Principles for Digital Development

The Principles for Digital Development are “living” guidelines that can help development practitioners integrate established best practices into technology-enabled programs. They are written by and for international development donors, multilateral organizations, and implementing partners, and they are freely available for use by all. The Principles are intended to serve as […]

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The Wireless Prophet and the Connected Village: A Study of Information and Communication Technology in Nangi

Mahabir Pun’s Wireless Nepal Project is an NGO founded in Nangi that is attempting to bring wireless Internet connections and information and communication technology infrastructures to all the villages in Nepal. Ten years in, the project has expanded to over 150 mountain villages and it continues to grow. Mahabir’s own […]

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Community Digital Story Project: George Community Needs

This study details a Digital Story Community Project undertaken by the Centre for Innovative Education and Communication Technologies of the University of the Western Cape, which took place in George (South Africa) in November 2014. The aim was to explore, via digital stories, the authentic needs of vulnerable community sectors […]

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ICT4D 2016: New Priorities for ICT4D Policy, Practice and WSIS in a Post-2015 World

In 2016, the Millennium Development Goals will be replaced by the post-2015 development agenda (PTDA). The foundational content is in place for this new agenda, which will be the single most-important force shaping the future of international development and, hence, the single most-important force shaping the future of information-and-communication-technology-for-development (ICT4D). […]

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Exploring the Link Between ICT and Development in the Context of Developing Countries: a Literature Review

The article contributes to the ongoing discussion on relating information and communication technology (ICT) to development (D). The quest to relate ICT to D is a topic of open deliberation and critical scrutiny in ICT4D research communities. To enhance the understanding in this regard, we conducted a literature review. The […]

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Interactive Community Mapping: Between Empowerment and Effectiveness

The area of Kibera—located in Nairobi, Kenya—is one of the largest slums in Africa. Although multiple civil society and development organizations have been present and active in Kibera for many years, this poor community has often remained a blank spot on public maps. On some, it has even been marked […]

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Indigenous Knowledge Communication in the 21st Century

Indigenous knowledge — the knowledge developed by local people and passed down over generations — is a major, untapped resource for development. In the 21st century indigenous information is transmitted mainly through indigenous communication channels: indigenous organizations, folk media, traditional education, and so forth. Emerging information and communication technology (ICT) […]

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Appropriate Technologies in the Globalized World: FAQs

Technological innovation over the past century has revolutionized our society’s ability to solve problems. A byproduct of this movement is the advent of appropriate technology, an approach to address challenges in the developing world through creative and people focused product development. Appropriate technology (AT) recognizes that social, environmental, cultural, political, […]

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Thoughts on African Content and Implementation Strategies involved in ICT Access in (rural) Africa

This is the text of the presentation of the author at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Seminar Series in Pretoria, South Africa, 25 March 2014. The author proposes the African components ‘ubuntu, orality, relatio, dominatio and animatio’ as drivers of content, and ‘community engagement, skill development and thought leadership’ […]

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Why is it so hard to try something new in ICT4D?

How do you get aid workers to think about new ways of doing things and ensure technologies or tools introduced work in the local context and lead to sustainable change? As impact and scale become increasingly important, Laura Walker Hudson uncovers the barriers to making innovations work at an organisational […]

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The use of indigenous knowledge in development: problems and challenges

The use of indigenous knowledge has been seen by many as an alternative way of promoting development in poor rural communities in many parts of the world. By reviewing much of the recent work on indigenous knowledge, the paper suggests that a number of problems and tensions have resulted in […]

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Managing & Preserving IK in the Knowledge Management Era: challenges & opportunities

Managing knowledge in general and indigenous knowledge in particular has become an important and valuable input in the management of sustainable development programmes. Historically, indigenous knowledge has been downplayed in the management of information. The tendency among library and information professionals has been to emphasize recorded knowledge at the expense […]

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Participatory Content Creation for Development: Principles and Practices

Excerpt from Foreword In any developing country, a prime ingredient for development is information. How that information is spread among people and how it is understood and used are also crucial, be it the latest research on fertilisers; agriculture or land development; town planning and community building; environment; disaster preparedness; […]

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ICT4D: Information and Communication Technology for Development

ICT4D provides an authoritative and accessible account of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in contemporary development practice. It combines theory with practical guidance – including both a conceptual framework for understanding the rapid development of ICT4D, and practitioners’ overviews of the use of ICTs in enterprise, health, […]

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World Bank eAtlas of Global Development

The World Bank e-Atlas of Global Development is a sophisticated online, interactive tool that maps and graphs more than 175 indicators from the World Bank’s development database. Developed in collaboration with HarperCollins, the e-Atlas of Global Development allows users to easily and quickly transform data into customized visual comparisons across […]

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Development Matters 2007-2010

Development Matters, a monthly development update from the DHAN Collective that was published between 2007 and 2010, provides readers with a glimpse of the progress made through various programmes and themes of the DHAN Collective throughout India. Each issue features highlights such as voices from the grassroots level, community in […]

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Encyclopedia of Developing Regional Communities with ICT

The Encyclopedia of Developing Regional Communities with Information and Communication Technology is an important and timely reference source on all topics related to the emerging field of information and communication technology (ICT) and its role in developing regional communities. This single-volume provides a thorough examination of concepts, technologies, policies, training, […]

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An Introduction to ICT for Development (a Primer for Youth)

Primer 1 is designed to provide background information that students in undergraduate and graduate programmes can use as a starting point in the exploration of the various dimensions of the linkages through case studies of ICT applications in key sectors of development in Asia-Pacific countries. As the youth of today […]

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e-Strategies for Technological Diffusion and Adoption

Information and communication technology (ICT) innovations provide significant implications for business and socioeconomic development due to the role it plays in the diffusion of knowledge sharing, community development, and equality. E-Strategies for Technological Diffusion and Adoption: National ICT Approaches for Socioeconomic Development provides comprehensive coverage and definitions of the most […]

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ICT and Poverty: the Indisputable Link

Since the “information society” concept was introduced in the seventies, the correlation between access to information and poverty has been widely acknowledged. The main propositions given were as follows: information leads to resources; information leads to opportunities that generate resources; access to information leads to access to resources; and access […]

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A Framework to Assess Participation and Empowerment Impacts of ICT4D Projects

Community participation in ICT-for-development (ICT4D) is sometimes portrayed as a ‘magic bullet’, which will inevitably lead to better project outcomes and the empowerment of marginalised participants from the local community. This paper takes a critical approach to participation, drawing on dual roots of participation in Development Studies and Information Systems, […]

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i4d magazine

The i4d (Information For Development) print magazine (2004-2010) was intended to provide a much-needed platform for exchange of information, ideas, opinions and experiences, both inside and outside the Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) sector. The magazine encompasses the role and relevance of ICT in various development sectors such […]

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What is Community Informatics (and Why Does It Matter)?

Community Informatics (CI) is the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to enable community processes and the achievement of community objectives. CI goes beyond the “Digital Divide” to making ICT access usable and useful to excluded populations and communities for local economic development, social justice, and political empowerment. CI […]

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ICT Update

ICTUpdate is a bimonthly printed bulletin, a web magazine, and an accompanying email newsletter. Each issue of ICTUpdate focuses on a specific theme relevant to ICTs for agricultural and rural development in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and features four commissioned articles. The printed bulletin also contains a selection of relevant links […]

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Indigenous Knowledge and The Politics of Classification

Indigenous knowledge has come to occupy a privileged position in discussions about how development can best be brought about so that finally, it really is in the interests of the poor and the marginalised. It may be true that contemporary research on and advocacy of indigenous knowledge is founded upon […]

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