ICTworks by Inveneo

There is an infamous Catch-22 in starting a career in information and communications for technology. In order to earn a job in ICT4D, I need to have experience. In order to gain experience in ICT4D, I need to earn a job. So many job seekers find themselves discouraged from being stuck in this infinite loop.

The Good News

There is hope! For practitioners willing to put extra effort into the career pursuit, don't sit idly by waiting for job interviews. Create your own job by taking on independent projects using ICT to address a problem in developing countries. Doing so gives an individual experience working through issues in the context of the developing world and proves to employers that an individual possesses the initiative and skills to make a project sustainable.

This is not an easy undertaking. It requires proper research, planning, and a thorough understanding of the resources that will be needed. Half-completed or poorly planned projects will do nothing for attractiveness as a potential employee.

If you’re not up to this challenge, stop reading now. This post is not for you. If you feel confident in your ability to step up to this challenge, there are some things you should consider. These are points that I have picked up from my own experience developing an independent project, coupled with tips from professional practitioners.

1) Problems come before solutions…ALWAYS.

Developing a solution and then trying to apply it somewhere in the developing world is backwards thinking. It does not address real needs. You should never go into an ICT4D project assuming that a certain tool or expertise is going to be applicable within a community. First, investigate areas that could benefit from technology, and then choose the most appropriate project design and tools.

2) There’s a not-so-fine line between thinking big and thinking gargantuan.

While it’s great to take risks and create challenging projects, designing a solution with an unmanageable scope is only doing you a disservice. Start with identifying a single problem within a single institution within a single community. Work with that community to develop a solution. At the same time, consider how the technology can be developed in a way that is scalable or transferable. This way, if you find later that a similar problem exists in another community, it will be easier to modify it to meet more needs.

3) ICT4D professionals love to talk about their work…and they have a lot more experience than you do.

All ICT4D practitioners love to talk about their work with those who are genuinely interested. Find people who have done work in the realm of your project via Twitter or Google+, and then ask them if you can conduct an informational interview. This will give you the opportunity to pick their brains on best practices, while indirectly making your work and interests known to others in the field. Anyone you talk to will likely gain a vested interest in how your project turns out.

4) In ICT4D, failure to learn from a mistake is the greatest failure.

Failure is increasingly becoming a less stigmatized word in ICT4D. With events like Fail Faire taking place, everyone in the field has been owning up to their failures in order to promote others learning from past mistakes. Pay attention to all of this on Twitter, blogs, and in conversation with professionals. There is a lot of great advice available and typical errors to avoid within these discussions.

5) It’s no longer Six Clicks to Kevin Bacon. It’s now Two Clicks to Document Heaven.

You’re going to find that you need certain documents and resources for researching and developing your projects. It can sometimes be very difficult to locate these documents, since the digitized versions of paper documents are not always kept up to date on websites within the developing world.

With Twitter, it only takes two clicks to track these documents down: one to hit the Tweet button after asking where to find the resource, and one to open the email containing whatever it is that you need. Make use of your Twitter networks when you are unable to find something. Practitioners are usually more than willing to help you out, and it further stimulates interest in your project.

6) Neglected stakeholders represent neglected projects.

A lot of people are affected when technology is brought into the developing world. Before designing and implementing a project, every stakeholder should be considered, and the design should be planned with the goal of obtaining support, maximizing benefit, and minimizing obstacles for each. Work with your stakeholders directly to ensure that you are not inaccurately assuming their needs and potential dilemmas.

7) Cool people blog.

Even if no one reads it while you are working on your project, it is very useful to maintain a blog to document each milestone. This will allow you to iron out thoughts on progress, setbacks, and what you are learning. Afterwards, you can point potential employers to your blog for an overview of everything that you did and what you discovered about working within the developing world.

8) Technology is just a teeny, tiny piece of any ICT4D project.

In ICT4D, it is never just about creating a technology solution. There are many other factors to consider in order to make projects sustainable. These involve training, developing standards and policies, planning for continued funding, among countless others. Be sure to identify these factors and plan for them. Dumping technology without these considerations makes sustained success very unlikely.

9) Success will not make or break you. The gaining of knowledge will.

As mentioned before, the greatest failure in ICT4D is not to learn from a failure. If your project does not turn out to be successful, don’t assume that you’ve lost hope of earning that dream career. Be prepared to point out where your project went wrong and what you learned from it. Ultimately, having the experience working through a problem and solution in the developing world is the most important thing to show potential employers.

10) We’re not in it for the money; we’re in it for the good.

While it is great to gain the experience in this field and prove how wonderful you are to employers, it is also important not to forget the truest motives for developing a project. It’s not about you; it’s about who or what you are helping. Once the project is complete, don’t leave it hanging. Be sure to follow-up on it, and offer future help when needed. There is a certain moral integrity that comes with being in this field. Don’t let the pursuit of a job mask that.

Almost since the very beginning of Telecentres/public access centres the nagging from funders – mostly governments but major NGO’s as well – has been directed towards making sure that these would somehow/sometime become financially self-sustaining i.e. "sustainable". The idea was that once the initial investment had been made – mostly in providing hardware/software and some period of supported connectivity – that Telecentres would somehow magically be able to transform themselves into "social enterprises" which could get enough revenue from their local communities to:

1. Pay salaries (and benefits) to staff
2. Pay rent on buildings
3. Cover access charges
4. Cover charges for maintenance and replacement

Given that the Telecentres were established in the first place and located where they were precisely because the local population was for the most part poor, isolated, and other wise marginalized i.e. not in a position to pay for their own computers, Internet access etc. seems to have escaped the attention of those leading the demands for “sustainability”. That this sustainability was a more or less complete pipedream which any realistic assessment of the circumstances of Telecentres would have determined seems to have been overlooked as both funders and Telecentres themselves chose to hope somehow that the future reckoning in terms of funder expectations/Telecentre commitments would never arrive.

And so Telecentres have limped along without realistic plans for the future or sufficient funding to achieve even their modest goals and funders have turned to consultant study after consultant study to find the magic formula that would take off their hands/budgets this unwelcome dependency of providing internet and computer access to those on the other side of the “Digital Divide” i.e. those who for whatever reason were unable or unwilling to provide it for themselves.

To be very clear: certainly there are publicly accessible Internet centres in very many communities in all parts of the world. The most common name for them is Cybercafes. Cybercafes provide computer/Internet access primarily to young males to fulfill various fantasies via more or less violent games and other such pursuits. That it is widely headlined that these private enterprises have little or no redeeming social value (I won’t argue this at the moment) and certainly no value from a social or economic development perspective let alone resolving issues of a Digital or a Service Divide is almost unarguable.

The broader purpose of Telecentres was and remains to add value as social initiatives by governments or others by providing free or very low cost Internet access to low income populations, in remote regions, or for those with other forms of social disability that prevent broad participation in an increasingly digital society. If governments (or others) choose to de-fund existing Telecentres on the basis that they are saving them from the evil of “dependency” (or whatever) they should know that they are choosing to penalize precisely those whom they have otherwise identified as requiring support because of their social and economic circumstances.

Governments are not only unrealistic but they are deeply hypocritical in requiring communities in which they previously made these investments because of their overall lack of resources, to somehow now come up with the resources to support these facilities. One additional observation, Telecentre funders repeatedly confuse the issue of Telecentre utilization rates with the issue of funding and sustainability.

Cybercafes have high utilization rates (or they don’t survive) precisely because they are market driven and thus provide the kinds of services on which those without significant financial responsibilities are prepared to spend their money—i.e. entertainment. Telecentres have or at least should have the mission of providing Internet enabled services and opportunities for access and use to those otherwise unable to obtain such access, make such use and thus achieve a degree of digital inclusion.

These services (which of course, will vary from locations to location) are responsibilities and goals for which government funds have been budgeted. Attempting to download responsibility and cost for the delivery of these services onto the poor and marginalized themselves – which the continuing chants for “sustainability” in fact are, is both the height of irresponsibility and the height of cynicism.

The challenge is to design and develop Telecentres which are embedded (“owned”) by local communities and which provide those communities with among other capabilities the variety of services and supports (as for example e-government, e-health, small business development and support) which they require and which otherwise, in the absence of the Telecentre, would be much less accessible and much more costly and difficult to obtain (and to deliver).

These are notes for a talk to be given by Mike Gurstein to an ITU sponsored workshop on Telecentre sustainability in Bangkok, May 23-25, 2011 and were published originally as Telecentres are not “Sustainable”: Get Over It!

In the proliferation of ICT's to communities around the world, more and more education systems are realizing the importance of ICT's for youth and community advancement. Although as ICT4D is an up and coming phenomenon, many schools do not have the resources to keep ICT's sustainable. For example, many schools do not have the allocated funds to pay for computer teachers, which is a crucial part to any computer lab. Although primary schools in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz region have found a way to pay the costs of computer teachers in the schools. The school turns their computer labs into internet cafes for the local community at night. For a fee, local citizens can use the computers and the money made from this venture is used to pay the computer teachers.

Opening up the school lab in the evening does mean that the computer teacher has long working days. However, it offers a crucial financial addition to the meager salary teachers receive. The teacher keeps all profits made from the evening sessions. To make sure the internet cafés are well visited, some teachers have invested in flyers and brochures for distribution to potential clients.

Because the computers are used by paying customers at night, the teacher always makes sure that the computers are in a good condition. A broken computer means one less paying customer. The school children also benefit from this, because this means that computers are almost never broken for their classes.

The Full article can be found here: http://www.iicd.org/articles/bolivian-school-computer-labs-advance-towar...

The practice of Information and Communication Technology for Development enjoys a host of disciplines within the sector (m4d, health informatics, e-governance, etc), some enjoying more popularity then others. Although, a discipline that is making a more commanding presence in the ICT4D arena, is Human Computer Interaction for Development also referred to has HCI4D.

The significance with HCI4D is that it investigates ways of appropriately designing ICT’s so that they are conducive to the unique user and infrastructural requirements met in multicultural environments. The importance with HCI4D is that it emphasizes the user rather than any other entity. Melissa Ho, Thomas Smyth, Matthew Kam and Andy Deadren best define HCI4D as:

A subfield of ICT4D that focuses on understanding how people and computers interact in developing regions and on designing systems and products specifically for these contexts.”

I remember one day, in a class I was taking on HCI, my professor was talking about a dvd player sold at Best Buy, top of the line, ornate and beautiful....to look at. Surprise to no one, this product sold very well for Best Buy. Although while it sold very well it also yielded one of the highest return rates in Best Buy’s history. Why? Because while the product was beautiful, people could not operate the DVD player.

The confusing interface of the product made it extremely difficult for people to understand how to use. While the design was aesthetically pleasing, user centered design principles were not employed. Now if this philosophy is applied in an ICT4D context, what is to be said of all the technologies brought to the third world designed for people in the western world?

That being said, the question becomes how can ICT’s properly be designed with the customs of third world users in mind? How can ICT’s be properly designed that take into account local technical, economic, cultural and financial aspects and what other socio-technical constraints should be addressed?

Low literacy rates is a factor that is increasingly taken into consideration when ICT’s are designed for third world users. Other areas taken into account in HCI4D research according to Dearden, Light, Dray, Thomas, Best, Buckhalter, Breenblatt, Krishnan and Sambasivan in ‘User Centered Design and International Development’ include:

1. Interaction Metaphors: Exploring beyond the Western-centric Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers (WIMP) metaphor to other interaction metaphors that are more culturally and socially relevant to the intended user groups.
2. User Analysis: Developing methods to most effectively understand the users and their context, practices, and wants, by understanding SocioCultural and Economic differences unique to them.
3. Interaction Methods: Localization and customization / alternatives to traditional input output methods.
4. Evaluation Methods: Thinking outside traditional methods by making evaluation more appropriate to the target user audience to elicit accurate and actionable feedback.

ICT4D is a highly contextual field that is built upon empowering the rural poor with ICT’s. The needs and wants of the user are key to the success and sustainability of ICT4D projects. HCI4D is a practice that transcends all disciplines of ICT4D, it is also a discipline that addresses these contextual issues and is an integral part to any ICT4D project.

Linda Raftree is the Social Media and New Technology Advisor for the Plan West Africa Regional Office and also the ICT4D Technical Advisor for Plan USA. I caught up with her recently and asked her about ICT and sustainability.

Linda Raftree in action

1) First of all, what does sustainability in the context of Information and Communication Technology mean to you? And what do you say to those who believe that sustainability in the context of ICT4D is an unrealistic concept?

In the context where I work, sustainability means that once an external agency or company has stopped providing funding and support, an initiative or solution continues on in a way that is spurred on by local users because it’s something that is useful and/or needed by them and they find it worth investing their time/money/efforts in because the outcomes are worth achieving.

Another kind of sustainability is that which comes with learning and changing frames of mind. This type of sustainability may not be tangible, but it can be even longer lasting. If people are spurred into a new type of thinking or acting which improves their lives, and they make changes and improvements on their own without outside support and without waiting for someone to come spur them along the next time, that is also for me, sustainability.

Sustainability in ICT is not unrealistic if you start with what people have already, what they tell you they are willing to put in, and build from there.

2) Many contest that there are five realms of ICT4D sustainability: economic, political, financial, socio-cultural and environmental. Which of these do you think is the most influential to the sustainability struggle and why?

I think all 5 need to be considered when working on an initiative. Each context is different and what is simple in one place may be difficult in another. I’d say the first one to tackle is socio-cultural however. If you start with engaging users and who want to be involved and who want to use ICTs in their own development, then you’ve already got allies to help you with the other 4 struggles.

3) In 2001 the UNDP stated (in an ICT4D context) that “clearly identified development goals ... are more likely to develop effective operating models and deliver tangible results.” How do you see ICT4D implementers incorporating these development goals into their projects?

That means that ICT4D implementers would need to start with goals like health improvements, education improvements, government accountability goals or whatever, and then see what information and communications gaps exist – see how information and communication can help them achieve their goals. Then they would move to the step of seeing what tools are the best to help bridge the gaps.

It might be technology or it might not be technology. When defining all this, involving users in the discussion and learning from them what information sources they trust, what information they need, where they currently get information, how much effort or time or money they are willing to spend to bridge the gaps is vital to designing the different project phases.

4) Regarding the "Bread vs. Broadband" debate, what do you say to community leaders who fail to see the importance of ICT’s as opposed to their basic needs (hygiene, basic water, sanitation etc)?

I normally work with youth in communities, and they often see the potential of ICTs before their parents do. In many places, however, adults are also seeing the need for ICTs for their children’s education and their community’s future, and they are pushing for access.

If I were working on a program that used ICTs to achieve some other, broader goal that the community wanted to reach, I might show people how the ICT works and how it can help to see if they are interested. There would very likely be someone who steps up. If community leaders failed to see the importance of ICTs, I would listen to them and not try to push something on them that they are not interested in. They know better than I do what their priorities are. They will think about ICTs when they are ready, when they hear about it from neighbors or families and friends, and then at that point someone can support them.

5) Last but not least, what kind of impact do you see local citizens making in sustainability of projects, such has appointing a local champion or incorporating indigenous knowledge. And how do you see fit to engage the local community?

I wouldn’t do any work without engaging the local community, because I work for an organization whose methodology is community based. The community always needs to be involved and sign off and participate in any project or it won’t be successful or sustainable.