What is ICT4D?

We need to answer the following questions:

What do we mean by information and communication technologies?

What do we mean by development?

So, let’s start.

Remember,

Data consists of descriptions (qualitative data) or numbers (quantitative data) that have been
recorded to represent some object, place, event or other phenomenon.

Information is data that has been processed to make it useful to its recipient.

Knowledge is information that has been assimilated into a coherent framework of

understanding: often within the human mind. This comes last and can involve a person
receiving information, processing it themselves, understanding it and fitting it into their existing
base of knowledge.

(Fig 1.1 – Page 31)

Information Value Chain

It consists of the “CIPSODAR” Steps; which can be divided into “CIPSO” & “DAR”.

(Fig 1.2 – Page 33)

NOTE: Data only has developmental value if it becomes information, and information only has
value if it is applied to decisions which lead to actions which lead to development results.

From Fig 1.2, each arrow represents a movement of data: this is communication, and therefore
communication can be defined as the transmission of data.

Defining Technology & ICT

Remember,

- Technology is a non-human entity

NOTE: Technology can be intangible; a particular technique or method

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- Technology applies knowledge. So technology does not occur naturally: it has been created
by the build-up of human knowledge

- Technology does something

So,

Technology is a set of devices or techniques that apply knowledge in order to complete a

particular task

AND,

ICT would be defined as devices or techniques that apply knowledge in order to process or
communicate data

Leading Us to,

ICT4D is the application of any entity that processes or communicates digital data in order to
deliver some part of the international development agenda in a developing country

What does ICT do?

a. Core functionalities: at its heart, all ICT does is handle digital data according to the CIPSO
part of the information value chain

b. Application functionalities: ICTs undertake processes. The specific processes any ICT system
undertakes are its application functionalities (calculate total number of health center
patients, to store digital documents, to display geo-location data via a map, to transmit
agricultural information, etc.)

If application functionalities are successfully realized, they can bring one or more of five generic
process benefits:

 Cheaper: ICTs can make a process cheaper than it was before e.g. substituting a free Skype
call for a costly landline call

 More: ICTs can increase the number of process outputs e.g. processing more government
license applications than before

 Quicker: ICTs can reduce the time required for a process e.g. delivering market price
information much more quickly

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 Better: ICTs can make process outputs of higher quality e.g. gathering better information to
form the basis for a better policy decision

 New: ICTs can help create a new process or new outputs e.g. creating a new communication
space for globally dispersed users

c. Affordances: functionalities are natural features of the technology. Affordances bring

people into the picture. They can be defined as the potential actions an individual or
organization with a purpose can undertake with the ICT system within the context of the
environment within which they function

Two affordances arise from the core functionalities of ICT:

Information: the information that ICT4D applications produce only has value if it feeds into this
decision-action-result (DAR) chain

Communication: the transmission of digital data from a source to a recipient either one-way or
two-way (interaction)

d. Broader changes: the value of these affordances arises from the changes they bring about
(cheaper, more, quicker, better, new, automation, connection, equalization – all parties can
have equal access to digital information, illumination - digital processes and records can, in
theory, be seen by anyone increasing amounts of human activity, innovation - digital
content and tools are flexible / re-workable / combinable, universalization - breaking down
of barriers of time and space so that digital processes can be undertaken 24/7 and from any
particular physical location)

(Fig 1.4 – Page 39)

What about Globalization?

“The process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products,
ideas and other aspects of culture”

ICTs including ICT4D are often associated with inequality

As ICT benefits increase, the gap between those who have access and those who do not will
grow: this is the “digital divide”

Automation, will remove human roles and livelihoods: those affected will lose income, jobs,
etc.

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Network Effect (adverse incorporation); joining a network but lacking important resources,
capabilities and other sources of power compared to those who are favorably incorporated
What’s different about countries?

Let’s not pretend that “developing countries” represent a single homogeneous block: there are
great differences between and within countries

 Uncertainty:
There may be greater instability and volatility in systems in developing countries.
This relates to markets and supply chains: supply and demand for goods and services is less
reliable.
It relates to politics: regimes are less stable, existence and implementation and impact of
policies are less predictable. It relates to crises: both natural and man-made. This impacts
behavior: discouraging investment in new technology

 Resource Constraints:
Money, skills, technology, etc. are generally in shorter supply in developing countries. So we
may expect to find not only less ICT but also fewer of the complementary resources that
effective ICT application requires

 Inequality:
There may be greater inequality both in the distribution of material resources but also in
related factors such as power and control with, for example, more hierarchical structures within
organizations and society. This will impact, for instance, the ability of ICT4D projects to impact
the lives of the poorest in society

 Institutional Differences:
Languages, Cultures, and values may be different.
There may be a greater reliance on informal, personal processes and systems, and less
prevalence of formal, impersonal processes and systems.
This will affect the design and implementation of ICT-based systems

 Localism:
Individuals seeking advice and enterprises seeking suppliers and customers may rely more on
closer connections including face-to-face interactions

What does “Development” mean?

(Table 1.1 – Page 52)

SDGs (Pages 50, 51)

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Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

The concept of “needs”, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which
overriding priority should be given

The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the
environment’s ability to meet present and future needs

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The ICT4D Value Chain

Remember: A process is an action that takes an input and changes it into an output

(Fig 2.1 – Page 70)

The Four Domains:

 Readiness (relates to inputs):
The systemic prerequisites for any ICT4D initiative
The foundational precursors at the national level such as ICT infrastructure, skills and policy

“Hard” inputs like data and money and technology

“Soft” inputs like knowledge and motivations and political support

NOTE: These inputs could be made available via a specific strategic plan for the ICT4D initiative

 Availability (relates to process):

Implementation of an ICT4D initiative turns the inputs into a set of tangible ICT deliverables
(might be anything from a telecentre or cybercafé with publicly accessible Internet-connected
PCs to an app on a smartphone or tablet)

 Uptake (relates to process):

ICT4D cannot process anything until it is actually adopted and used; both of which are covered
in this domain of the value chain.
But the value of such adoption and usage will be limited unless it sustains over time and can be
scaled up to touch the lives of large numbers of people; hence both sustainability and scalability
are recognized here.
The ability of the ICT4D initiative to be implemented, adopted, used, sustained and scaled can
be facilitated by a set of enablers (mainly presence of the necessary precursors and inputs), and
can be held back by a set of constraints (mainly absence of the necessary precursors and inputs)

 Impact (relates to output):

Outputs: the micro-level changes associated with technology use;
Outcomes: the wider costs and benefits associated with ICT;
Development impacts: the contribution of ICT to broader development goals but also its other
impacts (not all of which may be seen as positive)

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Technological Foundation of ICT4D

(Fig 2.3 – Page 76)

 Power:
ICT cannot work without electricity and the lack of power infrastructure in developing countries
has long been seen to hamper effective use of ICT

 Telecom:
To move beyond stand-alone devices, data must be moved from one place to another. This will
involve the telecommunications network (wireless, wired)

NOTE: West African studies quoted found 80 per cent of users reporting telecommunications
reliability problems with a similar number in public sector organizations unable to access the
Internet and the majority of those with Internet access lack broadband access

The Questions:

How much of the population is covered by electrical and telecommunications supply?

What telecommunication speed is offered?

How reliable is the service?

 Hardware:
At the intersection of hardware – the physical devices that handle digital data – and
infrastructure are servers: high-capacity computers that provide large-scale data storage and
specific software and computing services over a network. When that network is the Internet,
the location of the servers may be unknown as they form part of the cloud

Of course, for individual users to access digital data, they also need a physical device

 Software:
Applications software (“apps”) does useful work by carrying out a particular task or application
for the user.
Systems software controls the basic internal operations of the ICT system, and it can be thought
of as a “go-between” that sits between the hardware and the applications software

NOTE: The main focus for ICT4D foundations has been on application to particular development
issues or sectors (i.e. e-business, e-health, e-education and e-governance)

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 Data:
o Openness: the extent to which data is available and can be shared by users,
applications, organizations, etc.
o Completeness: how much of a domain is covered by data in terms of both breadth and
depth
o Accuracy: the level of errors within the overall dataset
o Relevance: the degree to which data is appropriate to the needs of users
o Appropriateness of presentation: the degree to which data is intelligible to recipients.
For developing countries, a key aspect here may be the form of the data as text vs.
audio-visual given the relatively high rates of illiteracy that exist, markedly in rural areas

Human Foundations of ICT4D

a. Demand Side (dealing with human motivations)

Values & Norms: to make ICT4D happen it requires drivers (strategies of stakeholder
organizations, policy & regulatory environment, national culture, demonstrated leadership,
political support for ICT4D initiative)

Incentives: Financial incentives or recognition or gratitude

Beliefs & Motivations: broader perceived visions and hopes and aspirations for the future and
narrower perceived wants and needs and urges

Plans & Disposition: represents the translation of the background motivations into specific goals
and objectives of relevance to ICT4D

Behavioral intention and behavior: the former is what the person intends to do in relation to
the ICT4D initiative, and the latter is the decisions and actions they undertake

b. Supply Side (dealing with human capabilities)

The ICT4D human capability infrastructure consists of people plus a set of organizational
arrangements which can provide necessary skills and knowledge (schools, colleges, universities,
online learning …etc.)

Digital non-user: developing country citizens are not direct users of either the technology or the
information and services it carries (i.e. applications within a large corporation in the country
which does not produce goods or services of relevance to the individual)

Digital consumer: individuals in developing countries make direct use of either the technology
or the information and services it carries
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 o Intermediated consumer: the individual benefits from the outputs of ICTs but they do
not directly use the ICTs (i.e. a farmer in a government service center where the public
servant uses the computer to access e-government services for the farmer)

o Passive consumer: a role in which there is direct use of the ICTs but just to receive
“broadcast” information (i.e. pregnant woman reading a text message on pre-natal
health sent by her local paramedic)

o Active user: digitally enabled interaction and transaction with socioeconomic contacts
(i.e. the transfer of “mobile money” from urban migrants to rural relatives)

Digital producer: individuals in developing countries make direct use of ICTs to create
something digital

Creator: creation of enduring digital content (i.e. a musician recording and sharing their work as
mp3 files)

Enabler: provision of digital goods or services that assist others in making use of ICTs (i.e. ICT
trainers, those involved in the retailing and distribution of ICTs)

Producer: creation of digital goods and services (i.e. individuals who assemble and maintain
hardware such as PCs or phones, and programmers who write software code)

Innovator: development of new ICTs (i.e. design of new software applications, creation of whole
new digital platforms)

Institutional Foundations of ICT4D

(Fig 2.11 – Page 100)

Financing ICT4D

The money to pay for ICT4D initiatives can come from:

“Internal” sources: a farmer using their own income to pay for a mobile phone; a company
reinvesting profits in better digital systems; a government financing ICT infrastructure from its
tax receipts (very slow progress)

“External” sources (used to accelerate the use of ICTs to achieve development goals):
international donors (bilateral and multilateral), development and commercial banks,

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government, private sector investors and businesses, and partnerships of two or more of these
actors

The types of ICT4D financing include:

o Grants (straight donations of money),
o Loans (which are expected to be paid back either with or without some additional
interest),
o Equity Financing (which takes a financial share of the invested organization),
o Subsidy (an ongoing grant payment),
o Credit Guarantees (which will pay back the investor in the case of a default),
o Payment Guarantees (which guarantee to purchase a certain amount of the ICT4D
services provided over time)

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Implementing ICT4D

ICT4D Strategy

Remember: An ICT4D strategy is a plan for ICT4D initiatives and their supporting infrastructure
which maximizes the ability of organizations to achieve international development objectives

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

ICT4D strategy can be broken down into three questions:

a. Where are we now: what is the current status of ICT4D?
b. Where do we want to get to: what should be the future of ICT4D?
c. How do we get there: what actions should be taken to transform the current situation into
the future one?

(Fig 3.1 – Page 145)

1. Create ICT4D planning structures/roles:

o Commission / Undertake the Strategy
o Make / Communicate Strategic Decisions
o Secure & Allocate Resources
o Monitor & Control the operationalization of the Strategy

2. A: Audit Current ICT4D: (The Audit answers: Where are we now?)

o What Data & Information are available at present in the context
o What Data Flows, Interactions, and Transactions take place
o What Digital and Other Technologies are available and used
o What is the general state of Socio-Economic Development

B: Get Guidance for Wider Strategy: (Where do we want to get to?)

o Seeking to align ICT4D strategy with the strategies of higher-level stakeholders such as
national government or international donors (Upward-Facing Approach)
OR,
o Seeking to align ICT4D strategy with the priorities and strategies of lower-level
stakeholders such as intended low-income users and other beneficiaries (Downward-
Facing Approach)

3. Set ICT4D Objectives & Principles: (What Change is it intended to deliver?)

For Example: Delivering one or more of the SDGs

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4. ITPOSMO
A: Determine ICT4D Technical Architecture: (Information, Technology, Process)

(Fig 3.2 – Page150)

o A data model: showing the structure of core data items to be shared across the ICT4D
initiative
o A process model: showing the key development processes the ICT4D system(s) will
undertake and support
o An ICT model: showing the overall design for the three technological foundations of
ICT4D; telecommunications, hardware and software
o A data flow model: the connection between data and processes showing how data is
communicated to support different processes
o A data management model: the connection between data and ICTs showing how the
information value chain CIPSO functions

B: Determine ICT4D Social Architecture: (Objectives & Values, Skills & Knowledge,
Management Systems & Structures, Other Resources)
o specifying required collaboration and management structures
o allocating ICT4D systems development responsibilities, procedures and methodologies
o identifying major competency gaps and approaches to closing them
o identifying financial approaches to be adopted
o building external relationships and partnerships (if needed)

5. Disseminate & Plan ICT4D Actions:

o Publish the ICT4D Plan
o Break Down into more detailed Implementations Plans
 Individual Projects & Deliverables with their timetables & resource requirements
 Measures of Impact against which the projects will be evaluated

6. Manage, Evolve, & Review of ICT4D Strategy:

NOTE: Strategic planning is intended to work as a continuous cycle and thus one task of the
ICT4D Strategy Group will be to monitor implementation
o performance against objectives
o benefits and problems
o resource usage
o contextual changes

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ICT4D Design & Implementation

(Fig 3.4 – Page 156)

- Project Context:
o Build Partnerships; collaboration between stakeholders will ensure efficiency as
resources are shared, and effectiveness as ideas and interests are shared. Also, ensuring
that key actors not excluded (political element)
o Manage Hybridly; ICT4D project managers must follow a hybrid path that locates
technology in its social context; mix of rational and political actions; mix of efficiencies
and insights with flexibility that understands development beneficiaries and their needs
o Use Champions; ICT4D champions have a clear vision of the results they want from the
ICT4D project, and they maintain or build a diverse set of relationships in order to obtain
both material and intangible resources for successful completion of the project

- Design Process:
o Involve Users; users need to be involved in ICT4D design and construction
o Iterate; don’t release just a final version of the system at the very end of the project.
Prototyping is common: providing users with an initial version of the ICT4D system on
which they can have a trial run and offer feedback, which is then incorporated into a
revised, improved version
o Make Evidence-Based Decisions; setting clear metrics for project deliverables and
impact; seeking innovative ways to gather data about and from the ICT4D system; using
strong communication and visualization techniques to help maximize use of data in
decision-making

- Design Content:
o Orient to Development; the whole project and all its component actions should be
focused on delivering a development goal (Remember: ICT4D)
o Design for Local Context; local realities must be understood and the design must
take account of them: the data that is actually available; the technology that users
can access; local political imperatives; local cultural norms and values; the policy
environment; the level of knowledge and skills
o Address Potential Harm; a technology assessment exercise at the start of the ICT4D
project can identify the most likely risks, and then seek ways in which design and
implementation can mitigate those risks

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- Development Context:
o Be Inclusive;
 maximize scope of inclusion - mechanisms of agenda control (what is discussed
and who decides the themes), participants (who are invited in), scope (which
solutions are possible) and resources (available time and people)
 Maximize Depth of Inclusion - Including excluded groups in ICT4D means not just
designing for them, but designing with them, or even design by them
 Follow Open Principles - making use of open data where possible and making
project data open; using and developing open source software; and/or making
any published materials open access
o Be Transformative; any ICT4D project to be more rather than less transformative in the
extent of change it achieves
o Be Sustainable;
 Capacity: the project must match the available resources on an ongoing basis;
these include money, skills, data and technology. This makes a project usable
 Utility: the project must keep meeting the needs of at least some stakeholders; it
must continue to be useful to someone
 Embedding: for long-term sustainability, the project must be “institutionalized” –
embedded in the rules and norms, culture and values of its setting. This makes a
project used as a matter of routine

ICT4D Adoption & Use

NOTE: If key stakeholders see some personal benefit in an ICT4D initiative, they will push to
overcome all sorts of constraints and make it succeed. But if an ICT4D initiative has nothing to
offer key stakeholders, it will not succeed even if there are no other constraints to its adoption
and use

ICT4D Monitoring & Evaluation

o Generic; Cost-Benefit Analysis

o Discipline-Specific; evaluation drawing from a particular academic discipline (i.e.
economics)
o Issue-Specific; evaluation focused on a particular development goal or issue (i.e. Gender
Equality)
o Application-Specific; evaluation focused on a particular ICT4D technology
o Method-Specific; evaluation centered on a particular approach for data-gathering (i.e.
observation, participation, randomized control trials)

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o Sector-Specific; evaluation centered on an individual development sector (i.e. e-Health,
e-Learning, e-Government)

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