Having its roots in computer science and information systems, the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) in development has arguably been dominated by technocentric approaches, mainly concerned with describing and managing the mechanisms of technology diffusion and adoption. However, the high failure rate of many ICT for development (ICT4D) […]
2017 • capability approach • evaluation • Guyana • ICT • ICT4D • impact of | ICTs • indigenous communities • North Rupununi • systems thinking • wellbeingPrinciples 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 […]
best practice • development • guidelines • ICT4D • ICTs • toolkitAchieving ICT for Development Project Success by Altering Context, Not Technology
When explaining the failure of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects, researchers often turn to differences between how designers perceive and users experience the context of technology use. According to these explanations, ICT4D projects fail because designers take an uninformed stance toward context. The ICT4D literature offers four approaches for how […]
2014 • Brazil • challenges • design • failure • ICT4DICT4D 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). […]
2014 • development • ICT4D • millennium development goals • priorities • researchExploring 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 […]
2014 • capability approach • development • ICT4D • ICTs • literature review • researchITID Special Issue on Themes, Insights, and Agendas for ICTs for Development
Information Technologies & International Development has published its Vol. 10(2) Summer 2014 IFIP 9.4 Special Issue, Into the Future: Themes, Insights, and Agendas for Information and Communication Technologies for Development This Special Issue of ITID contains a selection of articles from the IFIP 9.4 2013 12th International Conference on the […]
2014 • ICT4D • ICTs • IFIP • ITID • researchEthnocomputing: Using ICT to Preserve the Culture of the People of North-Rift Region of Kenya
The impact and interaction of ICT and African culture is a critical issue as African nations position themselves to reap the benefits of ICT for development. African nations have different attitudes towards cultural regeneration and dissemination as the continent struggles to address the ambiguous role and position of culture as […]
2014 • Africa • challenges • cultural heritage • culture • culture | preservation • ICT4D • ICTsICT Policy for Development: International Perspectives and National Case Studies
The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) at UPenn commissioned the writing of a course curriculum and syllabus which is meant for teaching the fundamentals of ICT4D. The first syllabus was developed as part of collaboration between CGCS and the World Bank, and features a two-week module on Eastern Europe […]
Africa • Asia • broadband • curriculum • Eastern Europe • ICT4D • innovation • policyUsing Technology for Social Good: An Exploration of Best Practice in the Use of ICTs for Development
How has technology influenced the path of international development, and how can information and communications technologies (ICTs) be used to strengthen and improve development projects undertaken by the United Methodist community? To answer these questions, this discussion paper draws from conversations with eight experts whose interviews are featured as part […]
2014 • best practice • ICT4D • ICTs • interview • social change • UMComFuture Priorities for Development Informatics Research from the Post-2015 Development Agenda
At the end of 2015, 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. In planning our priorities for development informatics research – […]
2014 • ICT4D • informatics • millennium development goals • policy • researchWhy 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 […]
2013 • challenges • development • FrontlineSMS • ICT4D • ICTs • mobile • scalability • sustainabilityICT4D: Connecting People for a Better World
Are information and communication technologies (ICT) such as computers, mobile phones, radio, TV, video and the Internet effective instruments to empower people, reduce poverty and improve lives? Or are ICT just deepening already existing inequalities and divisions in the world? In this book, key innovators, leading CEOs, top-level government leaders […]
2004 • challenges • ICT4D • ICTs • mobile • toolkitIPID presentation videos
The International Network for Postgraduate Students in the area of ICT4D (IPID) is a network of postgraduate students doing research in ICT4D. IPID operates through inter alia support to doctoral as well as master students and increased visibility at international conferences. The network is administered by the School of Business […]
ICT4D • IPID • research • SIDA • SPIDER • videoICT4D: 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, […]
2008 • Africa • Asia • challenges • development • ICT4D • ICTs • Latin America • researchEncyclopedia 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, […]
2005 • development • ICT4D • ICTsAn 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 […]
2011 • APCICT • development • ICT4D • ICTs • youthFinding a Voice: Themes and Discussions
NOTE: the Finding a Voice project (2006-08) was a collaboration between Queensland University of Technology, University of Adelaide, Swinburne University, UNESCO and UNDP. This book has a particular audience in mind: it is aimed primarily at program-side policy strategists and decision-makers. We hope that those who are implementing similar projects […]
2008 • development communication • Finding a Voice • ICT4D • ICTs • participatory • UNDP • UNESCOICT 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 […]
2001 • development • ICT4D • ICTs • poverty reductionA 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, […]
2013 • analytical framework • challenges • development • empower • evaluation • ICT4D • impact of | ICTsi4d 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 […]
development • ICT4D • ICTs • impact of | ICTsICT 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 […]
agriculture • development • ICT4D • ICTsICTs for Development: Empowerment or Exploitation?
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can empower people. They unlock a world of super-fast, globalised communications and decentralised information networks. Once people can access and use the technology, their lives will be improved. According to a recent study of ICT for development (ICT4D) projects in Africa, access to communications technologies […]
2004 • Africa • empower • exploitation • ICT4D • ICTs • poverty reductionImpact assessment of ICT-for-development projects: a compendium of approaches
Billions of US dollars are invested each year by the public, NGO and private sectors in information-and-communication-technologies-for-development (ICT4D) projects such as telecentres, village phone schemes, e-health and e-education projects, egovernment kiosks, etc. Yet we have very little sense of the effect of that investment. Put simply, there is far too […]
2009 • ICT4D • impact of | ICTs • mobile • telecenteriGUIDE – ICTD Resources in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area
The iGUIDE: ICTD Resources in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area is the first-ever comprehensive resource directory of local ICTD initiatives. Its easy-to-use listings of vital information about ICTD organizations and ICTD funders will serve as a valuable resource for ICTD practitioners, not only in Silicon Valley and […]
2009 • ICT4D • San Francisco • Silicon ValleyInformation Technology in Developing Countries
‘Information Technology in Developing Countries’ is a newsletter of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group 9.4 titled Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries. The newsletter is now published on the web by the Centre for Electronic Governance, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The newsletter carries articles […]
ICT4D • ICTs • IFIP • impact of | ICTs