so that it contributes to the welfare of everyone must focus on one issue in particular: how can disadvantaged population groups in the rural parts of Africa or the inhabitants of slums in the megacities obtain better access to work and basic services? What steps must be taken to minimise the risks of the digital transformation for people in Asia and Latin America and enhance its potential? The study therefore concludes with a list of nine ideas that would help make digitalisation fair. Consider them as an invitation to engage in discussion of globally just and humane digitalisation." (Preface)
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"The paper seeks to identify the factors that motivate a person who champions ICT4D initiatives. Given the important contributions of ICT4D champions to initiative success, better understanding of their motivations holds the potential to identify, develop and deploy such individuals more effectively
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, harnessing their potential positive contributions to ICT4D initiative success. A multiple case study strategy is used to explore the motivational factors of three successful ICT4D champions in the South African context. The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) of personal motivations was used to design in-depth interviews with the champions and semistructured interviews with 29 other stakeholders. It found ICT4D champions are motivated by the need for personal actualization, business success and to address social concerns – origins of these motives could be traced to various internal and environmental stimuli. Practical implications drawn from the research are that profiling of stakeholder motivations in an ICT4D initiative is feasible and that organizations can use such information to create a conducive environment for grooming and empower new and existing champions to function more effectively. This first investigation of ICT4D champion motivations shows its importance and the potential thereof towards improving initiative success and emphasizes the need for further research of this nature." (Abstract)
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"Featuring a wealth of interviews with a variety of actors – from Chinese and African journalists in Chinese media to Chinese workers for major telecommunication companies – this highly original book demonstrates how China is both contributing to the 'Africa rising' narrative while exploiting th
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e weaknesses of Western approaches to Africa, which remain trapped between an emphasis on stability and service delivery, on the one hand, and the desire to advocate human rights and freedom of expression on the other. Arguing no state can be understood without attention to its information structure, the book provides the first assessment of China’s new model for the media strategies of developing states, and the consequences of policing Africa’s information space for geopolitics, security and citizenship." (Publisher description)
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"This paper sets out an SDG Digital Investment Framework which is intended to be the start of a new dialogue with the digital investment community, building on the global Call to Action presented at the UN General Assembly in 2018. It encourages a whole-of-government approach and sets out to help go
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vernments address key strategic investment questions and choose effective, scalable technology-based solutions – and in particular help them to consider using ICT Building Blocks for economies of scale and maximum return on investment. The SDG Digital Investment Framework is the first iteration of a process which aims to expand to include all of the main development priorities encompassed by the SDGs. In this first edition, it looks at some of the main development sectors such as agriculture, education and healthcare, and how technology can not just play an important part, but also be applied in a cross-sectoral fashion, in addressing the issues." (Foreword)
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"Before reaching a conclusive answer on the potential of blockchain for development purposes, we believe it is worthwhile to implement a number of proofs-of-concept and pilot projects for the most promising use cases. These will not only help us determine the practical benefits of distributed ledger
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technologies (DLT) and acquire much-needed implementation know-how, but also pave the way for successful scaling efforts. With this in mind, we developed this publication as guidance for practitioners from government, the private sector and actors from international cooperation and development. We are aware that no onesize-fits-all approach exists, and in many cases individual evaluations will be needed, taking into account both the specific context of application and the increasing convergence of blockchain with other technologies such as sensor networks, Artificial Intelligence, fintech applications and cloud computing.
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"Längst hat der digitale Wandel auch die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und die Humanitäre Hilfe verändert. Das Internet bietet die Chance, die Lebensbedingungen vieler Menschen durch Zugang zu Wissen und zu neuen Möglichkeiten der politischen und ökonomischen Teilhabe zu verbessern. Auch Nichtregi
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erungsorganisationen (NRO) nutzen diese Chance bereits jetzt. Bildungs-, Ernährungs- oder Gesundheitsprojekte und viele andere Vorhaben profitieren vom Einsatz digitaler Technologien. Wie das geschieht, wollen wir mit dieser Publikation an Beispielen aus der Praxis zeigen. Nachahmung und Weiterentwicklung der hier vorgestellten Ansätze und Instrumente sind explizit erwünscht. Im Digitalisierungsdiskurs geht es aber um mehr als die rein technische Innovation. Unsere Aufgabe als Nichtregierungsorganisationen ist es deshalb auch, uns den zentralen politischen Herausforderungen einer gerechten Digitalisierung zu stellen. Denn wer bereits jetzt ökonomisch und politisch gut dasteht, hat die größten Chancen, die Digitalisierung für sich nutzen zu können. Die sogenannte digitale Kluft betrifft sehr häufig Frauen und ländliche Bevölkerungen, die einen deutlich schlechteren Zugang zu digitalen Dienstleistungen haben. Auch Gruppen, die aus ethnischen oder anderen Gründen benachteiligt werden, sind oft aufgrund fehlender oder schlechter Infrastruktur vom Zugang ausgeschlossen. Darüber hinaus begegnen uns in der Digitalwirtschaft Phänomene, die uns auch in anderen Bereichen zu schaffen machen: Monopolstellungen multinationaler Großkonzerne, ungenügende rechtliche Rahmensetzungen für Unternehmen und das Streben nach maximalen Gewinnen auf Kosten von Mensch und Umwelt. Hinzukommen Orwellsche Alpträume totaler Kontrolle und Überwachung. Neue Technologien können einen wichtigen Beitrag zu Erreichung entwicklungspolitischer Ziele leisten. Sie können Entwicklung aber auch behindern oder gar negative Folgen für die Menschen vor Ort haben. Genau deswegen ist die Auseinandersetzung mit dem digitalen Wandel und dessen Steuerung eine zunehmend bedeutende entwcklungspolitische Aufgabe für Nichtregierungsorganisationen." (Vorwort)
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"The first three chapters set out the foundations of ICT4D: the core relation between ICTs and development; the underlying components needed for ICT4D to work; and best practice in implementing ICT4D. Five chapters then analyse key development goals: economic growth, poverty eradication, social deve
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lopment, good governance and environmental sustainability. Each chapter assesses the goal-related impact associated with ICTs and key lessons from real-world cases. The final chapter looks ahead to emerging technologies and emerging models of ICT-enabled development. The book uses extensive in-text diagrams, tables and boxed examples with chapter-end discussion and assignment questions and further reading. Supported by online activities, video links, session outlines and slides, this textbook provides the basis for undergraduate, postgraduate and online learning modules on ICT4D." (Back cover)
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"Around the world diverse actors are working to develop technology that directly improves social conditions. This report refers to these types of technology as ‘social tech’. Examples of social tech include anti-corruption systems for citizens to report bribes; communications platforms for refug
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ees on the move; and systems that allow farmers to plan their next crop. The resulting report surveys how social tech is produced and used across sub-Saharan Africa, and what interventions might enrich and improve this ‘ecosystem’. Its primary focus is on information and communication technologies (ICT), though many of its lessons will apply more broadly. It also concentrates on accessible systems, in which the end user is the person who benefits, rather than on specialised systems for professionals. Commissioned by funders in the social tech sphere, the purpose of this report is to find where intervention might improve the ecosystem. We believe that addressing key weaknesses in the ecosystem can help new social tech initiatives – with powerful base-of-the-pyramid benefits – to succeed." (Executive summary)
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"The GSMA mHealth programme, under the mNutrition Initiative funded by UK aid (the UK Department for International Development, DFID), has been working with mobile network operators (MNOs) and other mobile and health sector stakeholders to support the launch and scale of mobile health (mHealth) valu
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e-added services (VAS). As of December 2017, these services have cumulatively delivered lifesaving maternal and newborn child health (MNCH) and nutrition information to over 1.59 million women and their families across eight Sub-Saharan African markets: Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda and Mozambique (Figure 1). Key findings: Adopting a HCD approach to product development and optimisation led to increased user engagement; mHealth service users demonstrated improved nutrition behaviours over non-users across all implementing markets; mHealth services resulted in an average improvement of 12 percentage points in overall nutrition knowledge among users across all eight markets; Mobile information services improve knowledge, even when existing knowledge around certain nutrition topics is reasonably high; Mobile information services have a stronger impact with poorly understood concepts; Repetition of messages about key health practices reinforces the behaviour; Forty-two per cent of mNutrition service users report sharing the information they learn with their family, friends and communities [...]" (Executive summary)
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"Far too often the implicit theory of change in digital developments, as with technology for development more generally, is that importing technologies can fix development. This does not acknowledge the political and social transformations that are needed to address and overcome economic and power a
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symmetries. Although understandable, the focus on simple fixes places too great an emphasis on the visible aspects of technology, which, at best, provide incremental gains in developmental terms. This leads to less attention on the less visible but fundamental aspects of capacity, skills and institutions, where arguably the potential for transformational development gains truly lie. The most significant digital development gains - as with technology for change more generally - have involved a dynamic interplay between technological developments and institutional change." (Page 15)
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"This study engages with a comprehensive spectrum of stakeholders within the development and aid sectors around the role of digital, and the ideals that guide that role. The Principles for Digital Development, stewarded by Digital Impact Alliance, and the community of endorsers present a key forum f
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or guiding best practice in digital development. The report introduces the context with a brief overview of existing donor policies and strategic plans and an analysis of how they align with the Principles for Digital Development. Analysis from 41 interview respondents, primarily with donors active in digital development, informs a series of actions for community consideration. Through consultation with key actors and a thorough review of relevant documents and resources, this study identifies opportunities to enhance the knowledge of donors and improve their practice with regard to achieving their goals in a digital world. This culminates in a series of focused recommendations for addressing the needs of donors." (Executive summary)
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