After Gaddafi, how can we use ICT4D to support the recovery in Libya?
After 40 years of rule, Colonel Gaddafi is gone. Reports say he was killed today in a military offensive in Sirte, Libya after a protracted insurgency that was backed by NATO forces. While there is room for a conversation about NATO’s actions, whether they’re an example of Responsibility to Protect doctrine, and normative questions of [...]
FrontlineSMS and Technological Responsibility
When an innovator is struck with a new idea for a technology, his or her first thought isn’t naturally “How can this be used for a humanitarian, development, or peace-building cause?”. Rather, it is more often “How can I sell millions of copies of this in the Apple App Store?” or “How soon will I [...]
The Humanitarian Crowd Source Debate Heats Up
In his recent article on MobileActive.org, Paul Currion posed the question, “If all You Have is a Hammer, How Useful is Humanitarian Crowdsourcing”. Currion argued that those working in disaster response “…don’t need more information, they need better information.” He argued that Ushahidi’s Haiti deployment was an example of the failure of crowdsourcing to add [...]
Technology and Do-It-Yourself Development
A couple weeks ago, Nick Kristof published a New York Times article titled DIY Foreign-Aid Revolution and Dave Algoso wrote an excellent critique just a few days later in Foreign Policy. Because this is the internet and two weeks makes it venerable news, I thought about letting it slide by, but it’s been bugging me increasingly since then. This is partly because I have worked both at a small 3 person NGO with a great idea and not much else, as well as a large USAID contractor with hundreds of staff members and millions of dollars in projects, and I still cannot decide which is “better.” But it’s also because I think ICT for development has a unique spot between these worlds, and I think it’s going to change the conversation in years to come.
SMS:Legal and Mobile Service Provision
It’s hard for ICT4D evangelists to avoid the perception that they have an irrational belief that technology will immediately fix all the world’s problems. Malcolm Gladwell’s recent critique of technology for social change provides us with a great opportunity to consider what we are realistic to expect. I think most would agree with him that social media, when it works, functions by weak associations of public support—getting the Gap logo back—rather than high cost actions like facing off the Basij.
New Innovations in Mobiles for Health
We’re going to continue to look at emerging mobile health applications this week. While last time the focus was on promising technologies on the horizon, these projects share an approach that maximizes the impact of what’s already available—in most places that means sending an SMS. The low cost and high penetration of mobiles make them [...]
