ICTWorks

Get an ICT4D Job! Africa, Europe, United States

sbehague — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:36:08 +0000

Community Support Manager: FrontlineSMS is seeking a Community Support Manager to be based in Nairobi. The incumbent will help to develop and maintain the vibrant Frontline SMS user community, develop user resources, analyze user data, and channel information and user case studies to other parts of the organization and their sister Community Interest Company. S/he will also play an important role in maintaining the website and social media communications, and support the CEO with administrative work in the Nairobi office as required. For more information see here.

Deputy Director – Evaluation & Research: The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior. The Deputy Director position requires a seasoned, proactive manager who will partner with the E&R Director in essential leadership and program management activities. S/he should have a demonstrated high level of technical ability covering design and use of complex data management systems, GIS, and mobile based ICT tools. The position is based in Washington, D.C. with about 30% travel. See here for more information about this exciting position.

ICT Manager: The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in, and better for the sector's future. BCI seeks an ICT Manager to develop a strategic vision for the use of ICTs and BCI, and enhance their various member and farmer facing ICT tools. The role of the ICT Manager is primarily to ensure that BCI has an integrated approach to its various ICT tools, is delivering ICT value for its members in a user-friendly way, and is reporting accurately on the results and effectiveness of the collective global effort of many people and organizations. The position is based in London or Geneva. See here for more information. Apply by May 30.

ICT for Education Specialist: RTI International seeks an ICT for Education Specialist to support their work in applying innovative technologies to enhance classroom teaching and learning, teacher training, education management, and capacity building, as well as facilitating communication and collaboration among education stakeholders. The Specialist will be responsible for design, implementation, and evaluation of a range of ICT initiatives in support of education improvement and will work closely with RTI colleagues, local counterparts, and donor and ministry representatives. The position is based in Washington, D.C. with about 30% travel. See here for more information. Application deadline is June 9.

ICT Manager: CHF International is seeking an ICT Manager for its USAID/Higa Ubeho program in Rwanda. This position is responsible for oversight and continuous improvement of CHF Rwanda IT systems and subsequently manages the overall organization technologies and provides IT support and staff capacity building on IT. S/he will be responsible for maintaining the email domain and managing all other IT and communication equipment and be required to identify ICT based solutions for partners or program staff. S/he will also supervise the ICT Officer. See here for the full position description. Application deadline is May 24.

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What Has China Done for ICT4D in Africa?

Wayan Vota — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

In The China-Africa partnership: effective for education?, Stephen Haggard argues that, up to now, China’s presence in Africa has had disappointing impacts on learning. As in no impact at any scale.

What's your thoughts on China's impact on ICT4D?

I know Chinese companies have done much on the commercial side to introduce low-cost technologies and make IT investments. But I am not talking about ICT components - I am talking about systematic change.

What have Chinese companies or the Chinese government done to increase school or teacher educational use of ICT? Or community health worker efficiency or effectiveness via technology? Yes, all now have cheap handsets, and that's laudable but also commercial. Have they done anything altruistic?

Tim Unwin says:

Within China itself, a very considerable amount has been done on using ICTs effectively for education - and there is much good research on subjects ranging from the use of electronic whiteboards to mobile phones for students and ICTs in teacher training. The energy and vitality there - where electricity and connectivity are very extensive even in marginal rural areas - is impressive. There is a challenge in sharing this expertise more widely across the world.

Michael Trucano says:

While comparatively few representatives from Chinese firms and organizations participated at eLearning Africa 2011, after engaging in a few dozen informal discussions with many MOE staff, vendors and consultants, it is clear that Chinese support for the purchase of ICT infrastructure for schools will most likely increase greatly in the coming years.

Scattered existing examples of small cooperation were cited by many people as a harbinger of things to come. Almost every ministry of education official with whom I spoke mentioned that they had contact of some sort with Chinese officials or partners around the use of computers in schools, and expected this to increase in the near term (many remarked on how this contrasted with their dialogue, or lack thereof, with most 'traditional' donors on this topic).

Now what do you say?

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Why Cyber Cafes Can Thrive in a Mobile Internet World

Wayan Vota — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

With the advent of cheap mobile phones and mobile data plans, there is the belief that mobile phones are pushing cyber cafes out of business. Well according to a Global Impact Study with surveys of public access ICT users in five countries, found that Internet café users do indeed have access to computers and the Internet at their homes, and yet they still visit public cyber cafes.

Why do users who have Internet access at home frequent public access ICT venues?

The Global Impact Study says:

For many it is because public access venues offer better equipment than at home, which could also mean a faster Internet connection. Another significant reason is to see friends or be with other people in the venue. In Brazil, where users enjoy the highest percentage of Internet access at home, these are the two main reasons users visit public access venues.

As the chart shows below, there are significant percentages in the “other” response, particularly for Chile and Brazil. Some of these “other” reasons include free access, not having to compete with their family members for computer and Internet use at home, software and services provided at the venue, and the convenient location of the venue.

So before you think cyber cafes are dying, you should learn how Internet cafes can thrive in a modern mobile Internet world

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Open and Free Access to World Bank Research & Publications

Wayan Vota — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Wow! The World Bank is really taking Open Data seriously now. They've just Creative Common'ed all their publications in a new Open Knowledge Repository:

In support of the new Open Access Policy, the World Bank is adopting a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) copyright license for content published by the Bank, the most accommodating of all licenses offered by Creative Commons. It allows anyone to distribute, reuse, and build upon the Bank’s published work, even commercially, as long as the Bank is given credit for the original creation. The CC BY license helps the Bank to maximize its impact while simultaneously protecting the Bank's reputation and the integrity of its content.

While much of the Bank’s research outputs and knowledge products have been available for free on the institution’s web site, and on other channels, the new Open Access policy marks a significant shift in how Bank content is disseminated and shared. For the first time, the Bank will have an aggregated portal to research and knowledge products, where the metadata is curated, the content is discoverable and easily downloaded, and third parties are free to use, reuse, and build on it.

You may not realize how momentous a shift this is. Once upon a time, the World Bank didn't realize much data, and then only sold its publications and often they were not cheap. But now under its on-going Open Development Agenda, the Open Knowledge Repository builds on two earlier initiatives, the Open Data Initiative and the Access to Information Policy. As Richard Poynder explains:

Introduced in April 2010, the Open Data Initiative ended the Bank’s practice of selling its World Development Indicators data, when it made its more than 7,000 development indicators — along with more than 60 other datasets — freely available on its web site.

The Access to Information Policy, introduced in July 2010, transformed the way in which the Bank makes it data available to the public, and saw the release of more than 17,000 historical documents from its archives.

Now with the Open Knowledge Repository, the World Bank is transforming yet again how it shares it knowledge with the world. May it soon be complimented by imitation across the international development community.

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The Bi-Weekly ICT4D Retrospective: Important Links for April 25 - May 8, 2012

sbehague — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:20:50 +0000

Nokia in Brazil: You might not know that Nokia's biggest single social project in the world is in the city of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon, where Nokia also has a factory. The Nokia Teaching Foundation celebrated its 25th birthday last year as the eighth best school in Brazil for secondary and professional education and is a five-time winner of the best professional school in the northern region of the country. So the question begs to be asked: What is Nokia doing in the Amazon in the first place? Click here to learn more.

Caribbean Snapshot: ICT Pulse, a website that examines ICT issues from the Caribbean perspective, recently posted this update of its Snapshot series. Here they look at the extent to which countries in the region are leveraging ICTs to improve their competitiveness.

Africa Ahead of the Rest: The Economist reports on a new survey that states that, when it comes to use of mobile money, Africa leaves the rest of the world behind. Logically, in countries were traditional financial institutions are easily accessible, the need for mobile money decreases. But according to the survey, even in Kenya, where 68% of adults use mobile money, 40% also have traditional bank accounts. Perhaps mobile money will one day replace ATMs?

Zimbabwe Elections: Will Mugabe's lack of Internet presence lose him the upcoming presidential election? Using Barack Obama's social media success in the 2008 U.S. elections as an example, Zimbabwe's splinter opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has created a visible Internet presence and accuses Mugabe and his party of being "technophobic." According to Harare's Financial Gazette, the country's population is young and connected to the Internet, and political analysts have stated that the next elections could hinge on the youth vote. Elections are scheduled later this year.

Vodacom Tanzania: The Tanzanian telecommunications giant has restructured its tariffs rates so as to attract a greater number of customers. Prepaid customers will see massive discounts at certain times of the day, SMS rates have been slashed, and interestingly to me anyway, will offer free browsing for Facebook and Twitter. Read all about it here.

To get these links faster, follow me on Twitter: @SabinaBehague

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Mobile Monday Fourth Annual Mobile Africa Research Report

Guest Writer — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

The Mobile Monday Fourth Annual Mobile Africa Research Report, produced by MobileMonday and released at the annual Innovation Africa Digital Summit, addresses the growing strength of mobile innovation practices in Africa. The material is drawn from interviews with over two-dozen digital media experts as well as extensive research from news and market reports.

The focus of the Mobile Africa report this time is on the overall innovation ecosystem, which includes a range of stakeholders: industry, entrepreneurs, government, academia, civil society, donors and multilateral organisations. The report also addresses the crucial role of innovator networks and incubators.

Sustainability of the innovation ecosystem requires the right blend of bottom up entrepreneurial energy and top-down facilitation of investment policies and infrastructure. These roles are played by global+local networks of mobile startups and professionals, such as MobileMonday. They are also augmented by industry-government-academic incubator networks such as the infoDev m:Labs.

The Mobile Monday Fourth Annual Mobile Africa Research Report identifies best practices and emerging directions for mobile innovation in Africa, and highlights the increasing profile of award winners from Africa in mobile excellence competitions in the region and globally. Overall shifts in the mobile industry are tracked in areas ranging from connectivity options and apps to operator dynamics and political impacts. The report ends with in-depth analysis of the emerging opportunities, challenges and recommendations for ensuring the growth of the mobile industry in Africa in a sustainable and inclusive manner.

The questionnaire and analysis used in this report is based on the author’s “8 Cs” framework of digital media, ie. the components of a digital ecosystem include connectivity, content, community, capacity, culture, cooperation, commerce and capital. In other words, holistic analysis of digital ecosystems should address not just connectivity devices and operator tariffs, but also localised content and services, payment options, knowledge-sharing culture, multi-stakeholder alliances, Role models and human resource capacity in technology and socioeconomic development.

This report, along with earlier annual Mobile Africa reports, will be useful and informative for innovators, incubators, policymakers, analysts and all those interested in the broader development processes and impacts of new media. The report also serves as a call to action and collaboration for other researchers interested in publishing regular insightful snapshots of mobile innovation dynamics in Africa.

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We Need Affordable Broadband Internet for mLearning

Guest Writer — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

With all the talk of mEducation, USAID's Grand Challenge, and the upcoming mEducation Alliance conference, there is something huge that is missing. It's fair to talk about devices, software, and pilot initiatives. But none of that matters if broadband Internet connectivity isn't available!

mEducation is operating in the dark – and needs more insight from the broadband industry and the analyst community about pricing, speed, reliability, and forecasting. Without this knowledge, it’s impossible to see where mEducation is headed. It’s all guesswork.

I am James Teicher and I have found that mobile broadband isn't fast enough, reliable enough, or cheap enough in Senegal (and many other countries). What's more, I don't know when it will be. At CyberSmart Africa, we can't reliably use mobile broadband during class time because images take too long to paint on the screen. Video Skype simply isn't possible. Sure, Internet pricing has come down as a whole; but the pricing for broadband Internet at schools is still way too high - completely unaffordable.

I am glad there are Technology Salons on broadband - the right people are talking. I also urge the Broadband Commission to boost its efforts so that education figures more prominently on the international policy agenda. But what is the timeline for all the essential ingredients for wireless broadband to merge so as to make it more viable for scale?

The only thing we have now that is reliable and cheap is SMS. Yet SMS alone does not make for mLearning as a whole.

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5 Reasons Why YouTube HD Videos are the Computing Benchmark for ICT4D

Wayan Vota — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

With the proliferation of computer hardware from desktops to laptops to myriad mobile phones, smartphones, tablets and everything in between, there is a real challenge to convey the performance of a device to an end user.

Is the 1GHz ARM processor in a iPAD less powerful than a netbook with AMD of 1.8Ghz? Or a netbook with 2GB of RAM is twice the power of a Samsung tablet with 1GB? Or that iOS or Android is more or less functional that Microsoft 7?

Rather than debating MHz or chipsets, we should use the benchmark that our clients already agreed on - the YouTube video. But not just any YouTube video, but an HD video playing at 720 frames per second.

In fact, test your device right now by playing this video.

Why is an HD YouTube video worth of benchmark status across devices? Because it tests so many variables at once.

Bandwidth

First, the YouTube video has to be downloaded from the Internet. That little download bar going across the bottom of the video is a great visual way to show the ability of mobile, wireless, LAN, or other Internet bandwidth connectivity to download data. For those that think 3G is the best choice for everyone, always, that slooooowly loading bar will educate them on the realities of shared bandwidth.

Processor, Chipset & RAM

At the very basic, playing YouTube videos taxes the CPU, video card, and associated drivers. A weak chipset will not be able to play an HD video at a normal pace, which will be obvious to the end user. Better RAM optimization will also be smoother on playback, and make the video more enjoyable to watch.

Operating System & Browser

Playing a YouTube video is a good way to test if the operating system and browser is compatible with common website design and video codex standards. If a user is prompted to download plugins or cannot play a YouTube at all, this may signal that other sites will also not render correctly, frustrating end users.

Screen Size

No one likes to squint when watching a video, and everyone likes to share a good video with friends, watching it together, like TV. Playing a YouTube video is a great way to test the screen size to see if it's big enough for multiple viewers at once. If you hear "I can’t see, I can't see!" you know the screen is not big enough.

Audio Output

Last but not least, everyone wants to hear a video audio, so playing a YouTube video is a great way to show if device speakers are loud enough for the prescribed use case, and if external speakers can be attached to boost sound quality and volume.

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Get an ICT4D Job! Ghana, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iraq

sbehague — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:59:58 +0000

Director of Marketing and Communications: Computer Aid International is seeking an experienced communications and marketing director only to cover a 10-month maternity leave, July 2012 – April 2013. This individual will oversee the marketing, communications, PR, and advocacy for the whole organization, as well as managing the receipt of 40,000 donated computers and laptops throughout the year. The post is located in London and application deadline is May 8. See here for more information.

ICT Specialist: IREX is seeking an ICT Specialist to manage a team of staff and consultants to strengthen civil society organizations' abilities to effectively integrate ICTs in the workplace, into their internal and external communications, and within program activities in Iraq. Application deadline is May 9. See here for more information.

Chiefs of Party: Ethiopia and Ghana As part of its longstanding work in basic education projects around the world, RTI International is seeking Chiefs of Party in both Ethiopia and Ghana. In Ethiopia, RTI is developing its Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) program, and needs a Chief of Party to lead its work to improve education quality, relevance, access, and efficiency. This project is focused on curriculum revision and textbook development, and EGRA ICT tools and systems are crucial for its success.

In Ghana, similarly, the Chief of Party will support the development of the project, guiding a range of dimensions that may include early reading, complementary education, instructional approaches, and programs to improve teaching and learning, and learning assessment. S/he should have several years' experience in ICT applications in education.

For additional information on both positions click here and search by country. Both positions' application deadline is May 30.

Coordinator for Infrastructure Sharing in Afghanistan: The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Afghanistan has received financing from the World Bank to fund the ICT Sector Development Project, which will expand broadband connectivity, mainstream use of mobile applications across the government, and develop the capacity of the IT sector to facilitate improved service delivery across the country while accelerating job creation and economic growth. The Coordinator's role will be as a direct consultany to the Director of Planning and Policies of the Ministry. See more information on Devex. Application deadline is May 12.

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How to Improve Technology Tenders in ICT for Development

Wayan Vota — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Yet again, I see another government tender for technology to improve the social and economic development of a country that is based around processor speed or operating systems. As if the sole determinant of ICT4D projects success is sufficient RAM.

Apples, Oranges, and Bananas

We now live in a Post-PC world, with great differences in technical characteristics between traditional computers (desktop or laptop) and mobile devices (tablets and smartphones).

Could anyone say that the 1GHz ARM processor in a iPAD is less powerful than a netbook with AMD of 1.8Ghz? Or a netbook with 2GB of RAM is twice the power of a Samsung tablet with 1GB? Or that iOS is more or less functional that Microsoft 7?

Focus on Use Case, Not Hardware

Now what if hardware tenders focused on functionality instead? What if it said that the equipment is expected to allow students access to digital texts, produce videos, interact with multimedia content, program applications, share information graphically in a classroom? Or had as its performance requirement, the ability to play a YouTube video at 720p.

This would free up the respondents to look beyond strict definitions of hardware and both experiment and innovate in their proposals. It would also ensure that buyers could create the experiences they sought.

Because at the end of the day, beneficiaries are excited by progress, not processors.

You may be interested in: 5 Steps to Win Technology Tenders and ICT Requests for Proposals

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