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ICT4D - ICTs for Development

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Laptops in the Long-Run: Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Rural Peru

Santiago Cueto, Diether W. Beuermann, Julian Cristia, Ofer Malamud, Francisco Pardo

Inter-American Development Bank (2024), 38 pp.

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Assessing the digital readiness and communication ecosystem of rural youth: Methodological guidelines

Marzia Pafumi

Rome: FAO (2024), vi, 92 pp.

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AI for Good: Impact Report

Geneva: ITU (2024), viii, 80 pp.

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Ghana

Reyn Anderson, Yaroslav Eferin, Kate Gromova, Vlad Manoil, Victor Teppeh

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project, external version (2024), 149 pp.

"Ghana is among Sub-Saharan Africa’s leaders in digital transformation. Over the past decade, the government has put the key institutions, legislative frameworks, strategies, and policies in place that are necessary to drive change. The Ministry of Communications and Digitalization leads and coord ... inates development and implementation of a core set of policies and strategies that are digitally transforming the government, economy, and society. The ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy has guided this journey for more than a decade. A new Digital Economy Policy is drafted and under review to drive the next stage of Ghana’s digital development. The National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy and the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy have also been key. Ghana adopted an inclusive approach to developing its cybersecurity strategy, which contributed to improved cybersecurity capacity and considered citizens’ online safety and freedoms. However, a clear strategy for protecting critical national infrastructure is missing. Ghana has been a pioneer and champion of digital government transformation in West Africa over the past decade, with funding and support from the World Bank. Important whole-of-government platforms and services have been put in place, including the Government Wide Area Network (GWAN), which provides internet connection to more than 1,000 district assemblies, hospitals, police stations, and post offices across the country; a National Data Center; the Smart workplace suite, which includes email and productivity tools for government employees; and Ghana.gov portal, a one-stop-shop for citizen services. Still, digital government transformation is incomplete. Easy, efficient, online government services are in demand, but the Ghana.gov portal options are limited, and most major government service providers have their own separate online services portals. The national identity Ghana Card could enhance digital service delivery by providing a universally recognized, secure, and easy-to-use means of digital identification and authentication for citizens when accessing both public and private digital services, but the current identification system is not integrated with other government-operated databases, significantly reducing its many potential applications. The Regional Coordinating Councils, and metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) are just now embarking on the digital transformation journey. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development coordinates their efforts. Challenges for Ghana’s remaining efforts at digital government transformation include adequate funding to manage and maintain its connectivity and data center infrastructure, affordable internet for regional governments, inadequate digital literacy and skills among mid-level and regional staff, or related national training programs. A big skill gap exists in cybersecurity; Ghana faces a deficit of skilled cybersecurity professionals. The government also needs to improve efforts at stakeholder engagement and awareness-raising when developing new policy proposals." (Executive summary, pages 11-12) more

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Digitalization & Gender Norms: Learnings from CARE's Digital Pilot for VSLA Members in Rwanda & Uganda

Eric Kaduru, Julia Arnold

Care (2024), 10 pp.

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E-empowerment tips for facilitators: Information and communication technologies for farmer field schools

Rome: FAO (2024), viii, 56 pp.

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Rural communication services for family farming in Asia and the Pacific: Regional consultation and forum

Rome: FAO (2024), x, 41 pp.

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Conjuring a Blockchain Pilot: Ignorance and Innovation in Humanitarian Aid

Margie Cheesman

Geopolitics (2024), 28 pp.

"When aid professionals adopt high tech pilot projects, ignorance, blind faith, misplaced trust, and authentic expertise all come into play. Based on ethnographic research in Jordan, I examine how a refugee aid organisation produces and applies a blockchain pilot. Innovative pilots help internationa ... more

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Imaging and Assessing Mobile Technology for Development

Richard Musabe, John Sören Pettersson (eds.)

Newcastle upon Tyne (UK): Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2024), xvi, 186 pp.

"Several studies have already depicted the development of M4D and of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), and that will not be repeated here. However, as this collection of chapters have sprung out from one of the M4D conferences – the M4D 2022 in Kigali – some notes ... on what have been salient at different conferences can be made. If we start with the M4D in Senegal 2014, we can see that from that conference stems a book where the chapters “initiate evocative conversations on how mobile technologies can contribute to expanding mobile participation practices” (Wamala-Larsson, Hellström, and Scharff 2015, 12). In Mozambique, in 2016, there were some contributions connecting to radio and TV technology; the M4D 2018 conference in Uganda included some papers on how utilities can be backed by subscription schemes via mobile services, as well as by apps where citizens can report dysfunctions and illicit use. The M4D 2020 did not take place, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the possibility of running a conference on site and it was postponed to 2022, when Rwanda saw the first blended M4D conference. The Zoom presence for several dozen participants over three days went very well and, via two cameras and two large screens at the venue site, they blended in well at the conference. The IT maturing effect caused by the pandemic was thus noticeable. Among the presentations it was noticeable that the Internet of Things and drones, often blended with machine learning, are now imaginable as “mobile technology”. Of course, drones are always mobile, and IoT sensors often travel with cargo, but it was the realisation of the affordability of these technologies for food chain, livestock, and crop management, combined with their reliance on mobile phone networks to make use of farmers’ photos and senor data, that made such presentations appropriate at a conference that focuses on affordable communication technology. While technology is a prerequisite, in this volume, based on selected contributions to that conference, we will balance some imaginations with some assessments. The focus will not be on the “new” M4D, even though we acknowledge that it is time to set up demonstration farms with IoT and machine learning, as pointed out by Ronald Katamba from Uganda in an interview (Pettersson and Rehema 2022, 145), and books are now published on Applying Drone Technologies and Robotics for Agricultural Sustainability (Raj, Saini, and Pacheco 2023, with examples from India and Zimbabwe; see also FAO and ITU 2022). Instead, the chapters selected for this book adhere to the theme of knowledge dissemination and knowledge development, as mentioned already. One chapter was invited to report from the African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things, hosted by the University of Rwanda in Kigali, to illustrate the efforts to build native technological competence on an advanced level. That chapter simultaneously demonstrates the growing pan-African collaboration in the academic infrastructuring project." (Foreword, pages x-xi) more

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Future directions for context in ICT4D: A systematic literature review

Sonel Pyram

Information Development (2024), 21 pp.

"The digital divide between the Global South and North has been a major concern for researchers from various fields in the past two decades. This divide has led to an increased focus on research related to information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) and other relevant discipline ... more

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AI in Global Development Playbook

USAID (2024), 46 pp.

"When used effectively and responsibly, artificial intelligence (AI) holds the potential to accelerate progress on sustainable development and close digital divides, but it also poses risks that could further impede progress toward these goals. With the right enabling environment and ecosystem of ac ... more

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Coding Da Vinci: Das Playbook. Schritt für Schritt zum eigenen Kultur-Hackathon

Philippe Genêt, Andrea Lehr Ilias Kyriazis (eds.)

De Gruyter Saur (2023), 95 pp.

"Das von 2019 bis 2022 von der Kulturstiftung des Bundes geförderte Projekt "Coding da Vinci" vernetzt seit 2014 technikaffine und kulturbegeisterte Communities mit deutschen Kulturinstitutionen, um das kreative Potential in unserem digitalen Kulturerbe weiter zu entfalten. Inhaltlich ist die Publi ... more

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Preparing International Development Professionals for the Digital Age

Romina Bandura

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) (2023), 12 pp.

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The Digital Transformation of Small and Micro-Businesses in Bangladesh

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) (2023), iii, 43 pp.

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Creating Community-Driven Datasets: Insights from Mozilla Common Voice Activities in East Africa

Jan Krewer

Bonn; Eschborn: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (2023), 23 pp.

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Mali

Sophia Anong, Bouchaib Bounabat, Patrick Malone

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project (2023), 99 pp.

"The Mali Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report presents the findings and recommendations of the Mali DECA. It outlines the key aspects of Mali’s digital ecosystem and provides 11 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Guided by 3 USAID/Mali pri ... more

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Automated Neglect: How the World Bank’s Push to Allocate Cash Assistance Using Algorithms Threatens Rights

Brian Stauffer

Human Rights Watch (2023), 158 pp.

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The Guide to Usefulness of Existing AI Solutions in Nonprofit Organizations

Jean-Louis Ecochard, Daniela Weber

NetHope (2023), 8 pp.

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SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda
Key Guides

ITU; UNDP; Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (2023), 87 pp.

"This Agenda explores how digital technologies are already being used to accelerate progress toward the SDGs, and how inclusive digital transformation can be scaled further. The Agenda also showcases 34 digital solutions, two for each SDG, highlighting the power and potential of digital. The solutio ... more

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Donor Principles for Human Rights in the Digital Age

Freedom Online Coalition (2023), 11 pp.

SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda Key Guides

SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda
Key Guides