Evaluating States’ E-Government Strategies

After learning about E-Government and E-Governance for the sector presentation, I decided to do some further research on e-government in the US. On October 21, the Center for Digital Government released its Digital States Survey, an evaluation and ranking of the ICT practices of each of the 50 states. The letter takes a look at what state governments are doing to digitally connect with their constituents and assigns letter grades based on achievements in tech related service areas. The only two states to receive A grades were Michigan and Utah. Pennsylvania, California, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee were the only states to be awarded an A-. The most improved state since the last ranking in 2010 was Indiana, while the largest dropoff state was Florida. I was interested to examine what specific actions caused the rise and fall of the two states based on knowledge of e-Government.

In the case of Indiana, it was largely a result of initiatives put in place a few years ago finally making gains in the ICT area. This reflects the idea that once the initial foundational technology is put in place, states and communities will see development as the technologies are improved upon and as people learn how to better utilize them. One aspect that contributed to improvement was the consolidation of ICTs, as enterprise IT initiatives are deployed for all 92 executive branch agencies, elected officials and the courts system. The state operates over 200 websites to serve various state functions, including more than 10 portals to ensure interagency communication and efficiency. Increased oversight also played a role in Indiana’s improvement, with performance measures implemented for each executive branch agency and results that are reported quarterly.

As for Florida, their problems stemmed from the lack of a statewide ICT leadership agency. The previous one, the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology was defunded on July 1 of this year. The proposal for a new agency to fix the ineffectiveness of the old one was shot down when Governor Rick Scott vetoed the bill. While there are plans to come up with a new state strategy in the next legislative session, the fact that this leadership vacuum was allowed to happen reflects a lack of emphasis and direction regarding ICTs at the government level. These two examples show that increased priority on digital policy implementation and a cohesive, well-defined government strategy are keys to creating effective e-Government.

Struggles of Integrating Aid in Humanitarian Crises

During my research for our group presentation this past week about disaster and humanitarian relief aid, I came across a case study focused on humanitarian aid in Chad. Instability in Chad came to the forefront of international news with the media focus on violence in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, in 2004, and the increase in refugees that fled into Chad. The international exposure for the crisis resulted in a rapid increase in volunteers, private and public donation, and, consequently, a more chaotic issue. The World Food Program (WFP) attempted to establish a commodity tracking system referred to as COMPAS as a response to the influx of aid and donations that were being sent into the country.

The first stage of COMPAS, as expected, encountered a few problems. Many workers within the WFP were not open to the idea of a new, more advanced system – spreadsheets were a more simple way to track data. It also became a struggle for some workers to use COMPAS due to language issues. In order for the system to work long term, WFP hoped to integrate local workers. However, the majority of the population in Chad spoke French or Arabic, and the COMPAS system manual was written in English. Furthermore, only five days of training was offered to the workers who, at the end of the introductory course, often felt unprepared to properly use the system.
Commodity tracking is extremely important for an organization such as the WFP, and a failed first attempt did not mean the end for COMPAS. WFP realized that simply introducing COMPAS into the regional offices in Chad was not enough: it had to be integrated and accepted by everyone in order for it to be a success. The first step was to “dissolve existing networks”; meaning the possible use of reverting to old methods of using spreadsheets had to be completely eliminated. Changes were made to the language of the manual to better suit the workers, and the training course became more comprehensive and included language and IT lessons to complement the use of COMPAS.

COMPAS is an example of the kind of back-office aid system that is vital for humanitarian disasters. While some may wonder what the WFP was doing in Chad, as its efforts were not directly visible, it can be argued that their work introducing the COMPAS tracking system was one of the most significant contributions that could have been made in such a scenario.

You can learn more about the World Food Programme’s presence in Chad at their country website.

Can the Private Sector Use ICTs to Reach the “Tipping Point”?

I attended the latest NewDay Speaker Series installment this Thursday and listened to Martin Fisher, founder of Kickstart, discuss his experience building a social enterprise which sells low-cost, durable agricultural equipment (designed specifically for the target market) to subsistence farmers in Africa. The idea is that the equipment increases the farmer’s production capacity to the point where they are no longer subsistence farmers, but instead are able to actually generate consistent profits from their crops. Fisher’s model is heavily based on market theories in the private sector, and the core philosophical bases of his company ring true to me in ways that most development program missions do not. They include statements like “The poor are not victims,” “The number one need of the poor is a way to make money,” “Giveaways create dependency: sell don’t give,” and “Good governance comes from a thriving middle class.”

In essence, Fisher is running a for-profit business with one hell of a positive social externality: the vast majority of his sales result in the marginalized poor consumer exponentially increasing his/her income to the point where his or her family becomes integrated into the middle class, with more  time and monetary resources to devote to education, healthcare, and further entrepreneurship. Thus far the model has been so effective that even given the consumers who do not pull themselves out of poverty with their equipment purchase, Kickstart averages a $10 return in income increase for the consumer for every $1 they put into production, marketing, or sales (figure taken from Fisher’s powerpoint presentation)… Let me pause for a moment & meditate on how it feels slightly strange, but also somehow much more morally comfortable to refer to an impoverished person in the developing world as a(n) (empowered) “consumer” instead of a “receiver,” “member of the target community,” or “beneficiary…” ok. Moving along.

But Fisher’s “for-profit-esque” business model is not technically for-profit: it is very heavily subsidized (and sustained) by donations, because the market in which he is operating has not yet reached the “tipping point” where producing, marketing, and selling the equipment results in a return on investment- he simply hasn’t sold enough equipment yet. During his talk, Fisher explained that this economic “tipping point” is reached when virtually everyone in the target consumer population is familiar with the product. He provided the example that while Coca Cola now draws in regular profits from sales in Africa, it took them ten years of marketing and losing money to build up the brand power and familiarity within the consumer base to do so. And one key reason why most for-profit businesses do not try to sell to developing world markets is that until this “tipping point” is reached, demand is too low and supplying costs too much for firms to bite the bullet and be patient.

I am interested in whether there is any evidence that the dissemination of ICTs, particularly internet access, can shorten the time span between a product’s introduction into a developing world market and the “tipping point.” It follows logically that if a significant portion of the population has access to product information through online communication (social media, product websites, online ads, etc.), it should be much much easier for companies to market their products to them and more quickly reach a point where sales are viable- especially when they are targeting remote populations who would be less exposed to traditional marketing methods like billboards. This would imply yet another way that ICTs could help create a climate where international businesses can profit from investment in the developing world consumer base and subsequently invigorate the economies of poor countries.

Any idev & econ double-majors out there? Am I on the right track here (or just re-discovering the wheel…), and do you know of any country case studies (besides India & China) which might support this “theory?”

Reuters Market Light-Case Study

This week I did a lot of work looking into the rural and agriculture sector in ICT4D and there has been massive amounts of implementation within this field.  One organization that has made tremendous strides on this topic is Reuters Market Light, which aims to provide agricultural information over mobile phones to farmers in a number of countries.  There are a number of benefits to this platform.

1. Reuters Market Light aims to decrease the digital divide in the agricultural world by providing these small holding farmers with crucial information so that they are able to compete with larger, industrialized farms.  This will help to improve the abilities of a greater number of small farmers, rather than allowing a monopoly on success by larger farmers.
2. By increasing access to information, Farmers will be able to increase their yields as they will be more educated on different important techniques and innovations in the field that they can apply to their work.
3. As weather patterns are changing due to global warming, Reuters Market Light will be able to mitigate for that, and will allow for the farmers to understand new adapted practices, rather than remaining with their current strategies to no avail.

However, there are also some problems with the program as well, which do not allow it to access its full potential.  For instance, the issue of infrastructure is problamatic as this program only targets those who are already in range of a mobile phone network.  However, the farmers who are probably in the worst conditions and may need the most help are those who are in areas that are so under-developed that they do not yet have access to cell phones, continuing the digital divide.  Also, this project continually has the difficulty of working in rural areas, rather than cities, which are often passed over for larger, metropolitan areas when it comes to aid work.

Small Business Reap From Kenya’s ICT Innovations

Small businesses in Africa often suffer huge set backs by lack of the needed finances to efficiently run their small enterprises. Having a system that manages the business such as accounts, payroll, and business transactions is not always possible due to its high cost. However, a new application through OpenWorld run by Geoffrey Kamau could help change this. This new application built upon open source software can help small businesses in Africa become more efficient in an affordable way. OpenWorld allows small businesses to move away from paper usage in their businesses, such as book keeping and payroll management. Utilizing the platform known as OpenBusiness that runs on the cloud, small businesses can subscribe monthly through a small fee, of around $7.50 USD, enabling them to manage employees, payroll, accounts, online sales, tax and point of sales through the platform. Before, this could cost up to several thousand dollars, but now small businesses can pay monthly at a low price to access the same software and manage their business. This will also allow small businesses to run consumer royalty schemes that were only available through big retailers like Uchumi, Naivas, and etc that charged small businesses more than they can afford. For example now, barbershops no longer have to keep track of customers’ visits through a handwritten notebook, but through the automated OpenBusiness. This allows small businesses in Africa to become more efficient and encourages formalization of the informal economy. This new tool was revealed at the AITEC East Africa ICT Summit in Kenya this month, hopefully utilization of the tool would be widespread soon. Optimistically, with this new ICT that is both affordable and easy to use, small businesses can become more efficient and expand, helping the developing economies in Africa.

Farm Radio: Rural/Agriculture Sector

For our sector presentation, I researched an interesting ongoing project called Farm Radio. Farm Radio is great because the majority of people in Africa, especially rural farmers, do not have access or means to TV/Internet. However, a great number possess a radio. By means of communication via radio, Farm Radio aims “to provide and exchange practical, relevant and timely information for use by our broadcasting partners (community, public and private radio stations, farmers associations, productions houses)” and also to “enhance the ability of our broadcasting partners to serve the interests of small-scale farmers and their communities and to ensure food security.” I think that this is a great example because all solutions to problems/improving situations with technology don’t always have to be expensive. . .by utilizing something that everyone already has, a great initiative could be started.  Access to radio is significantly easier, and radio has low production costs.76% of farmers in Africa have access to a radio.

For informative YouTube videos on how the process actually works (sharing of farming techniques for example…) see the follow

The Establishment of E-Government in the United States at the Grassroots Level

In our group’s examination of the potential for ICTs in government, we evaluated the array of challenges associated with instituting e-government in regions devoid of widespread internet access or smart phones. In an article by Norris and Moon, published in the Public Administration Review, the authors consider the utility of e-government in the US, and why it still has a long way to go.

Norris and Moon explain that all federal agencies, state governments, and 80% of local governments currently have websites, although the sites are largely very basic with only simple downloadable forms and static information pages. They argue that the establishment of two-way transactional e-government (making payments, recording complaints, etc.) at the grassroots level (city or county) is vital because these websites offer the most services directly to the people, and therefore have the greatest potential impact. Ultimately, the authors propose that ICTs can improve efficiency, accuracy, timeliness, effectiveness, and extend workers’ capacity to work.

In our presentation of ICT4D in government, we determined the main challenges to be centered around lacking infrastructure and technology literacy. In contrast, the authors’ interviews with government employees show that the two biggest challenges facing e-government in the US are lacking staff devoted to the website and lacking financial resources. These barriers are substantially less daunting than those facing developing countries, and could be alleviated in the foreseeable future. With increasing resources devoted to researching these potentially valuable technologies, it seems likely that additional government funding could be used for e-government. In the US, where this funding is much more accessible, both of these challenges would be effectively mitigated. Ultimately, in the context of a developed country, ICTs appear more immediately useful, and will offer citizens and government workers alike greater convenience as they are slowly adopted and deployed.

Surui Carbon Project

An indigenous tribe in Brazil seems like an unlikely group of ICT users, but the Surui tribe, previously unknown to the world, is now embracing technology in order to preserve their livelihood.

The Surui Carbon Project is an ongoing project in Brazil that allows the Surui tribe to sustain their culture through carbon financing. Rather than let indigenous lands with large amounts of forested area be clear cut by logging companies, the Surui have set up the ‘Surui Fund’, where the money that they earn from the carbon credits will be used to implement their 50 year Management Plan. Their management plan is aimed at preserving their culture by using the money to fund health care initiatives and schools so that their population will be able to sustain itself, in addition to being able to protect its forest and reduce emissions.

ICTs come into the picture because the Surui need to create maps that show the exact area of forest they own. They have been working with Google Earth’s outreach team in order to measure and monitor the forest cover. They can also request high-resolution satellite images if they think there is suspicious activity going on, such as illegal logging. The outreach team has been training people in the tribe so that they can understand and use the software themselves.

This novel use of ICTs is also interesting because it is not a single standalone project, but a multi-year, ongoing process in which they plan to expand the amount of forested area under their stewardship. They have received assistance from NGOs in navigating the initial process of con proposing the project, measuring the amount of carbon saved, getting their credits verified. While previously the tribe had been selling off their land a little at a time to loggers for money, under new leadership they are now shifting their focus from short-term economic benefits to long-term sustainability, both economically and culturally.

The Surui Carbon Project is probably one of the most innovative development projects that I’ve heard of. However, I think there is a significant economic risk in undergoing it. There are numerous costs associated with launching the project, not to mention the fact that REDD, the program they are basing their actions off of, is still in its infancy. It was only developed in 2007, so the outcome of projects like this is uncertain. The price of carbon credits vary, and may even be possible that no one will want to buy them. I hope this isn’t the case, because I’m hoping that it can serve as a model for other unlikely groups to begin using ICTs.

Malaria Drugs in Developing Countries

“Many of the drugs — even those approved by the World Health Organization — are Chinese fakes or low-quality variants that failed quality tests…”
One of the biggest problems the Health Sector faces in developing countries is eliminating malaria. But, with so many fake and low-quality malaria drugs being used, malaria is actually being accelerated! By distributing malaria drugs that are low quality causes drug resistance in the mosquitos. The drugs do not have enough potency to kill the parasite, but just enough to make it resistant. We are already using the strongest drugs we have in developing countries to fight malaria, and if we continue to produce drugs of low-quality medicines they will become useless and possibly make malaria untreatable.
The scary part is that the World Health Organization approved some of the drugs that were shown to not have enough medicine to kill the parasite. A study found that 20-42% of malaria drugs in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were of bad or fake quality.
We cannot reach our MDG if we continue to sell fake drugs. If we continue it is possible that malaria will become incurable in many developing countries.

Genesys Works, Educational Development in America

Education was one of the sector presentations in class this week. One idea that has stuck out to me is Genesys Works, which was started by Rafael Alvatez in Houston Texas. He started Genesys Works, a non-profit organization that helps kids from underprivileged backgrounds jumpstart their careers in business and helps them learn about corporate culture and responsibility.  Alvarez started the venture, with help from the Houston Social Venture Partners, who pledged 50,000 dollars and helped Genesys Works achieve non-profit status. The program started with just ten students from Houston’s Southwest High School, just one teacher to conduct the training, and just one corporate partnership.  Since then, the program has grown to include two more cities, and hundreds of students, and over fifty partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. The company is non-profit, and therefore relies on donations from foundations and various government organizations. It also relies on partnerships from companies willing to employ the students, and of course, on the students themselves. The program is very innovative and has been changing the lives of inner city, low-income students for over a decade. Genesys Works trains students in IT work, and then partners with local companies who employ the students part-time. This helps students with their self-esteem. In addition, the company sets students up with college counselors who make sure that each student goes to a college that is the right fit for them. Education is very important both at a national and international level. Programs such as this help students succeed, and the model of Genesys Works follows really helps students in America graduate and create better lives for themselves.