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Intervention or Collaboration? Redesigning Information and Communication Technologies for Development
Deep Insights

Anna Bon

Amsterdam: Pangea (2020), 359 pp.

"This thesis describes the search for and the design of a field-based approach to ICT4D. Ten years of field and action research in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana have led to a practical approach that guides design and development of information systems. It fosters knowledge exchange between people fr ... more

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Drivers of data for development: Exploring the factors that enable availability and utility of open data for development in Africa

Amos Simche Lansana, Claude Migisha, Dickson Minjire et al.

Africa Open Data Network (AODN) (2020), 83 pp.

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Using Big Data for Evaluating Development Outcomes: A Systematic Map

Francis Rathinam, Sayak Khatua, Zeba Siddiqui, Manya Malik, Pallavi Duggal, Samantha Watson, Xavier Vollenweider

Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning (CEDIL) (2020), vi, 104 pp.

"Spatially and temporally relevant ‘big data’ that does not require data collection in the field has the potential to provide insights into people’s economic, social, behavioural and political lives, and hence could be used in measuring key development outcomes. Big data consists of humangener ... more

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Building Smart Villages: A Blueprint. As Piloted in Niger

Geneva: ITU (2020), xiv, 57 pp.

"This Smart Village Blueprint, piloted in Niger, has been conceived as a practical tool for establishing smart villages. It contributes to the implementation of the Niger 2.0 Smart Villages project, which aims at providing broadband infrastructure to improve Internet access in rural and remote parts ... more

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Managing Machine Learning Projects in International Development: A Practical Guide

USAID; Vital Wave; DAI (2020), 70 pp.

"This guide has explored some of the key considerations that should inform the conceptualization and implementation of Machine Learning (ML) and artifical intelligence (AI) components within a development project. New, automated decision systems can offer considerable and rapid efficiency gains, but ... more

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Continuing the Conversation: Lessons from APC's Subgranting Experience

Alan Finlay

Association for Progressive Communications (APC) (2020), 52 pp.

"Subgranting is a readily accessible source of short- to medium-term financial support for organisations. It offers a flexibility in disbursing funds that is not often found in donors. It catalyses change in organisations. It can serve as “seed funding”, allowing new organisations to become know ... n in an advocacy space. It allows for experimentation, innovation, and unpredictability. It allows organisations to strengthen the work they are already doing, and empowers them to seek funding elsewhere based on new experiences and knowledge. • Transparency in deciding how funds are disbursed is essential. APC has tried different models for subgranting, including a centralised decision-making model, which offers autonomy for member organisations to decide on a project’s focus within a broad framework of shared objectives; a decentralised model with a thematic focus, working with members and new partners; and a collective decision-making model, that is issue based, working with a network of like-minded activists. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and the most appropriate mechanisms for transparency might depend on the size of the project or initiative, and the overall objectives of the subgranting work. • Clear communication is necessary for meeting concrete deliverables, for growing a community or network, and for transparency. Make sure meanings are aligned and shared, even in like-minded networks. This streamlines the process, avoids disappointment, and ensures clearer outcomes. • Subgranting can be used effectively for outreach to meet and work with new organisations at the local level, growing a network or membership base, and increasing the profile of an organisation at the grassroots level. • Thematically focused or issue-based subgranting programmes can encourage a greater level of interaction between organisations, and allow cross-border advocacy with the potential of amplifying advocacy impact. However, collaboration needs to be created – it does not happen on its own. It requires processes and specific considerations, such as the type of decision-making structure to follow, thatcreate the context for cooperation to happen." (Key lessons from APC’s subgranting work, pgae 50) more

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External Evaluation of Mobile Phone Technology-Based Nutrition and Agriculture Advisory Services in Africa: Mobile Phones, Nutrition, and Health in Tanzania. Business Modelling Endline Report

Nigel Scott, Simon Batchelor, Jones. Tom

E-pact Consortium; Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (2020), 118 pp.

"mNutrition is a global initiative supported by FCDO, managed by GSMA, and implemented by in-country MNOs and third party providers to use mobile technology, that sought to improve the health and nutritional status of children and adults in the developing world. The potential to utilise mobile techn ... more

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Digitalization for Development? Challenges for Developing Countries

Wien: Österreichische Forschungsstiftung für Internationale Entwicklung (ÖFSE) (2020), pp. 25-81

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Digital Defenders Partnership: Strategy 2020-2023

Hivos (2020), 36 pp.

"Seven years since the establishment of the Digital Defenders Partnership by the Freedom Online Coalition, the challenges to Human Rights and Internet Freedom globally have mounted, while the movements in their defence remain diverse, creative, and resilient. In this context, DDP has evolved to beco ... more

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ICT Aid Flows from China to African Countries: A Communication Network Perspective

Rong Wang, François Bar, Yu Hong

International Journal of Communication, volume 14 (2020), pp. 1-25

"The challenge in evaluating China’s foreign aid has always been the unavailability of reliable data sets. This study constitutes the first analysis of the AidData data set from a communication network perspective. It examines China’s development aid to Africa in the ICT sector from 2000 to 2014 ... more

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Making Open Development Inclusive: Lessons from IDRC Research

Matthew L. Smith, Ruhiya Kristine Seward (eds.)

Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press; International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (2020), xiv, 498 pp.

"Making Open Development Inclusive: Lessons from IDRC Research focuses on the connection between openness and inclusion in global development. It brings together the latest research that cuts across a wide variety of political, economic, and social arenas - from governance to education to entreprene ... more

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More Digital, More Impact: How Digital Transformation Boosts Impact of Projects in the Asia, Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean Regions

Bonn; Eschborn: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (2019), 25 pp.

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What Motivates ICT4D Champions?

Jaco Renken

Dar es Salaam: 15th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries (ICT4D) (2019), 12 pp.

"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 ... more

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Digital and Social Media for Social and Behaviour Change Communication

Linda Raftree

iMedia Associates and Gates Foundation (2019), 52 pp.

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Mobiltelefone in Afrika = Mobile Phones in Africa

Christine Hoffendahl

Hamburg: German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) (2019), 29 pp.

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Checklist for the Development of Portals for International Development

Sarah Cummings, Nancy White, Michiel Schoenmakers, Victor van Reijswoud, Martine Koopman, Chris Zielinski, Cavin Mugarura, Ramin Assaand, Srividya Harish

Knowledge Management for Development Journal, volume 14, issue 1 (2019), pp. 83-94

"This guideline has been developed by the authors in a collaborative manner over the period May 2018-May 2019 in consultation with the Knowledge Management for Development (KM4Dev) community. It is designed to provide guidance for development organizations who are setting up portals –also known as ... more

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SDG Digital Investment Framework: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Investing in Digital Technologies to Achieve the SDGs

Geneva: ITU (2019), 134 pp.

"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 ... more

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Digital Future

D+C: Development and Cooperation, issue September (2019), pp. 19-33

"From the mid-90s to the Arab spring of 2011, a sense of euphoria was common. Before the 1990s, however, information technology simply did not seem relevant in developing countries. That began to change when international media became aware of the IT hub that had evolved around Bangalore. Next, inte ... rnet access spread fast, and, though digital divides persisted, the World Wide Web came ever closer to living up to its name. Then mobile telephony conquered much of Africa. Suddenly, Kenya was pioneering mobile money. Digital technology was making a difference in evermore people’s lives, and masses of them were poor. Mobile phones became commonly used devices even in remote villages. People got access to more information than ever before and started to interact with others who were far away. In many ways, digitalisation proved empowering. For example, social media were essential in the Arab spring. As dictators were toppled, journalists spoke of “Facebook revolutions”. That was then. Platforms that seemed to facilitate free communication in early 2011 are now infested with disinformation and propaganda. Moreover, the business models of established media houses are being undermined, to the detriment of quality journalism. Instead of living in “knowledge societies” as we were promised, it is getting harder to understand our world. As a general trend, both public administrations and private-sector businesses are being computerised. Digital disruption is common, and leaders in both spheres are paying increasingly close attention to what is discussed online. Some are doing their best to manipulate public discourse. Authoritarian populism is gaining ground, while the respect for democracy seems to be waning in many places. China’s communist regime is leading the trend of monitoring citizens, but other governments seem all too eager to follow. At the same time, the corporate powers that dominate the internet today are still largely beyond government control. They are not paying taxes commensurate with their revenues. The top managers cultivate a liberal image, but their lobbyists are really only striving to protect the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple from regulation. The algorithms of Facebook and YouTube, which belong to Google’s parent company Alphabet, are driving the radicalisation of angry people by offering users ever more extreme content. That trick keeps them on the platform. Digitalisation is shaping our species’ future. We need sensible rules. The forces that dominate the web are far more powerful than most nation states. The only three political entities that still seem able to regulate them are the USA, China and the EU. At this point, only the EU shows a preference for protecting citizens’ rights. If other countries want to have an impact, they must forge alliances. That way they can tap technology’s still promising potentials and keep a check on the risks. There is no alternative – unless we want to surrender to overwhelming corporate and state power." (Editorial, page 3) more

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Tech Trendscouting Toolkit: Or How to Become a Tech Trendscout for Digital Innovation with Social Impact in Africa

Asmaa Guedira, Geraldine de Bastion, Tolu Agunbiade, Yatan Blumenthal-Vargas

Bonn; Eschborn: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (2019), 44 pp.

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Tech for Good: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen digitaler Instrumente in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit von Nichtregierungsorganisationen

Berlin: Verband Entwicklungspolitik deutscher Nichtregierungsorganisationen (VENRO) (2019), 39 pp.

"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 ... more

Intervention or Collaboration? Redesigning Information and Communication Technologies for Development Deep Insights

Intervention or Collaboration? Redesigning Information and Communication Technologies for Development
Deep Insights