1. Mobile and social innovation:
Governance, human empowerment !
and the role of ICTs for development!
!
!
!
!
!
Ruhiya Kristine Seward, Ph.D.!
Research analyst/Consultant !
e-governance & A2i !
DGG/BDP !
UNDP!
!
!
Bahrain International eGovernment Forum April 2013!

2. Contents!
• The world and human development
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• ICT evolution in development#
#
• Second ICT ‘revolution’: mobile technologies #
• Examples of innovation#
• Challenges #
• Way forward...#
#

3. ICT and the world!
• Democratization of access to ICTs over the past 20 years
propelled by new technologies #
• Mobile technologies#
• Social networks #
• Diminishing barriers to entry
#
• And propelling social innovation…
#
• Billions of people access to a digital communications
device for the first time in history#

4. The world: Human Development Index (HDI)!
• Global ‘rebalancing’ – even during a global recession
developing countries are growing#
#
#
#
• Every region has seen notable improvements in ranking in
all Human Development Index HDI components#

5. The world!
• National HDI averages hide the stark disparities remaining
within and between countries #
• Income inequality rising#
#
• Elites are gaining most
from rising wealth #
#
• Social mobilization and
new social movements#
#
• Rapid growth of mobile
Photo by: Emad Karim
technologies and social network use#
#

6. Evolution of ICTs & human development!
#
• ICT deployments used to be about infrastructure and connectivity #
• “Digital divide”
#
• Now ICTs used by public & private sector to improve… #
• Efficiency#
• Effectiveness#
• Transparency#
• Service delivery#
• Participation
#
• ICTs as tool for efficiency => reduce costs, easier to scale#
##
l ICTs as tool of transformation => ICTs transform processes and create new
ways to achieve goals… #
l Qualitative changes#
l Networking and networks
l New ways of doing things!#

7. ICT penetration by status of development!

8. Growth in mobile subscriptions!

9. ICT access in Sub-Saharan Africa!
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Millions
Source: UNDP 2011 and ITU 2011
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Mobile cellular telephone
subscriptions
Fixed telephone lines
Fixed (wired) Internet
subscriptions

10. Global mobile subscriptions!

11. Mobile subscriptions by country categories!

12. Evolution of ICTs!
Mobile technologies!
#
Six billion users*#
85.5% global penetration#
Closed-proprietary#
Cost-based#
Low-speed#
Few applications#
Low barriers to entry
*ITU 2011
Internet !
!
2.5 billion users*#
32.5% global penetration#
Open/non-proprietary#
Mostly free?#
High speed/broadband#
Many applications#
High barriers to entry

13. Global & UNDP region ICT stats!
UNDP Regions! Internet users
penetration!
Mobile phone
subscriptions
penetration!
Fixed phone
subscriptions
penetration!
Fixed
broadband
subscriptions
penetration!
African states! 12.3%# 53.2%# 1.4%# 0.2%#
Asia Pacific! 22.3%# 74.8%# 11.5%# 5.0%#
Arab States! 29.1%# 93.3%# 9.4%# 2.1%#
Europe/CIS! 42.3%# 131.3%# 25.3%# 10.2%#
Latin America! 38.6%# 106.9%# 18.1%# 7.3%#
UNDP Global! 24.3%# 80.1%# 11.6%# 4.8%#
Global! 32.5%# 85.5%# 17.3%# 8.5%#
Source: ITU 2012 and UNDP calculations#

14. Why the mobile revolution?!
#
• Lower costs (devices and access)#
#
• Broader network coverage#
#
• User interface (voice plus simple text)#
#
• Usability and portability#
#
• Appropriation (personal device)#
#
• Social status#

15. Socioeconomic impact of mobiles!
#
• Link to GDP growth#
#
• Increase of tax revenues#
#
• New jobs in sector
and outside#
#
• Infrastructure leap-frogging#
#
• Enhance public service delivery#
#
• Reduce information asymmetries#
#
Photo: Stephanie Ludwig#
Charging kiosk in Kenya#

16. Socioeconomic impact of mobiles!
• Reduce cost/travel expenditures for small and
microenterprises (including small farmers)#
!
• Facilitates greater access to information and fosters
communication (literally trillions of SMS are sent every
year)#
#
• Provide access to poor people – over 90 million people
have a mobile but have no access to electricity!#

17. Reaching the poor!
• Complex cost/benefit analysis for critical development
problems as mobile services can be costly in poor
countries. #
• Coverage in remote or marginalized areas is lacking.#
• Mobiles cannot fix larger infrastructure issues –
transportation of goods, access to new/other markets.
#
• Cannot de-localize trade or completely remove the role
of ‘middlemen’ in markets.
#
• Need for human-to-human interaction for trust to build.
#
• Mobile applications must be linked to poor people’s
realities on the ground.#

18. Global & UNDP region ICT costs!
!
UNDP Regions! Fixed phone
price basket % of
GNI!
Mobile phone
price basket % of
GNI!
Fixed broadband
price basket % of
GNI!
African states! 7.11%# 9.49%# 57.53%#
Asia Pacific! 3.78%# 4.26%# 24.65%#
Arab States! 0.78%# 1.85%# 5.05%#
Europe/CIS! 1.31%# 2.37%# 6.44%#
Latin American states! 2.01%# 3.60%# 14.59%#
UNDP Global! 1.97%# 3.20%# 13.4%#
Global! 1.23%# 1.84%# 6.16%#
Non-UNDP global! 0.70%# 0.86%# 0.96%#
Source: ITU 2012 and UNDP calculations#

19. Crowdsourcing with Ushahidi (global)!

20. Fighting corruption with ‘I Paid a Bribe!’ (India)!

21. Mobile banking with M-Pesa (Kenya)!
Photo by: Stephanie Ludwig

22. Digital data collection for disarmament and
demobilization (Central African Republic)!
Photo by: Tino Kreutzer/UNDP

23. Lessons learned
• Start small and scale up gradually
#
• Build flexible tools using open source software
#
• Participation, participation, participation
#
• Simple, usable, affordable
#
• Consider numeracy and literacy issues#

24. Lessons learned
• Support local service providers and build local
technical capacity
#
• Infrastructure and technological limitations
#
• Build partnerships
#
• Good communication and outreach plans#

25. Challenges in reaching the poor!
• Basic ICT infrastructure
#
• Skills and acceptance levels
#
• Uneven ICT/mobile network penetration rates
between urban population centers and rural areas
#
• Policy and regulation
#
• Costs of mobile services in developing countries
#
• Adequate project management#

26. Way forward...!
#
• Empowering people#
#
• Offering new ways
of connecting with
governments#
#
• Giving voice to those #
#who had none before#

27. Way forward…
• Innovation is coming from the South!#
• Emerging economies playing a larger role in global
economy... #
• ...and are in fact investing in other developing countries
#
• Lower barriers to entry (access & technology)
#
• New knowledge (and know-how) and innovation being
created that is more useful for poorer countries#
• Local social innovators/entrepreneurs#
#
• Increasing importance of South-South cooperation#
• ICTs are catalysts

28. Mobile Technologies and
Empowerment: Enhancing human
development through participation
and innovation#
#
#
http://www.undpegov.org/sites/undpegov.org/files/
undp_mobile_technology_primer.pdf#
#
#
http://undpegov.org#

29. Thank you!
ruhiya.seward@undp.org#
#
http://undpegov.org#
#
ruhiyakris@gmail.com #
#