1. MOBILES FOR
DEVELOPMENT (M4D)
1. An Introduction
2. Development Needs
3. Relevant Examples
Michael Sean Gallagher
gallagher.michaelsean@gmail.com

2. M4D
• Who am I?
• Michael Sean Gallagher
• Doctoral Student at Institute of Education, University of London
• Worked on several projects in Africa towards creation of digital
libraries, digitization projects, and information literacy
• Blogger: http://michaelseangallagher.org/

3. M4D
• This presentation was designed as a primer to the
discussions surrounding Week 3 of the 2012 edition of
MobiMOOC on Mobiles for Development.
• It borrows (very) heavily from the sources listed on the
references slide
• It is not comprehensive. Thousands upon thousands of
projects exist in many developing nations. For the sake of
brevity, this presentation focuses on particular areas and
development needs.

4. M4D: Definition
• Mobiles for Development (M4D) is the application of
mobile technology to
• bridge the digital divide in developing nations and developing
pockets of developed nations
• meet development needs in all sectors of all societies
• Take advantage of the ubiquitous of mobile technology in both the
developed and developing world
*Please note that I include both developing and developed nations in
this definition, although that does not follow convention. To learn
more about how ICT4D and M4D can be viewed with suspicion, see
http://whiteafrican.com/2011/11/02/the-subtle-condescension-of-
ict4d/

5. M4D: Definition
• Mobiles for Development (M4D) is the application of
mobile technology to increase
• Economic growth (reducing transactional costs/increasing sales
• Empowerment (learning, technical capacity, community,
communication)
• Choice (new associations, new modes of participation)
* http://www.slideshare.net/lilltrasan/m4d2010

6. M4D: Development Goals
• Often, M4D is related to activities that are considered
Millennium Development Goals (MGDs), which include
• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Ensure environmental stability
• Develop a global partnership for development

7. M4D: Development Goals
• Mobile technology is ubiquitous and can be manipulated
towards grassroots projects (without relying on top-down
government initiative)
• Many mobile projects have served as economic (as
opposed to merely social, educational, cultural, or
medical) solutions to development needs.
• So, as a supplement to the Millennium Development
Goals of 2015, perhaps we can think of M4D as further
categorized in the following:

8. M4D: Categories
• We see M4D projects and local initiative in all these
sectors:
• Health/Medical
• Agricultural
• Educational/Literacy
• Governance/Citizen Involvement
• Journalism
• Economics/Banking

9. M4D: Context
• Local needs demand a local(ized) solution
• Local solutions (the good ones) are defined by local
context
• Local context is generally best defined, organized, and
sustained by local communities

10. M4D: Context
“Technology in itself does not lead to social change; people
decide how a particular technology will be used and,
depending on the political and socio-economic environment
in which they live, adapt it accordingly”-Jakob Svensson
Community, context, technology, and adaptation
* http://www.slideshare.net/lilltrasan/m4d2010

11. M4D: Questions
• Does this project serve a local need?
• Do outside parties have a right to/need to get involved?
• Does a culture exist to assimilate this project?
• Does local capacity exist to create, administer, and
sustain this mobile project?
• Do local initiatives exist that can be bolstered?
• Is this how this community does things?

12. M4D: Practice
• Avoid technology dumps
• Embrace local solutions/initiatives
• Embrace capacity building and networking
• Demand participatory design
• Think long and hard about sustainability. Can this project
sustain itself (remembering there are more facets to
sustainability than economic ones)?

13. M4D: References
• MobiMOOC
• MobiMOOC M4D Resources Page
• M4D 2010 by Jakob Svensson
• Mobile Trends 2020: http://www.slideshare.net/rudydw/mobile-
trends-2020-africa
• UNESCO, ICT in Education, Mobile Learning:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/m4ed/
• United Nations 2015 Millennium Development Goals:
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/stats.shtml
• MobileActive.org: http://mobileactive.org/