infoDev and Wayan Vota

This week, we will be having a very important guest speaker leading our class discussion, Wayan Vota. As one of the prominent experts in the field of information and communication technologies for development, Vota is currently the Communications Manager at Development Gateway. However, he has also worked as the senior director of Inveneo, and as a consultant for infoDev, which will be the focus of this post.

infoDev, which is short for Information for Development Program, is “a global partnership program within the World Bank Group which works at the intersection of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship to create opportunities for inclusive growth, job creation, and poverty reduction” (http://goo.gl/gRVQZ). Since its founding in 1996, infoDev has been infiltrating various markets in over 50 developing nations around the world by providing them with the technological innovations and support needed to solve their toughest problems. Partnering with governments, non-profits, other World Bank programs, and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), infoDev works as coordinator between donors and local stakeholders in order to ensure effective creation and implementation of ICT4D programs. In 2004, infoDev transformed to become more of a “think tank” on ICT4D issues, utilizing their sponsorship of research and analysis in order to advise best practices. The program operates on three main themes: innovate, connect, and transform.

Innovate:

By supporting ICT-focused innovation by investors and social entrepreneurs, infoDev seeks to amplify the impact of those looking to do make one. The program accomplishes this tier through their network of incubators in developing countries, where partners can brainstorm innovative solutions and models.

Connect:

infoDev acts a resource for both developing nations, and the agencies looking to work with them. The program also serves as support system to connect these two entities, and ensure that any progress that is made will be sustainable. infoDev places a huge emphasis on enabling access to “information infrastructure, applications, and services” for all in a way that can be maintained in the long run.

Transform:

This partnership program conducts work in all sectors associated with ICT4D, be it health, education, business, or agriculture. infoDev acts as a consultant to stakeholders, guiding them through the best practices associated with deploying ICTs effectively. The program gains this knowledge through extensive field-based experimentation, evaluation, and research.

While I’m sure Vota will mention, even if only briefly, his work with infoDev, I would like to open up discussion about the context of a comment made about him on the infoDev website:

“Wayan is critical of the historical impact of technology on education for two reasons: First, the expense of piloting a new technology, and second, the major emphasis on the technology.”

Sound familiar? For some reason, the case study on One Laptop Per Child came to mind when I read this, what do you guys think about Vota’s supposed critiques on ICT for education?

World Bank Project Map

This week in class we discussed more about mapping as a humanitarian and development tool and in my limited research on this subject I stumbled upon a very interesting project that the World Bank implemented in 201o that they refer to as a Mapping for Results platform. This project involved the team has analyzing more than 2,500 World Bank-financed projects and geo-coding more than 30,000 locations spanning 144 countries. This project also overlays country maps with poverty and Millennium Development Goals data, with the geographic locations of donor-funded projects, enhancing our ability to monitor development impact and improve transparency and social accountability. This information is available to anyone who goes on to the webpage, and clicks on the country or region of their choosing. In having this information about development projects available to local people the World Bank hopes to foster greater transparency and accountability by encouraging citizens and stakeholders to give feedback on projects. This tool also allows donors to map a project’s progress without contacting project managers.

The main page shows a world map with green dots that you can click on and get more information about a specific coutntry. For example Uganda’s map looks like this:

This shows all of the different projects financed by the World Bank, a total of $1.7o billion, and divides them by sector (red with white cross is health, purple is public administration, green is agriculture). You can also sort the map by looking at a base of malnutrition, infant mortality, and maternal health, and it will show the changes being made in those fields. The map can also be looked at by sector (the map above) or by count, which shows the number of projects being implemented in a region.

I found this to be very interesting and eye opening to be able to see all of the development projects being implemented in a region by one funder. This can be a great resource to people living in a region who are able to look at how and where their development needs are being meant and also for people looking to start a project can come into their research with more of an idea of how many similar projects are already underway.

Palestine National ICT resources

While there is certainly not a wide selection of literature available on the ICT policy in the Palestinian territories, especially published by the government, there is some, and most is in English. There is only one published national ICT policy, and almost no literature published by the government available. The World Bank and Portland Trust reports provide a comprehensive view of the sector in the territories.

 

Government:

National ICT/Telecommunications Policy:

The Palestinian National Authority Statement of National Telecommunications Policy

Language: English

Published by: the minister of Telecommunications & Information Policy

Last Updated: April 2010

****provides a nice outline of plans for the ICT sector laid out by years

 

Prepared by Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS)

The ICT sector in the Palestinian Territory

Language: English

Published by: The Portland Trust

Date: August 2010

****detailed explanation of challenges facing the development of the sector

 

(Inter-government) World Bank Reports:

The Palestinian ICT Sector … A Three-Year Outlook…Based on Economic Indicators.

Author: Rami Wihaidi

Language: English

Date: May 2009

 

Challenges Facing ICT in Palestine

Author: Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade)

Language: English

Date: August 2010

 

With Gaza and the West Bank undergoing different developments in terms of ICT and facing differing political challenges, information concerning ICTs in Palestine is often inconsistent. While some address each specific territory, others address the territories as a whole.

 

World Bank ICT Strategies

The World Bank is an international organization that manages the distribution of aid and makes loans to developing countries, with the goal of reducing poverty and spurring development. In June of 2012, the World Bank updated its ICT strategy, previously revised in 2001, to reflect the progress of ICT’s in the past decade. The strategy is focused around three pillars: transform, innovate, and connect.

Transform: “Making development more open and accountable, and improving service delivery – for instance, education, health, and financial services” .1) open and accountable development using ICTs: This strategy point focuses on using ICTs to increase government accountability and the availability of information and data. This requires cross-sector cooperation between government, civil society and businesses to improve the delivery of services, as well as citizen feedback systems. Given the World Bank’s focus on aid, this strategy emphasizes the use of ICTs in monitoring aid programs in order to evaluate and maximize their efficiency. Also, this point recognizes the ability of ICTs to empower and involve women in society. 2) transformation of service delivery: This point focuses on the delivery of services in the sectors of health, education, social protection, justice, agriculture, water, energy, and transport. The WB recognizes the widespread use of mobiles, and their strategy promotes them as the most effective way to get services to those who need them most. This point also stresses the need to coordinate services between sectors, so there is less overlap and more convenience for citizens. 3) projects: an open and free World Bank database; initiatives to inform citizens about projects in their country and increase their involvement; a more selective and restrictive allocation of funds to IT investments because of their high failure rates.

Innovate: “Developing competitive IT-based service industries and fostering ICT innovation across the economy – with a focus on job creation, especially for women and youth” 1) competitiveness: by giving incentives to the private sector to develop ICTs and establishing regulations to build trust in the ICT sector governments can enhance competition and therefore drive down costs of ICTs, making them affordable to a larger population. This point also mentions the usefulness of mobile banking in helping small businesses get financing. 2) IT-based services: governments need to play an active role (tech parks, infrastructure, etc.). Building IT skills is essential. The best ways to do this are through curriculum integration at the secondary and tertiary levels, investment in R&D, and standard testing in the IT field. 3) ICT entrepreneurship: In order to support business start up, countries should provide training and reasonably priced start-up space. Another feasible strategy is to promote clustering of IT businesses for cooperation and knowledge sharing. 4) Bottom-up, user-centric approach: Introduces the concept of “light innovation” which is an inexpensive, decentralized and fast moving model for innovation. It focuses on innovation from the user perspective, using community networks to produce ICT solutions.

Connect: “Scaling up affordable access to broadband – including for women, disabled citizens, disadvantaged communities, and people living in remote and rural areas” 1) Promoting affordable and accessible broadband services: Broadband service is expected to require more government intervention than voice telephony. Therefore, countries should expect to allocate more time and resources towards the development of these services. One way this can be done is through removing obstacles and giving incentives for the private sector to invest in broadband in underdeveloped regions.

The World Bank is in an excellent position to insure that its policy strategies such as this one are carried out. One of the implementation methods is for the World Bank to be more conservative with its available development funds. The countries that are seen as compliant with this ICT strategy will be allocated more aid from these funds than those that are not. Needless to say, this is a very powerful economic incentive. Out of the current World Bank projects, the World Bank claims that 74% of them have an ICT component. It recognizes the need to improve this number, and this new strategy is seen as what will be an effective way of doing so. It will be interesting to see if this new strategy will effect how countries approach ICT4D and if their funding from the World Bank will be altered.

 

Senegal National ICT Resources

National ICT Plan/Strategy:

Senegal ICT Sector Performance Review - 2009/2010, Research ICT Africa: English Version

Senegal ICT Sector Performance Review: French- 2009/2010: French Version

Guide to ICT Policy in IST-Africa Partner Countries - April 2012, IST-Africa: English

Government Website:
Plan for the promotion of ICT use, July 2012 - Senegalese Government: French

Non-Governmental Websites:

IMF Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2010- Country Report written by the International Monetary Fund including a section about ICTs as a form of poverty reduction, 2010: English

Measuring the Information Society-  International Telecommunication Union, 2012: English

Global Information Technology Report - World Economic Forum, 2012: English

UNDP Harnessing the Power and Potential of Information and Communication Technologies for Local Development- Handbook for Policy Makers written by the United Nations Development Programme: Geneva Representation Office, 2012- Gives a helpful ICT Profile breakdown for Senegal: English

Breakdown of World Bank Statistics for Senegal- Trading Economics highlights World Bank Indicators for Communications in Senegal, 2012: English

For Senegal, I found it slightly difficult to find actual documents coming from the government, as opposed to external sources writing about government decisions and policy.

Gender and ICTs in Brazil

As we have now learned, the digital divide in inclusive of several kinds of gaps. This week we are focusing on the gender divide, with men typically enjoying more access to ICTs than women. In Brazil, this gap persists, yet certain studies, namely one published by Martin Hilbert of the University of Southern California (USC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (http://tinyurl.com/atpzwpg), posits that according to data, women in Brazil are more enthusiastic ICT users. Furthermore, the International Telecommunications Union has identified a major shortage of skilled professionals in the ICT sector in Brazil, with an expected shortage of 200,000 professionals in 2013 (http://tinyurl.com/ayc9a3e).

When I read both of these publications side by side, a lightbulb went off in my head, and I thought, “The opportunities are there, so why aren’t more women taking on these jobs and studying the skills they need to tap this untapped resource?” After doing some further research, I found that, like with many developing countries, both sociocultural and economic factors are keeping women out the technology workforce in Brazil. Other readings have put forth the notion that policy adjustment has the ability to remedy this divide, but in Brazil, such policy changes have not had a substantial effect. According to the World Bank,

“the Brazilian government has approved a policy framework that guarantees gender equality in the workplace. For example, the constitution of Brazil ‘prohibits differentiation in salary levels on the basis of sex, establishes incentives for encouraging the participation of women in the workforce, and provides paid maternity leave of 120 days and paternity leave for five days.’” (http://tinyurl.com/cl6lut4)

However, their research yields that these policies are not enforced, and are therefore perpetuating a poor employment climate for the ICT field. So, if according the Hilbert’s study in Brazil,

“only 22.8% of all working men use the Internet, while 28.5% of all working women are online. Only 47.0% of all Brazilian working men use a mobile phone, while 50.6% of all working women telecommunicate on the go…”

then shouldn’t the Latin American country begin to be more proactive about encouraging their female citizens to use the ICT skills they so clearly have in order to gain economic success?  One would think so! But proof of this type of positive gender-equality movement is not there.

Should We Congratulate or Condemn the World Bank for Admitting to 70% ICT Project Failure?

The World Bank, and it’s internal Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), released an Evaluation of World Bank Group Activities in Information and Communication Technologies, which is a review of a total $4.2 billion in World Bank contribution committed to the ICT sector during fiscal years 2003-2010. $2.9 billion of this support was specified to be going towards “sector reforms and support to private investments for mobile telephony in difficult environments and in the poorest countries.” In an ICT Works blog post about these results (http://tinyurl.com/araptx6), Wayan Vota takes an angle of praise for the World Bank for their commitment to transparency and accountability- the likes of which have not been seen from other international bodies working towards the common goal of improving livelihoods in the developing world.

The four main domains of the World Bank ICT4D projects are:

1) ICT sector reform

2) increased access to information infrastructure

3) ICT skills development

4) ICT applications.

The WB boasts a 60% success rate across the four strategies, albeit efforts to support universal access, with only 30% of these initiatives reaching their objectives.  Furthermore, and what has been the source of heavy criticism of the World Bank, is the seemingly staggering statistic that 70% of projects targeting underserved groups failed.

This number has incited heavy scrutiny of the World Bank, the international development community demanding answers as to why there has been such great failure,  and calling for for reduction of ICT investment. However, there are other ways to interpret the same result. The ICT works post provides a more positive insight into the statistics. It states that rather than criticizing, we should be thinking more about the transparency and chancy practices of the World Bank. Furthermore, Vota regards the 30% success rate for increasing access to the underserved positively, compared with the “the 20% success rate of Silicon Valley start-ups who are coddled by the most business-conducive environment in the world.” While I agree with the main point of the post, which is that the WB is setting a good example by admitting to its failure in the name of future progress and success, I think this comparison is irrelevant; as one sector is largely non-profit, while Silicon Valley ventures are mostly for-profit.

The World Banks honesty and forwardness about its work in ICT4D is essential to the future success of the relatively new field. It is of chief importance to share these failures with the ICT4D community in order to move forward.  Whether or not a “Congratulations” is in order for the World Bank can be left to debate, but I do feel it was a step in the right direction for such a prominent international body such as the WB to replace their hush-hush attitude towards project failure with unapologetic transparency.

Africa’s eTransformation & New Partnerships

In the article “Africa: Using ICTs for transformational development,” from the World Bank’s blog related to ICT, the author Tim Kelly highlights feasible ICT solutions in both the public and the private spheres. Kelly cites Kenya as an example of governmental intervention in ICT during which there is expected to be more
“open government, capacity building, and innovation” to reach the country’s ICT-related goals by 2017. As highlighted in Unwin’s chapter on policies and partnerships, a lack of transparency and a poor regulatory environment has often hindered the development of the ICT sector. Kelly explains that the goal of the “eTransform Africa” report argues that new technologies are essential for business entrepreneurship and economic growth. He also accents the ability of innovations to create job and increase domestic companies export potential.

The “eTransform Africa” full report correlates with Unwin’s ideas of using multi-stakeholder approaches for the advancement of technology. Unwin explains that these partnerships are essential for the creation of ICT4D initiatives (Unwin 159), which the “eTransform Africa” report supports, stating that these stakeholders are essential for funding initial programs and start ups. The importance of openness of data and transparency of information is accentuated in the report, supporting different data sets including geographical information systems (GIS). Both Unwin and Kelly stress the importance of the inclusion of civil society in this process. What is the best way to create these partnerships or is it better to allow them to form organically? How do we further diversify them to allow ICT implementation to be as effective as possible?

Sri Lanka National ICT Resources

Sri Lanka’s most detailed and useful ICT policy can be found here.

Last updated: December 1, 2003

Published by: The World Bank

Language: English

 

Other updates to the policy can be found at this link.

There have been various reports detailing updates to the policy from 2004 to 2012.

Last updated: December 8, 2012

Published by: The World Bank

Language: English

 

Here is the website for the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka.

Here is the website for Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Telecommunications.

 

Sri Lanka’s information can be found within the EIU rankings, the Global Information Technology Report rankings, and the ITU rankings.

 

The World Bank has updated information about Sri Lanka.

 

Here is an ICT4D development movement that was helpful.

Published by: Sarvodaya

Language: English

 

While Sri Lanka is definitely growing in the ICT sector, it can be difficult to find specific information about the projects that they have done and their policies. This lack of information made some of the research confusing and challenging at times. I would not discourage you from choosing Sri Lanka, however, because I found it to be very interesting. There is some good information out there, and hopefully this eases the searching.

Guinea National ICT Resources

National ICT Plan: 

Plan de Développement de l’Infrastructure Nationale d’Information et de Communication de la République de Guinée 2001-2004

Created By: Ministry of Finance

Date Updated: March 2002

Language: French

Outside Resources: 

ICT for Education in Guinea- Useful for establishing the prospective usage and challenges of ICTs in eductation

Created By: The World Bank

Author: Osei Tutu Agyeman

Updated: June 2007

Language: English

Freedom House Rating- Ranks the access to deomocracy and fundamental rights in countries around the world.

Created By: Freedom House

Language: English

African Internet Facebook Usage- Used to see the percentages of Facebook usage in Guinea.

Language: English

Updated: June 30, 2012

Guinea Profile- Used to gather background information and have a clearer understanding of Guinea as a whole. 

Created By: BBC News Africa

Language: English

MultiSectoral AIDS Project (MAP)-An AIDS development project implemented throughout Africa, including Guinea. Not Directly Related to ICT4D!

Created By: The World Bank

Updated: 2011

Language: English

AIDS/HIV Statistics in Guinea

Created By: University of California, San Fransisco

Updated: 2012

US AID in Guinea-Provides information about USAIDs work in Guinea in a number of fields (ex. democracy, economics, agriculture, etc. )

Created By: U.S. Agency for International Development

World Health Organization information on Environmental Policy in Guinea- comprehensive information linked here.

Gender Development Index for Guinea by the United Nations Development Programme-comprehensive information linked here.

Overall, researching Guinea was interesting, but at the same time extremely challenging.  A lack of infrastructure in the country has not led to many development projects being implemented there for ICTD.  Therefore, there is not a lot of research into this field to be done in terms of growth or development, as their development has been lagging drastically behind.  Also, since the government in Guinea is not very stable, it was not always easy to find up-to-date resources, and a lot of the reasearch needed to be inferred.