idrc_people media i t 22 jun07 ict4d
TRANSCRIPT
The ABC of ICT4DHeloise Emdon
22 June 2007
People, Media and Infotech
Africa Media Assignments
Overview● Discuss ICT4D concepts● Discuss various stakeholders in ICT4D● Tour various ICT4D solutions
Do you have?
• Do you know :– someone who earns less than R3000 per
month and owns a cell phone?– someone who earns less than R1000 per
month and owns a cell phone? ($2 pd)
• Where do they live?• What do they mainly use the phone for?• How do you know?• What do they spend per week/per month
on it?• Do they have access to email?
Mobile biz
The Long TailThe long tail is the colloquial name for a feature of statistical distributions in which a high-frequency or high-amplitude population is followed by a low-frequency or low-amplitude population which gradually "tails off". In many cases the infrequent or low-amplitude events—the long tail, represented here by the yellow portion of the graph— can cumulatively outnumber or outweigh the initial portion of the graph, such that in aggregate they comprise the majority. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail
What do you think ICTs mean for people development?
• Discussion• Examples of ICTs in use
for development• Examples of the social
effects and impacts• How can we measure
these?• Who measures this?• How can we research
this?• For what purpose?
Livelihoods paradigm and ICTs
• How are resource-poor people using phones and the internet, radio’s and television to strengthen
• Human Capital – education, skills, knowledge, experience
• Natural capital – access to natural resources
• Financial capital – gain financial information
• Social capital – enhanced social networks
• Physical capital – market information
Growth of internet in Africa
1996 2001http://www.arp.harvard.edu/AfricaHigherEducation/Online.html
Undersea Cable Activity
• The digital divide?• Why?• Who benefits?• Who pays?• How does this gap
close?
Who can solve these problems and how?
• Access: telecommunications infrastructure
• Cost: calls, internet, hardware, voice monopolies, satellite proclivities, fibre networks
• Expense to household
• Efficiencies for institutions, government
• What contribution does this make to household?
What are the constraints?
• What are the debates around ICT4D?– Access to
• …geographic, economic, market
– Cost of • …telecoms, hardware, software
– Relevant content for• ….education, development information
– ….Who owns it?
Issues in ICT4D
• Public access (also universal access)• Communal use• Market behavior, total cost of access• Aggregation of cost• Policy, regulation, service providers, consumers• Understanding intellectual property rights and
digital access • Understanding livelihoods• Understanding institutional and economic
efficiencies given above
Public Access: Telecentres, schools
• And then there are $1000 bills….what about applications?
The First Mile – First Inch community
Coordinator: CSIR,Pretoria
InhambaneEnv: Telecentre
TsilitwaEnv: Hospital, Telecentre
HuamboEnv: Telecentre
MpumalangaEnv: Peebles Valley HIV Clinic
Nampula & PembaCatholic University Mozambique
MaputoUEM & MICTICape Town
Env: University
Tshwane Metro: Rooiwal & Winterveld Peri-urb
Efficient social services: The manual system
• Storage• Transport• Cost of paper• Efficiency
Medical records in Maputo
Household survey
enumerator
The handheld revolution: Forms development
• HAPI, PDACT, Pendragon, Epihandy, OpenMRS mobile?
• Open applications for cellular as well
Communication networks
• Satellife key partner in Uganda and Mozambique
• African Access Point• Wifi, Infrared, GSM
synchronization box
Extending medical services
• First Mile• First Inch applications
Physicians with ICTs
• At least 90% of all the ARV treatment is straightforward and can be dealt with by people with less training. At AMPATH physicians only see 5% of the close to 40 000 patients on Antiretroviral Treatment. These are patients with extremely complex malignancies and complications when the first line regimen starts to fail, Prof Joe Mamlin.
• Now patients on treatment are assisting others with the start of uncomplicated treatment.
Research: Supply and Demand
• Research ICT Africa• Sector Performance
Reviews• Towards and e-Index
– SME survey
Other related technologies: GIS and solar
• Community mapping• Policy making• Access to energy
Who owns the content?
• Creative Commons License eg CC-ZA
About the IDRC International Development
Reseach Centre
Origins
● Pearson Report ‘Partners in Development‘ (1969): Gap in Scientific and technological capacities between North and South
● IDRC Act (1970)
Philosophy
● Hopper-Pearson Debate at the first Board meeting: support to researchers in developing countries vs. support to Canadian researchers
● Responsive yet proactive
Mandate
“ … to initiate, encourage, support, and conduct research into the problems of the developing regions of the world and into the means for applying and adapting scientific, technical, and other knowledge to the economic and social advancement of those regions …” IDRC Act (1970)
Micheal Cairns 1995, farmer meeting in Nagaland, India
The Real Access criteria
www.bridges.org1. Physical access to technology 2. Appropriateness of technology3. Affordability of technology and
technology use4. Human capacity and training 5. Locally relevant content, applications,
and services6. Integration into daily routines7. Socio-cultural factors 8. Trust in technology9. Local economic environment 10.Macro-economic environment 11. Legal and regulatory framework12. Political will and public support
Are ICTs Gender Neutral?
• Will the infrastructure be deployed throughout the country in the areas where women predominate?
• Have provisions been made for the possibility of high-technology applications in areas where many women live outside the capital and major cities?
• Has gender analysis been incorporated in planning and implementing infrastructure because social
• economic and/or cultural constraints may prevent women from accessing ICTs even when these are available in their communities?
• Nancy Hafkin, Are ICTs Gender Neutral?
Seeking out social innovators
• IDRC “Venture Capitalists of Ideas for development”
• Seeking social innovators and researchers in the field of Environment, Economy, ICTs and Innovation
Exercise
Write a 2-page executive memo to your employer (Minister, Regulator, Company) concerning an aspect or several aspects that need to be addressed if ICTs are to address development targets in your country or company strategy