Presented by: John C Dwyer At: The 2016 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty Download the full paper: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2016/index.php/Dwyer-678-678_paper.pdf?page=downloadPaper&filename=Dwyer-678-678_paper.pdf&form_id=678&form_version=final This presentation was given on a literature review of primary and secondary sources that seeks to chart the non-linear evolution of mobile use in development, from early efforts in the health sector to current land sector interventions. The objective of the paper is to identify three things: how mobile technologies and solutions have already been implemented by international development organizations in order to reduce duplication of efforts through information sharing; major obstacles to future interventions; and how innovations in the land sector may lead to overcoming the obstacles.

1. Solutions for Health, Housing and Land ● www.cloudburstgroup.com
THE LAND SECTOR HAS AN APP FOR THAT
THE EVOLUTION OF MOBILE USE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Presenter: John Dwyer, The Cloudburst Group
Contact: @JohnCDwyer (Twitter)

2. 2
Outline
Section 1 – Terms and History
Introduction to Mobile Technology
Section 2 - Overview
Peace Corps as a Primary Focusing Lens
Section 3 - mHealth
Early Adoption of Mobile Solutions in Public Health
Section 4 – Mobile Money
Economic Growth for the Unbanked
Section 5 - mLearning
Global Classrooms in Palms and Pockets
Section 6 - mLand
Finding A Path Forward & Recommendations

3. 3
Points to Keep in Mind
Before Going On
Fit-for-Purpose
A solution does not have a purpose if it does not solve an
existing problem.
Newer != Better
More sophisticated technology does not automatically make
a solution better, or even a better fit.
Ongoing
This is just the beginning. While this paper seeks to spark a
conversation, which needs to continue, the technology will
also continue to progress.

4. 4
Introduction to Mobile Technology
Terms and History
Most frequently used terms – see Table 1 for a more complete list.
Technology Description Availability
Voice The most basic channel; avoids most literacy or linguistic
barriers
Basic phones
Interactive Voice
Response (IVR)
Computer programs that respond to the voice input of
callers. The programs are hosted by the service provider, not
the mobile phone – any phone can use IVR
Basic phones
Short Message Service
(SMS)
Ubiquitous text-based messaging limited to 160 characters Basic phones
General Packet Radio
Service (GPRS)
Low bandwidth data service Midrange phones
Featurephone App (e.g.
Java)
Software of limited sophistication, typically pre-installed on
a SIM card
Midrange phones
Mobile App (e.g. iOS or
Android)
Preinstalled or downloaded software developed for
smartphones
Smart phones
Mobile Web Full-fledged web access Smart phones
Global Positioning System
(GPS)
Technology allowing for location-based information Smart phones

5. 5
Mobiles and Land
Widely Applicable
Land is cross-sectoral and “fundamental to a wide variety of development outcomes.”
— USAID Land Tenure and Property Rights Framework
Land Benefits from the Technology Boom
“There is also a transformation taking place in how these projects are conceived and
implemented, with advances in technology (high resolution satellite imagery, low cost open
source platforms, mobile phone / PDA GPS and location/banking services, pervasive networks)
which dramatically reduce the intervention costs of large systematic programmes, where
economies of scale, production processes and strict QA are allowing large areas to be subject to
systematic registration relatively quickly at reduced cost.”
— “African Land Tenure - Where Are We Now?”
Presentation by DAI at the 2015 World Bank Land and Poverty Conference
Why now? Why mobiles? Why land?

6. 6
Peace Corps as a Primary Focusing Lens
Overview
2008
Automated SMS
Solution
2013
Automated SMS
Solution*
2011
Staffed SMS
Solution
*Inspired by a
USAID project &
built on
FrontlineSMS

7. 7
Early Adoption of Mobile Solutions in Public Health
mHealth
2004: TRACnet
Features: SMS,
Internet, Voice
2010: Mobile for
Reproductive
Health
Features: SMS
2007: RapidSMS
Features: SMS,
USSD, Internet
2011: Mobile
Alliance for
Maternal Action
Features: SMS,
Voice
2009: Open Data
Kit
Features: App
2010: mUbuzima
Features: IVR

8. 8
RapidPro: From Projects to Platform
mHealth
UNICEF has been working with SMS systems since 2007, when it created an open source platform
called RapidSMS with its partners to support ongoing data collection efforts and youth
engagement activities.
Inspired by RapidSMS, Rwandan software engineering firm Nyaruka built their own SMS service
called TextIt - a commercial hosted service that combined the advantages of RapidSMS while
addressing many of the limitations. UNICEF partnered with Nyaruka to open source and expand
the functions of TextIt, giving birth to RapidPro in 2014.
From youth engagement programs like U-Report to education monitoring systems like EduTrac,
RapidPro has become UNICEF’s common platform for developing and sharing mobile services that
can be adapted for different contexts and sectors.
Source: Adapted from UNICEF’s RapidPro About Page

9. 9
Economic Growth for the Unbanked
Mobile Money
2009: Text to
Treatment
Features: SMS,
Voice
mHealth
2013: mSTAR
Features: SMS,
USSD
multiple
2012: mHMtaani
Features: SMS,
App
mHealth
2013: PROSHAR
Features: SMS
mLand
2012: Agri-Fin
Mobile
Features: SMS,
App
mLand

10. 10
M-PESA: Mobile Payments Go Viral
Mobile Money
M‐PESA is a small‐value electronic payment and store of value system that is accessible from
ordinary mobile phones. It has seen exceptional growth since its introduction by mobile phone
operator Safaricom in Kenya in March 2007: it has already been adopted by 9 million customers
and processes more transactions domestically than Western Union does globally.
M‐PESA’s market success can be interpreted as the interplay of three sets of factors:
i. pre‐existing country conditions that made Kenya a conducive environment for a successful
mobile money deployment;
ii. a clever service design that facilitated rapid adoption and early capturing of network
effects; and
iii. a business execution strategy that helped M‐PESA rapidly reach a critical mass of customers,
thereby avoiding the adverse chicken‐and‐egg (two‐sided market) problems that afflict new
payment systems.
Source: Mas and Radcliffe 2010

11. 11
Global Classrooms in Palms and Pockets
mLearning
Desktop
Computer Labs
2009: BBC
Janala
Functions: IVR,
SMS
2012: Ustad
Mobile Literacy
Functions:
Featurephone
App, BT
2013: Unlocking
Talent
Functions: Apps
Laptops Tablets

12. 12
Finding A Path Forward
mLand
2006: SHEMP
Features: SMS,
Voice
2013
Automated SMS
Solution*
2010: GMU
REDD Project
Features: App,*
GPS
*ODK
2013: LandPKS
Features: Apps,*
GPS, Camera,
Internet
2012: SOLA/OT
Features: Apps,
GPS, Camera,
Internet
**Mobile app platform

13. 13
Four Points on the Path Forward for mLand
Recommendations
Further research
Innovation challenges, NGO and private sector solutions, and more
Knowledge management
Develop databases, avoid “reinventing the wheel,”
Solutions as foundations
Build on and adapt existing solutions, create solutions that other sectors can
build upon and adapt
Recognize innovation
Innovation is occurring in the developing world even without donor intervention

14. 14
Thank you
For more information, visit:
www.cloudburstgroup.com