ICT Enabled Development Plan 2010

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Photo Cover : © Linda Raftree

i ICT Enabled Development: Using ICT strategically to support Plan’s work.

Contents

Acknowledgements:................................................................................................................ 1

Executive Summary......................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3
This report: ............................................................................................................................... 4
A strategic approach to ICT for Development .................................................................... 4

Checklist for planning strategic use of ICTs ................................................................. 9
Stage 1: Understanding the context for ICT work .................................................... 15
1.1 The external context:...................................................................................................... 15
1.2 Organisational experience and capacity: .................................................................... 18

Stage 2: Finding a match between priorities and possibilities ................................23
2.1 Rooting the system in local needs and priorities: ...................................................... 23
2.2 Finding good uses for tools and applications: ........................................................... 28

Stage 3: Planning and implementing concrete initiatives........................................ 31
3.1 Carrying out participatory assessments: ..................................................................... 32
3.2 Linking to other development processes: .................................................................. 36
3.3 Technical issues and concerns: ..................................................................................... 38

Stage 4: Building a culture of systematic,
sustained and strategic ICT use ................................................................................... 41
4.1 Linking ICT with programmes: ..................................................................................... 41
4.2 Transforming the role of ‘the IT guy’: ......................................................................... 44
4.3 Building expertise of the cultural and social aspects of ICT use: ............................ 45

Additional material ....................................................................................................... 47
Opportunities and constraints for ICT4D in Africa .......................................................... 47
Policies and regulations: the operating environment for ICT4D in Africa.................... 47
Salim’s ICT4D advice part 1: consider both process and passion .................................. 48
Salim’s ICT4D advice part 2: innovate, but keep it real .................................................. 50

Country ICT Briefings ................................................................................................... 53
Ghana ICT briefing ................................................................................................................ 53
Mali ICT briefing .................................................................................................................... 56
Mozambique ICT briefing .................................................................................................... 59
Senegal ICT briefing ............................................................................................................. 63
Uganda ICT briefing.............................................................................................................. 66
Cameroon ICT briefing ......................................................................................................... 70
Kenya ICT briefing................................................................................................................. 74

Plan’s current work on ICT4D in Africa ..................................................................... 79
Summary of Plan’s ICT work: .............................................................................................. 79
Case study: Breaking the silence on violence against children in Benin....................... 82

References ......................................................................................................................85

ICT Enabled Development: Using ICT strategically to support Plan’s work. ii

1 ICT Enabled Development: Using ICT strategically to support Plan’s work.

Acknowledgements:

This report is based on inputs from Plan staff who participated in workshops in Ghana, Mali,
Mozambique, Senegal and Uganda. Thanks to all of those who participated, and in particular the
ICT Managers in those countries for facilitating and reporting on them.
It also draws heavily on the work of Mika Valitalo and Linda Raftree who co-developed the
workshop and research methodology, provided additional insights and material and participated
in analysis of the results. In addition, the report pulls in suggestions and insights of regional ICT
coordinator Anthony Makumbi and Deputy Regional Director Programme Stefanie Conrad and
other key staff and management.

Executive Summary

This report is part of an ongoing process led and supported by Plan Finland and USA to support
country offices in Africa to apply ICTs more strategically and effectively to development goals. A
previous research project supported by Plan Finland culminated in the ‘Mobiles for Development
Guide’ in 2009I, which aims to inspire and support country office staff to understand the potential of
mobile technologies to support and enhance their work. Following the success of this report, key staff
working on ICTs in regional and northern offices facilitated a process for country office staff to reflect
and plan further, not just on the use of mobiles but on all types of ICT devices and applications.
Mika Valitalo, Linda Raftree and Hannah Beardon (consultant) worked together to develop
a workshop methodology, which was used by Plan ICT managers in five African countries
(Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal and Uganda) to facilitate a process of reflection on the
potential of ICTs to enhance their organisations’ programme work and impact on poverty. This
report draws on some of the information and ideas emerging from those workshops, as well as
background research and interviews with national and regional ICT staff, to provide guidance and
recommendations for Plan offices to use ICTs effectively and appropriately.
The first section of the report explains the concept of ICT-enabled development, and the reasons
why it is important for Plan, and other development organisations, to take on board. With so
many ICT tools and applications now available, the job of a development organisation is no
longer to compensate for lack of access but to find innovative and effective ways of putting the
tools to development ends. This means not only developing separate projects to install ICTs in
underserved communities, but looking at key development challenges and needs with an ICT
eye, asking “how could ICTs help to overcome this problem?”.
The checklist provides 10 key areas to think about when planning for this kind of ICT-enabled
development, to ensure that ICT use is both linked to real development needs and priorities,
and appropriate to the target group. The rest of the main report draws on observations and
learning from the workshops and research to illustrate these issues and provide examples (of
both methodologies and experiences), which can help to orient others undertaking a similar
planning or assessment process. Finally, there is a section to explore some of the organisational
issues involved in making the strategic use of ICT a routine part of Plan’s work. Other information
generated through the workshops and interviews, including detail of Plan’s current development
work with ICT in Africa, is included as additional material at the end of the report.

ICT Enabled Development: Using ICT strategically to support Plan’s work. 2

© Linda Raftree


Introduction

Ever since new information and
communication technologies (ICTs), such as What is: ICT FOR
the Internet and email, became indispensable DEVELOPMENT?
tools in cities and offices around the world,
people have been trying to work out how to ICT for Development is concerned
extend their coverage and scope, and apply with applying information and
them to pressing development problems. communication technologies, including
Many could see a direct link between the internet and mobile phones, video
marginalisation and poverty, on the one and audio, to development goals and
hand, and lack of access to information and poverty reduction. The field is relatively
having a voice on the other. From improving new, since the late 1990s when
service delivery and outreach, to increasing infrastructure began to expand tele-
participation in governance, and enabling communications into poor and remote
people to make better-informed decisions, areas and development organisations
the potential was clear; however, so were the invested in ‘telecentres’ to provide ICT-
challenges: accessibility, cost, sustainability enabled services to poor communities.
and capacity, for example. In the last few years, with the expansion
of mobile networks, the field has
Development organisations and practitioners expanded and evolved rapidly.
have puzzled over how to overcome serious
challenges of accessibility, cost, maintenance
and capacity, and created many pilots to test
out applications of ICT, and solutions to the challenges. At the same time, the landscape for
introducing and using ICTs was changing fast, and this time not only in cities and offices, but all
over the world. This was, or is, the revolution of the mobile phone. Mobile phone use spread first
amongst wealthy and highly concentrated populations, but the relatively low cost and simple
technology has meant that it is now an indispensable tool, and service, for people everywhere,
including rural areas of developing countries. And mobiles are not only useful for making calls
or sending text messages, they are increasingly used to access the internet and the range of
applications available is growing daily.
The revolution of the mobile is a lesson for us all: while we have been hard at work planning
how to use ICT to transform lives and communities, the transformation has been happening
outside; through a conflux of commercial, social, economic and cultural factors. But the lesson
is not to give up and follow the flow, for development is about redressing imbalances of wealth
and power which leave some people, communities and countries marginalised and poor. It is
traditional market mechanisms of supply and demand – meeting a need – that are leading a
communications revolution and creating the conditions for more effective and wide-reaching ICT
for Development (ICT4D) work. Development organisations are neither leading, nor in control of,
this revolution, but they do have an important role to play to adapt and apply these new tools
and opportunities to development goals.


This report:
This report is based on a process of reflection and strategic thinking which has taken place in five
Plan country offices: Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal and Uganda, with participation from
regional level ICT4D coordinators in Africa. Workshops held in each country were an opportunity
for staff working on different themes to learn about how others are using mobile technologies
and ICT, share their own experiences, and think about how they might apply ICTs to meet their
stated goals and objectives.
The workshop reports were rich in examples of Plan staff and programmes using ICTs in
innovative and effective ways to define and meet their development goals, and also offered
ideas and opportunities to expand this work. Much of this detail is available in the additional
material at the end of this report. However the main body of the report is structured so as to
facilitate future reflection and planning, blending the workshop methodology with the outcomes
of analysis to come up with a simple checklist and more detailed tools and examples, to support
planning for strategic and appropriate use of ICTs in development projects and, in the longer
term, programmes.

A strategic approach to ICT for Development
Plans and progress reports of Plan’s African programmes do not make much mention of the
use of ICTs in their development projects. There are a small number of examples of providing
ICT equipment or training, such as in Senegal, where Plan has supported a project supplying
children’s clubs and schools with computers, games and internet training, or in Cameroon where
ICT training was provided for teachers. However, most country programmes do not mention any
direct ICT for development work. Radio is the big exception that is widely used to support Plan’s
programme goals.
The low visibility of ICT4D programming
in reports could be due to a number Thinking about: how to use
of factors. In some contexts it is
ICT for Dev
certain that the high cost and low
accessibility of ICTs, and the supporting There are three key ways in which ICT can
infrastructure, including telephone lines be used to help meet key development
and electricity, hamper efforts to employ goals:
them for development goals. Lack of 1. Directly: This includes any work to
experience and capacity to apply ICTs improve connectivity, access and capacity
to development goals could be another to use ICTs, such as telecentres or policy
cause. But it is also possible that our advocacy.
increasing access to and reliance on ICTs
in our daily lives means that their use is 2. Strategically: This involves using ICTs
underreported and overlooked. There are in support of development goals, such
probably many uses of ICT to facilitate as good quality education, protection
and enhance other programmes of work from violence or participation in decision
which are not explicitly mentioned in the making.
reports, as well as much potential which 3. Internally: This is the use of
remains untapped. ICT to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of the organisation, including
communications and monitoring and
evaluation.


Can it be true that ICTs such as computers and mobile phones are just not used at all?
Mention ICT for Development, and people
usually think about projects that aim to
increase people’s opportunity and capacity Thinking about: what to
to use these tools. It may be that this is not use ICT for
a priority for many Plan offices, and the
Staff in Mozambique identified different
heavy investment and technical capacity
types of uses for ICTs, including:
required for this kind of work may explain
the lack of specific ICT4D projects in Plan • To collect data: Depending on who
programmes. But ICT does not have to be from, they may use email or the internet,
an end in itself; after all, we are talking or cameras, mobile phones and audio
about ICT for development. recorders
ICTs are very valuable tools that can be • To access information: the internet
applied to many issues and processes is commonly used, as are books or
underlying development. Of course access computer files.
and capacity are very important, but it is • To communicate: email, mobile phones,
worth looking at how ICTs are, and can be, radio, internet and social networking
employed to reach broader development applications such as Facebook and
goals, such as gender equity, protection Twitter are all used.
and education for all. Digging deeper into
country progress reports and plans it is • To store information: they use
easy to spot a great affinity between the computers, email, mobile phones,
goals and processes supported by Plan, cameras and audio devices.
and the potential and possibility that ICTs
represent.

Information and communication - central themes in Plan’s work:
The details of Plan’s development priorities and objectives vary in different country contexts,
but all are rooted in a rights-based approach, which has a strong focus on capacity building,
participation and awareness raising. This means strengthening people’s access to information
and opportunities to participate in decision making. For example, Plan Uganda does not mention
ICT specifically in their progress reports, but much of the work they describe both relies on and
strengthens information and communication, including:
• Children’s participation
• Awareness raising and behaviour change around HIV and AIDS
• Sponsor communications
• Child rights awareness and monitoring.

Similarly, for over twenty years Plan Senegal has been supporting children’s clubs, to allow
exchange and dialogue between youth and children. Evaluations have shown that children from
the clubs are more aware of their rights, develop faster and are better at implementing their own
actions plans and participate in local children’s parliaments and school cooperatives. Plan Mali
also supports children’s clubs, who are now being trained to participate in communication with
sponsors. The theme of Children’s Day at Plan Cameroon in 2008 was “Children’s participation;
let the children be seen and heard”: with the aim of encouraging dialogue between children and
adults and including young children in processes of decision-making and democracy.


Of course, when you are used to using
a mobile phone to communicate, and
have adapted your social behaviour to
Thinking about: the
the new opportunities this provides, you personal benefits of ICT
are likely to apply this at work as well. At Senegal staff highlighted a number of
the workshops, Plan country office staff potential benefits to using ICT more
talked about using email, mobile phones, strategically, for:
photography, video, radio and other ICTs in
• Plan staff: ICTs make it easier to do
their daily working lives. However it seems
their work, cutting down the need to
that more forethought and capacity are
travel to meetings and enabling the
required in order to make sure that ICTs
quicker conclusion of projects and
are applied strategically and appropriately
processes with better results. Enables
to enhance the children’s participation
better organisation and availability of
and voice, amongst Plan’s other goals. As
information, stronger participation
Anthony Makumbi, the then regional ICT
and exchange of ideas. The skills
coordinator for Plan in East and Southern
encourage professional behaviour and
Africa said:
competitiveness, which is motivating.
“After the workshop people were • Partners: For greater collaboration
saying ‘we thought ICT4D was about and build up of documentation of
computers but no, it is about leveraging lessons and experiences.
technology to improve the delivery of • Young people: Improves learning and
our projects and services.» comprehension, knowledge of local
and global events, interaction with
other young people, participation in
the global information society and
local and national development.


Checklist for planning
strategic use of ICTs
© Linda Raftree


This checklist has been developed based on ideas emerging from the workshop reports and analysis
of existing work using ICT in Plan, as well as external resources and frameworksii. The checklist aims
to support the design of ICT enabled projects and programmes, to help structure discussion and
planning processes. It suggests some key steps for the design process, and some questions to ask
in order to ensure appropriate and workable plans. However, there are many ways of using ICT in
development and this checklist can do no more than provide pointers to ensure that any design
is well rooted and appropriate to the context. What’s more the numbered and linear nature of
the checklist, while easy to follow, does not represent the reality of how these types of processes
actually happen, and it will need to be adapted and adjusted to fit the context.
Each of the points could be a guidebook in itself, and this research has shown that effective and
strategic use of ICTs requires not just good planning, but good communication, good awareness of
opportunities and a creative approach to problem solving. What’s more, ICTs by their nature are
dynamic, and their use needs to be continually reviewed as the context, opportunities and needs
change. The rest of this report gives substance to this checklist, providing examples, questions
and exercises from the workshops to illustrate some of the challenges and opportunities. The
workshop methodology and presentations include many more exercises and questions for
identifying how ICT could be integrated into programmes, and are available from ict4d@plan.fi.
Please also send questions or feedback regarding this checklist to the same address.

1 • Context analysis: What is happening with ICT
(for development) in the country or region?

A good, up-to-date context analysis will help establish what is possible and affordable in current
policy and market conditions, and highlight inequities or potential policy advocacy issues. Analysis
of local information and communication contexts by community members, local organisations and
government stakeholders should be a routine part of community consultations for strategic planning
processes. It is also important to map external stakeholders, including ICT for development projects
and networks, and providers of key skills and expertise, to identify potential learning, partners
and allies. But it is not all about looking outside, as there is likely to be relevant experience and
capacity within Plan in the country or region that could offer important opportunities for learning
and collaboration. Often ICT-enabled development work is not reported as such, and important
learning and support can be missed if the right questions are not asked.

2 • Defining the need: What problems can ICT help
overcome? What opportunities can it create?

The use of ICT in development programmes and projects should be linked to identified needs,
goals and development objectives. To find out how ICT could support these, there are various
places to start. You could think about:
• The big problems being faced by your sector or programme and whether ICT may have a role
in overcoming them;
• The underlying causes of poverty in the area, or problems in the sector, and how lack of
information or poor communication contributes to this;


• The information and communication elements of existing work and how ICT might facilitate
or improve that;
• Social and economic changes happening because of ICTs (such as mobile phones) and the
development opportunities this could bring to poor people and communities.

3 • Choosing a strategy: What kind of ICT4D is needed -
direct, internal or strategic?

ICT for development takes in direct work (ICT access is the project goal), internal (the use of ICT by
development organizations and staff) and strategic (the application of ICT tools and applications
to enhance development projects and processes). Each will have different challenges, and need
different types of technical and training support. Any strategy should link carefully to wider work
and processes, both in Plan and in communities, to ensure that they support people’s own efforts
to drive development and access their rights.

4 • Undertaking a participatory communications
assessment: Who will benefit from this use of ICT, and how?

Development programmes aim to reduce poverty and inequality, so it is essential to understand
cultural, social and economic issues which may affect people’s access to ICTs and their intended
benefits. Participatory assessments (including gender and power analysis) of communication
capacity and information needs will allow the design to be targeted at those who are hardest
to reach, informing the choice of technology and identifying capacity building needs. It may be
the starting point for an ICT project, helping to define the needs as well as the possibilities and
context for work, or it might be done once the needs and basic strategy have been defined.
Throughout this checklist there are examples of the types of data and perspectives that the
assessment could collect, and more detail is in the report.

5 • Choosing the technology: What ICTs/applications are
available to meet this need or goal?

The ideal technology or application may already be out there, and there will always be people in
the organisation and outside who can help you find it, or suggest alternatives. Your design might
rely to some extent on technology already existing in the community, such as radio or mobile
phones, or you may need to purchase and install the whole lot.
In either case, when choosing a technology/system as well as functionality, costs (to the
organization and the users) and support/maintenance considerations, think about issues arising
from the participatory assessment: will poor women, illiterate people, youth, etc. be able to
access and control it? Is it compatible with their existing communication patterns and culture?
When the ideal solution is not possible because of cost, or because of policies or infrastructure,
policy advocacy may become a strand of the project strategy.


6 • Adjusting the content: Can people understand and use
the information provided for and by the ICTs?

ICTs are technologies that can transmit and process information and facilitate communication.
Therefore a large element of ICT enabled initiatives will be the information being shared and
communicated. This will be different in each case, for example, if information is being provided to
poor farmers, if young people are trying to get messages to their peers, or to their government,
or if Plan staff are trying to base their planning on more thorough and up-to-date community
information. The important thing is to identify who will be producing and using the information,
and whether the format, language and style are appropriate.
It is also important to ensure that the instructions for using the system are clear and easy to
understand for the target audience, who may not have familiarity with the tools and applications.

7 • Building and using capacity: What kind of support
will people need to use and benefit from the ICT,
and to innovate around it?

The capacity needs will depend on the system, and include the needs of users as well as the
capacity to manage and maintain it. The participatory assessment (see #4) will help to identify the
capacity needs of different groups of users, as well as indicate potential partners or champions to
embed new skills and communication practices in the group or community. Capacity building for
maintenance and management is a great opportunity for developing ownership and sustainability
and building up skills and services in the local area that could develop into spin off services
and innovations. What’s more, given the challenges in installing and maintaining delicate ICT
equipment in remote rural areas, having a blend of local knowledge, creativity and technical skills
can keep the project on track.

8 • Monitoring progress: How do you know if the ICT is
helping meet the development goal or need?

The main objective of the project or programme should be to meet the identified development goal
or need. Monitoring and evaluating this, against the objectives and indicators set in the project,
is standard practice. But in this case it is also important to try to understand the contribution
of ICTs to any progress made, how effective they have been at enhancing communication and
information, and ultimately improving lives, livelihoods and access to rights. Setting both short
and long term goals and being clear about assumptions and expectations from the start will
provide something to monitor against. The participatory assessment (see #4) could provide
information on people’s expectations of the benefits and impact of technology, to inform the
monitoring and evaluation strategy.


9 • Keeping it going: How can you manage risks
and keep up with changes?

ICT4D is wrought with challenges and risks, many of which will be outside of your control. For
example, you can invest in equipment, but still rely on service providers for connections and
the government for infrastructure. Or you can set up a system, only to find it is superseded by
something much more appropriate months later. Some things can be done to minimize these
risks, including good research and preparation and prudent choice of technology (and the use
of open standards). Regular review and updating of the context analysis, needs and capacity will
also help to ensure that new opportunities and partnerships are identified and potential risks
avoided or managed.
From the beginning, decisions will need to be made about how the system will be paid for,
sustained and maintained in the long-term. User charges can result in the exclusion of those
who most need support, even if it only amounts to the cost of using their own mobile phone. On
the other hand, real ownership and commitment may be both demonstrated and strengthened
by the need for user, or community, contributions to keep the system running. Good analysis of
ability to pay, the impact of user charges and potential partners (including government) will feed
into a realistic sustainability strategy.

10 • Learning from each other: What has been done before,
and what have you learned that others could use?

Sharing of learning should be a first and last step of the process, and continual throughout the
work. ICT4D is a relatively new, challenging and constantly changing area with a lot of potential
to reduce inequalities and support development goals. It is important to know what has been
done and draw on past experiences, and there are many networks to support this. It is equally
important to document and share the experiences of your project or programme to inform future
work in the area.


Stage 1:
Understanding
the context for ICT work
© Linda Raftree


A first planning step for the integrated use of ICTs in development work is a thorough analysis of
the context in which they will be applied. This means an analysis of both the opportunities and
constraints to using ICT to make an impact on development goals, including available technology
and services, infrastructure, skills and support. This analysis will be of both the internal and
external environments, locally and nationally. Internally, it means looking at Plan’s experience
and any capacity available within the organisation to support planning, decision making and
implementation in relation to ICTs. External factors and influences include the policy and market
environments, as well as key external stakeholders in the fields of ICT4D, such as ongoing
projects, networks and funding partners.

1.1 The external context:

A thorough context analysis is an essential element of good planning, and ICTs are no exception.
This means having an up to date understanding of the policy and regulatory context, the market
for devices and services, and the field of ICT for development. Analysis of these types of issues,
described further in the box (right),
enables more focused and realistic
planning for the use of ICT in
development programmes. The Thinking about: conducting a
Ghana workshop report includes context analysis
the observation:
Before the workshops, participating country
“It is important to conduct offices were sent briefings detailing their
indigenous research to know national ICT policy environment, the state of ICT
markets and infrastructure, and key stakeholders
what pertains to our peculiar
including regulators, policymakers and ICT for
environment and not just development projects and programmes in their
swallow all that we are told country. These briefings are summarised and
since what pertains to other included at the end of this report, and could
areas may not apply to us.” serve as a template for this type of context
analysis. The areas of information included are:

Plan: External
A broad context analysis is
necessary to understand what is • Work involving a • ICT usage statistics and
possible and identify potential communication/ characteristics
areas for learning, collaboration information aspect
• ICT policy and trends
or campaigning. For example, the • Activities including or
state of the telecommunications • ICT policy actors
supported by ICT
infrastructure and markets may • ICT4D projects
make an idea workable in one • Colleagues with
country, but not in another. In relevant skills and • ICT Institutions
some cases it may be necessary to experience • Risks and opportunities
work with, or lobby, policymakers
Much of the research into external factors,
as a first step to making the tools
including policy and other projects, can be
more accessible for development
started online and followed up through email
work. However, thorough and
and phone calls. Internal information can be
participatory local assessments
found in reports, but more reliably through
of social and technical issues in
personal contact, meetings or workshops.


the communities where ICTs are to
be used will always be necessary to
inform more detailed planning.
Thinking about: questions to ask
The Plan Senegal team had lots of questions
Workshop participants identified
they wanted to explore before planning any
several factors in the external
new system:
environment which have an impact
on their plans and strategies for using • Human resources: where are the skills,
ICT, including: knowledge and gaps?
• Material resources: what is available locally
and externally and what is missing?
• The legal framework: what are the relevant
Adding value to the policies and laws?
existing picture:
• The risks: what are potential risks of using
By necessity, ICT for Development ICT and how they can be mitigated?
is the work of multiple stakeholders,
including government departments, • Lessons learned: what are the experiences
private companies large and small, of other actors in Senegal and beyond, the
as well as civil society. It takes many challenges they have faced and the solutions
different players to provide the legal • The social context: what are the social
and regulatory framework, ensure realities in the operating context which
access to the technology and provide would affect the implementation of ICTs?
services, finance initiatives, develop What knowledge do poor people have
and share appropriate content and which can be the basis for the introduction
build the capacity of users, as well as of new technologies?
entrepreneurs and managers.
• The market: what is the supply and
Development NGOs like Plan need demand situation for ICTs? What are the
to work out what their own role is in opportunities for resource mobilisation?
this, which will depend on the context
specifics. For example:
• Working with the government and
regulators, as well as the private
sector, to ensure that the needs and perspectives of poor and marginalised groups are
considered in sector planning, pricing and service provision.
• Exploring partnerships with the corporate sector to reach large untapped markets of poor
and rural communities. Plan Uganda have some experience of this, for example working with
PostBank and mobile providers to find more efficient and effective ways to reach the rural poor.
• Working with community groups to build capacity and facilitate linkages between service and
users (or needs) and providers and policy makers.

Partnering for real priorities:
The Uganda team noted that there are great opportunities for resource mobilization with
ICT companies at all levels. However, a careful balance needs to be maintained to ensure that
partnerships with public and private sector initiatives are directly aligned to local development
needs and strengthen the role and capacity of the government to deliver. Fundraising teams
should base any corporate partnerships in ICT on a strategy, which defines the development
objectives and themes the money can support, and identify good targets in relation to the


corporate social responsibility aims, and market interests, of corporations. Otherwise there is a
danger of missing funding opportunities, or worse being led by the interests of the corporate
partners rather than the poor communities.

Finding out what is possible, and what could be:
Part of the context analysis should be the availability of technology, whether the spread
(infrastructure), or other issues such as usability and affordability (which will come out more in
participatory assessments discussed below). The Mozambique team stated that it is important
to map available ICT tools and explore which are appropriate given local constraints, such as
lack of electricity and cash. Despite the hype and excitement around the accessibility of mobile
technologies to rural communities around the world, they gave a reminder that many are still
excluded for various reasons: “Mobile phones are a challenge still. Mobile phone could add costs
to the community leaders, and later would not be sustainable. This needs to be looked into to see
what kind of solutions we can find.”
But recognising the limitations does not mean we should stick within them. Some very basic
tools, such as MP3 players, can be used to great effect; challenges are constantly shifting and
boundaries pushed back. The Mozambique team were optimistic about the possibilities of
introducing new technologies and applications: “This workshop was an eye opener. Technology
is not so mysterious. We need to try our best to make technology something simple that can be
used by anyone, just like mobile phones, small children can use them. IIf all other technologies
could be that simple it would be great.”
It is important to look at what is around and leverage available opportunities. Plan Uganda
identified several initiatives that could bring down costs and expand opportunities for poor
people, such as mobile money transfer services linked to Village Savings and Loans Associations
and closed user group services that allow cheap calls within a private network. This may require
support at a regional level, and networking of ICT managers across the region to share and
compare findings.

Being aware and prepared:
As well as assessing the context for positive opportunities and potential areas of engagement,
it is also important to identify the risks and potential changes that could threaten ICT-enabled
development work. Those elements of the policy environment which make the use of ICTs cost
effective or productive should be analysed, to identify the conditions on which they depend and
the risk of changes. This includes the risks inherent in the current policy context, for example the
possible risks in promoting citizen’s reporting in a repressive environment, as well as the risks of
changes in policy and administration. And as well as the risks inherent in the communications
and ICT policy context, there are those related to the technology. Does the price or availability
of a service or application depend on the number of subscribers, for example? Will the device
become obsolete, after the budget has been used? Forethought and monitoring will enable ICT-
enabled development initiatives to prepare for and respond to such risks and threats.


1.2 Organisational
experience and capacity

Identifying where there is experience of using ICTs in the organisation’s work, the lessons that
have been learnt and the connections that can be made will help to inspire and inform planning
for further strategic use of ICTs, avoid duplication and identify capacity.
During the workshops, participants mapped the experiences of their country office of using
ICT in their development work. These experiences are summarised in the Additional Material
appendix of this report, and can serve as examples and inspiration for future innovations. The
examples cover a variety of themes, ranging from the promotion of child rights and participation
through to the innovative use of media and arts, campaigning and awareness-raising on key
issues, provision of internet access, public awareness of Plan’s work, project learning and data
collection, to the routine use of mobile phones to improve communication and cut down travel.
Closer examination of some of these experiences has brought out valuable learning, both for replication
and adaptation of these initiatives and for planning new ones, as described below. However, as well
as the general insights and lessons, an internal context analysis should bring up potential linkages
and contacts within the organisation, and identify where there is capacity to support the choices of
appropriate technology, as well as installation, management, training and maintenance.

Breaking the silence: supporting responses to child
violence in Benin
In Benin it is common that acts of violence against children go unreported, and even when they
are reported, responses are often inadequate. Plan Benin is experimenting with the use of text
messaging (SMS) and the internet to support reporting of violence against children, and improve
both immediate and longer term responses to the problemiii.

How it works: Using Frontline SMS, software which allows the sending and receiving of multiple
text messages through a computer, and Ushahidi crowdsourcing websites, which can map complex
information onto a single webpage, Plan Benin can provide a service whereby people text in a report
of violence and it is mapped automatically on the site. The website is monitored by an administrator,

System
SMS report administrator

Child
incident
protection
USHAHIDI services
SMS report WEBSITE
WITH MAP
FL
SMS
incident Policy

SMS report

incident Other
stakeholders
SMS report

FIGURE 1: DIAGRAM OF THE PLAN BENIN PILOT SYSTEM


who verifies and organises the response to each case, working closely with local authorities. Linking
to local child protection services enables the mobilisation of appropriate medical and social services.
And in the longer term collecting and mapping the data will provide evidence for better planning of
prevention and response services, as well as awareness raising and campaigning. In this way, Plan hopes
to overcome the problems of access, and provide the shelter of anonymity for potential reporters.

Adding value to existing services: The system is designed to support and enhance existing public
services, as well as NGOs and local partners, and it is hoped that the system will become a public service
in the long run. Linda Raftree, Plan’s adviser on social media and ICTs in West Africa, noted that:
“The system reflects real information and communication flows on the ground, the roles of
the different actors – including youth – are clear, it can add value to local structures and
initiatives, and it could be sustainable and potentially scaled into a national level system in
Benin and possibly other countries.”

Building capacity and awareness: An important part of the implementation of the system
is building the capacity of local young people to articulate and report on their experiences of
violence, of the local social services to respond, and of staff to make the system work. The pilot
has involved awareness raising and training for young people to create and upload multimedia
content about the situation in their area. During the pilot phase, Plan is working with district
authorities to meet the increased demand for services, but is also building evidence and
advocating for more public resources to sustain the approach.

Supporting local solutions: Although there are many challenges to setting up a system like this
where infrastructure and public capacity is weak, the team believes that these are surmountable
where the motivation and drive of local people, especially youth, is strong. Local people,
community groups and service providers are taking responsibility to make the system work,
overcome problems and find solutions to emerging issues. This includes low-tech solutions like
patience when internet services are down, creativity when the right kit is not easily available
locally, and persistence or flexibility when people do not use the system properly. You can read
more about this pilot in the Additional Material at the end of this report.

Registering children for their rights in Kenyaiv
Life can be hard without a birth certificate. You need one to register at secondary school, for
social services and insurance, and for international travel. You need one to get married, or to
prove your age if you are being forced to marry too young. And communities lose out in other
ways: without proper registration, the district does not get its fair share of the national budget
because it’s not clear how many people are actually there. Yet birth registration is currently a
time consuming and costly business for people in Kwale, Kenya.
The current system: When a child is born in Kwale, the family have to tell the village chief or local
organisation who then notifies the district civil registration office at their own expense. Although local
chiefs and CBOs are allowed to register children locally, certificates must be issued at district level and
this must be done by parents in person. Kwale district civil registration office manages all registrations
for a population of over half a million, with five staff. Although they have two computers, all records
are handled and stored manually and they do not have the capacity to digitise existing records. What’s
more, the parents have to travel to the district capital to apply for the birth certificate and again to
collect it, which combined with the cost of the certificate itself is off-putting.


Adding value to existing services: Computerised systems and mobile technologies can help to
make the system more efficient and accessible, cutting down on time and travel for staff of the
registration office and local chiefs and CBOs. An initial time investment in creating a functional
computer database would cut down on staff time for registration and searching for records. For
chiefs and CBOs, electronic means of sending birth registration notifications not only save travel
time and money, but also have advantages of data accuracy, checking, speed and the ability to use
the data for other purposes such as planning. Plan Kenya has been supporting communities and
local partners to enhance the birth registration process, with the support of Plan Finland, the Finnish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nokia. At the same time, the Kenyan government is developing a
nationwide web-based civil registration system, to be rolled out this year. Plan aims to develop and
test an ICT-enabled local registration system, which could link into this at the national level.

Building capacity and awareness: As the existence of underused computers in the district
civil registration office attests, the provision of equipment and systems is not enough. Plan will
support the roll out of computerised registration systems by building the capacity of stakeholders
to use ICTs. At the same time, Plan will work on raising awareness of the benefits of registration
and the use of the new system among communities. These experiences and impacts will be
documented, and stakeholders networked to support the wider development and replication of
decentralised birth registration models.

Young people express themselves, and make
themselves heard:
The Youth Empowerment through Technology, Arts and Media (YETAM) projectv aims to help
young people develop skills and networks to communicate, participate, educate and advocate
on issues that matter to them locally, nationally and globally. Through workshops and activities
young people analyse and prioritise key themes and issues. They learn to use arts and media
to get their messages across to others in their communities, families, local decision makers and
peers. A project website is under construction to share maps, artwork and videos from Mali
and the other five participating countries which will enable their voices, and opportunities for
dialogue, to stretch even further across the region and the globe.

Engaging young people: In Kati District, Mali, around 60 young people are involved in the YETAM
project, researching and developing their own opinions on issues important to them, using songs,
poetry, theatre, photos and video. These issues include low levels of birth registration, violence
at school, female circumcision and the lack of opportunities for young people in rural areas. Plan
Mali has supported local teachers to engage with young people on these issues, helping to share
information on them through various media, and supporting advocacy efforts. For example:
• They developed a short film drama highlighting some of the medical and social implications of
female circumcision.
• They organized a public performance of drama, songs and poetry, and showed the film.
• After the event there was a panel with local authorities at which the mayor made commitments
to ensure universal birth registration and stem the flow of out-migration and, astonishingly, the
chief proclaimed an end to the traditional practice of female circumcision.


Engaging other stakeholders: Bedo Traore, Plan Mali’s child media coordinator, has noted
that the participatory and inclusive approach brings challenges, but in the long term engages
different stakeholders. Teachers initially felt threatened and targeted by the discussions with
pupils concerning violence at school, but over time, “their frustration dissolved and trust began
to grow between students and teachers because teachers are discovering another way to teach
and discuss sensitive issues – they are behaving as coaches.” Following these discussions, the
education authorities have also become more interested in the topics and involved in the project.

Seeing the changes: Children, teachers and community leaders have all noticed a change since
young people started to speak out about the issues affecting them. They remark on the decrease
in acceptability and practice of corporal punishment, as well as female circumcision. One child
commented: “In our village, many people practiced circumcision, but now they say they will stop
because they have learned from our messages about the harm it causes.”
Young people have learned from this experience that participating in decision making and
opinion forming is not only possible, but effective, and there has been an increase in young
people’s participation in community development processes and meetings. The project, and the
increasing participation and articulation of young people, have also enabled Plan staff to respond
to issues of concern to youth in their planning.

Lessons learned: integrated ICT can be sustainable
These three examples show how effective ICT can be when supporting local processes and needs,
and integrated into existing social structures and services. In Benin and Kenya, Plan is testing the
potential of appropriate and accessible ICT, such as mobile phones, to enhance existing services:
social protection and civil registration respectively. In these cases the ICT system needs to be
built according to the needs, capacity and practices of the users, and improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of the public system for which they ultimately depend on for sustainability.
This kind of system can be a very effective way to strengthen governmental capacity to protect
children’s rights, the basis of a long-term, rights-based development process. It also helps to
reinforce the information, communication and technology environment for local communities
and organisations, increasing the possibility of local ICT enabled innovation.
The YETAM project shares some of these characteristics, with ICTs as enablers and the underlying
social process as the heart of the project. However, rather than fitting ICTs to specific needs
and issues, in YETAM they are used to support young people to research and prioritise issues,
and then communicate them, learn more about them and debate them with others locally and
globally. In other words, rather than being issue led, this process allows a more ICT savvy and
enabled community to grow, and builds their capacity to engage in development planning and
implementation of public services and of development NGOs such as Plan.
People find their own uses for technology, given the chance to experiment and innovate. By basing
their systems on the real information needs and communication practices of the communities
they serve, as described further in Stage 3 below, Plan can help to create the conditions for ICT-
enabled, community-led development processes.


Stage 2:
Finding a match between
priorities and possibilities
© Anna Liesto


Based on the analysis of the types of tools and technologies which are available and practical for
the context (Stage 1), the next stage is to define the development goals or priorities that ICT
can help to meet. This can be done by taking inspiration from other uses of certain types of ICT
tools or applications and identifying areas of work to which these could be adapted (tools first),
or the process could be based in an assessment of the development goals which have a strong
information or communication element, and the appropriate tools found to fit (needs first).
At the ICT4D workshops, Plan staff heard about different ICT tools and applications, and how
they have been applied to further development goals. They were then asked to reflect on their
own goals and priorities, and identify areas for exploration. This section highlights some of the
suggestions and ideas that the participants came up with for using social media and ICTs to
improve the quality, reach and impact of their work. From these, it also draws some analysis of
some of the key issues to consider in making that match.

Making the most of ICT: needs or tools first?
There is a tension at the heart of ICT for development, and it is right there in the name. For
while the development sector increasingly recognises the need for bottom-up planning models,
in which organisational decision making is informed by local needs, priorities and capacity, the
ICT sector tends to lead with new services and devices which they then offer to their clients. The
tension is between putting needs first and finding technology to fit it, or developing tools first
and allowing people to access and use them.
This may seem clear cut: after all NGOs like Plan do not exist to create and market new
technologies, but to help people overcome development challenges. But in fact the tension is not
quite so easy to resolve. For, while it is important to root all ICT4D work in development goals
and local priorities, it is also important not to be constrained by available or known technology.
he nature of ICTs – adaptable to many different uses, rapidly evolving in design and expanding
in scope and availability – provides immense capacity for innovation and creativity which may be
lost if the goals and plans are too tightly set.
There are many examples of organic social change which take place around new technologies,
such as the changes in social or working practices that many of us have experienced with the
arrival of mobile phones, email or social networking, and the numerous local business and social
innovations using mobile technologies in developing countriesvi. But whether ICTs are a tool for
meeting a specific development objective, or an asset for a community to generate their own
development, the important thing for ICT4D is that it is rooted in, and serves, the D: development.

2.1 Rooting the system in local
needs and priorities:

ICTs can enhance Plan’s effectiveness and impact on development in many ways. Starting the
planning process with a clear development goal – if possible established in consultation with
the participating community – will help to ensure that investments made are linked to people’s
own development visions and processes. Anthony Makumbi, Plan’s East and Southern Africa
ICT4D Coordinator, suggests that programme unit managers should identify the key issues and


problems facing their sectors, and then think about how ICT can help to solve them. For example,
if quality is a problem in education, then using ICTs could be employed to deliver teaching
materials more cheaply and efficiently. He said: “Ask yourself: What are the causes of poverty
and denied rights in this programme area? Is poor communication or access to information partly
to blame for this?”
ICTs are literally Technologies which facilitate Information and Communication. As Anthony says,
by establishing the role (the lack of) information and communication play in causing poverty and
related problems, and the role that they could have in overcoming such challenges, the potential
of ICTs can start to be unlocked. The fundamental role of information and communication in
development problems and processes is dealt with in more detail in the 2009 Plan guide to using
mobile technologies for developmentvii, which explains that:
“Good access to relevant information
sources and communications media
can support people to make informed
Thinking about: the
decisions about their own lives and
role of information
livelihoods, participate in and influence and communication in
decisions which affect them and their development
communities. Effective and good
The workshop methodology includes
quality development processes are exercises to identify the information
built on strong communication and well and communication aspects in
managed information flows, to facilitate development goals and programmes.
learning and sharing, networking and Everyone has experience and examples
of how timely, relevant information
coordination. Furthermore, a focus on
can make a difference to people’s
information and communication media livelihoods, health, or social lives.
can build local knowledge, identity Encourage people to share these with
and voice into a strong basis for equal case studies, or questions such as:
development partnerships with a range • Have you ever changed your plans
of stakeholders, and at the broadest because of new information? Or
level enable connections to be made saved time? Made money?
between local experiences and national • Have you ever received information
and international policies and processes.“ which has benefited your health?
• Have you ever used information on
your rights?
The examples of Plan’s work with ICTs in
Africa at the end of this report illustrate • Did you ever act on a piece of
many of the information and communication information and wished you hadn’t?
aspects of development work. For example, • Have you ever held back information?
Plan’s work in Benin to gather information
on violence against children in communities • Did you ever get a piece of
where they work will not only support the information too late?
immediate protection of vulnerable children, • Have you ever heard of a piece of
but also generate awareness, inform information which saved a life?
programme planning and provide evidence
for advocacy and campaigns. Finally, a tree graphic can be used
to explore the factors governing the
value of information to people’s lives
and livelihoods. Using a drawing of a
tree, people can identify the roots of
reliable and relevant information, and
use branches and fruits to illustrate the
different benefits and outcomes.


Protecting and reinforcing rights:
Just as ICT is only an enabler of development projects, these initiatives themselves are tools with
which to empower citizens and communities to fulfil their potential and access their rights. As
the Plan Uganda workshop report notes: “ICTs give communities a platform to give feedback
on services rendered and know of services available to them”: essential elements of ensuring
good governance and human rights. However, Plan Ghana noted that this is a challenge, given
that many government ministries and agencies are not online, and there is a lack of both online
information and communication.

In line with Plan’s rights-based and child- Thinking about:
centred approach to development, the supporting duty bearers
strategic use of ICT should promote
people’s sustainable access to their rights The context analysis and the participatory
and enhance the capacity of duty bearers assessment should provide information
to fulfil their obligations. The experiences on the systems and structures which
mentioned in 1.2 above show how support people’s access to information
effective use of ICT tends to support rather on their rights, and communication with
than compensate for (or even undermine) duty bearers such as local government
existing mechanisms for accessing or police. If there is a gap, ask first whose
entitlements and rights. In the cases of responsibility it should be to fill that, and
SMS reporting of violence against children what support is needed from Plan. This
in Benin or birth registration in Kenya will inform the choice of ICTs and the
this has meant linking to and supporting stakeholders who will manage and use
public services, and in the YETAM project them. It may be that advocacy rather
it means facilitating active participation in than service provision (or both!) is the
development and decision making. appropriate long term approach.

Roles Policy Access Content Training
Responsibilities
Gov’t
Private sector
NGOs
CBOs
Schools
PLAN
TABLE 1: ESTABLISHING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As well as analysing the role of ICT in relation to specific rights, for example education, freedom
from violence, or good governance, Plan’s right-based approach will also inform initiatives to
increase access to ICTs themselves. Any initiative should support government accountability and
services and reinforce other development processes. The above table is one tool to analyse roles
and responsibilities relating to ICT access, in order to work out the appropriate role for Plan, and
potential allies or partners, to increase people’s access to information and ultimately their rights.


Ideas and suggestions:
The workshop groups came up with lots of Thinking about: who
ideas as to how they could fit ICTs to their could use ICT for what?
development priorities. Some of these
Plan Senegal identified several priority
ideas are quite well developed and rooted
groups for rolling out the strategic use
in existing processes and priorities. For
of ICTs.
example, in Uganda, where there is a policy
of free and compulsory universal primary • Plan Employees: to improve
education in place, the quality of teaching efficiency and effectiveness.
remains a major issue. Getting up-to-date, • Plan colleagues in other
useful and reliable information and teaching countries: to share information and
materials to teachers, and textbooks to the communication.
kids, is a real problem facing the government.
Yet, with the decision to roll out the one • Technical partners: to facilitate the
laptop per child initiative in the country, relationship.
there is a real opportunity to mobilise ICT • Young people involved in projects:
as an effective and efficient means to solve To facilitate dialogue with peers
these issues. Plan Uganda’s idea to produce and the wider world and improve
and support online libraries and electronic conditions for learning/development.
materials, as well as build the capacity of
teachers to use and teach ICT, is based on • Women and children in Weer
this context analysis. pilots: to improve health conditions
and vaccination planning.
Plan Mali considers child protection to be
the first priority in any investment in using • Ministry of Education / teachers:
ICTs strategically, with the aim of enabling support new teaching methods and
confidential reporting of this sensitive issue approaches, materials and promotion
in a similar vein to the work in Benin. The of science and technology.
team are considering the possibility of using • Local authorities: to improve the
mobile phones, websites and the radio to conditions for development.
establish an early warning system of abuse
on children and tackle violence at school.
Community Development Facilitators and
members of the local Child Protection Committee would collect information on reported cases
of children being mistreated in schools, households and the community in general, as well as
reported cases of sexual harassment, female circumcision, early marriage and other rights
abuses. As well as enabling appropriate responses to individual cases, this collection of data on a
larger scale would allow for stronger analysis and advocacy, better targeting of child protection
interventions and impact assessment of awareness raising and behaviour change campaigns.
Because ICT infrastructure can so easily fail in the wake of a big disaster, Plan Mozambique
are looking at how it can be integrated into disaster risk reduction and preparedness work,
including the development of early warning systems using bulk SMS and community radio. A
community radio project will provide information on how to reduce the risk of disasters, as well
as other development issues, and encourage dialogue and debate amongst communities at risk.
This would link to advocacy and campaigning work with partners such as the national coalition
for disaster preparedness. The table below highlights some of the suggestions of workshop
participants for the development goals to which they would like to apply ICTs.


Theme Country Suggestion ICT Strategy
Education Uganda Producing/supporting online CD, internet Direct/
and electronic educational strategic
materials to support the One
Laptop per Child initiative.
Training teachers to use and
teach ICT.
Ghana School-based ICT labs Internet Direct
Mali Data collection on children’s Mobile phone/ Strategic
schooling, tracking disabled FrontlineSMS
children through the school
system, raising awareness
Child Protection Mali Early warning system and FrontlineSMS, Strategic
services for confidential internet, radio
reporting of violence against
children.
Disaster risk Mozambique Awareness raising, Community radio, Strategic
reduction preparedness and early FrontlineSMS
warning system.
Health Mozambique Data collection and analysis Mobile Internal
for rates of malaria, HIV/ technologies
Aids, maternal and child
mortality
Mali Promote voluntary SMS, radio, TV strategic
counselling and testing for
HIV
Senegal Health outreach (prevention, Mobile Internal/
treatment, information) technologies strategic
Sanitation Uganda Planning and monitoring GPS, mobiles Internal
Community Lead Total
Sanitation programmes
Livelihoods Mozambique Providing information and Mobile phone strategic
marketing support
Ghana Provide access to banking Mobile phone Strategic
services
Programme/ Uganda Systematic collection of FrontlineSMS Internal
sponsor data on sponsored children, mobile phones
information village savings and loans
associations, gender ratios,
youth participation etc
Mozambique Provide qualitative Video, web, GPS, Internal
information on development forum
needs and processes for
current and potential
sponsors
Mali Monitoring food security SMS Internal
TABLE 2: SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE WORK USING ICTS


2.2 Finding good uses
for tools and applications:

Alongside the analysis of the types of development work and processes which could be
enhanced by ICT, the workshop groups were inspired by examples of different applications of
new technologies, including mobile phones, for development ends. Mobile phones, computers,
email and the internet are already widely used by Plan staff and partners to communicate and
seek information. Many people were
inspired by the variety of uses to
which applications such as Frontline
SMS and Ushahidi have been put, What is: FRONTLINE SMS AND
and came up with many ideas of their ALL THAT...
own as to how they could use such
There are many tools and applications which
tools in their work. Older and more
can turn ordinary pieces of equipment, such
established technologies remain very
as laptops and mobile phones, into complex
popular because of their familiarity
communication systems. Some of those
and accessibility. For example one
shared at the workshops include:
participant from Uganda, Stanley
Opio, suggested the use of radio • FrontlineSMS (frontlinesms.org) is an
programming, drama and video to example of an SMS hub or gateway
inform, educate and raise awareness application, to send a large number of text
in communities. Other examples and messages using a computer and a mobile
ideas include: phone or modem. Messages are sent and
received using software installed on a
• Using mobile phones: The
computer which transmits and receives
spread of mobile phones means
them through the mobile phone network
that it is one of the favoured ICTs
via the attached phone or modem.
for collecting and disseminating
information. Most of the workshop • Ushahidi (www.ushahidi.com) is an example
groups found potential uses for bulk of crowdsourcing software, which enables
SMS services such as FrontlineSMS, many individuals to input data and analysis
to collect data, for example, on child into a web-based system. For example, it
rights violations, food security and can map data from text messages onto
nutrition, programme indicators a website to consolidate and visualise
and education performance. complex information.
Plan Senegal is considering using • Nokia Data Gathering (www.nokia.com)
Nokia’s data gathering software to software can be used to create tailored
monitor the status of child flood questionnaires and distribute them to
victims. Of course the technology multiple mobile phones using a normal
can only collect and process the mobile network. Field personnel surveying
information, and needs to be part of local conditions can quickly complete the
a larger process or system to inform questionnaires and immediately transmit
appropriate responses. their findings to a central database.
• Using the internet: Internet is not • Village Diary (www.villagediary.org) is a
freely available to most of Plan’s platform developed in Cameroon to provide
community stakeholders, and in access to digital records of inheritance,
most cases does not carry relevant social services and legal assistance to the
local content. It is considered, most vulnerable members of society.
however, to be an essential tool for
networking and sharing information


between Plan staff and peers, and with sponsors and donors. For example, Plan Mali is
considering developing an online network and forum for water and sanitation issues. One
example of the use of internet for community information is the Village Diary Project, and
many workshop reports mentioned following this example to complement existing legal aid
projects to protect widows and their children, amongst other uses.
• Social media: Plan Senegal was quick to see the potential of social media, including blogs, wikis
and podcasts within many of their projects and programmes: to facilitate dialogue between
young people and their duty bearers; and to make information on their work available to
colleagues, peers, supporters and the general public. Plan Mozambique also plans to use social
media tools to strengthen learning and support between peers.
• Mapping tools: The Benin example uses Ushahidi to map cases of violence against children,
enabling the use of information to trigger immediate responses to abuse, and also raise awareness
and inform advocacy. This methodology will also be incorporated into the YETAM project in
Mozambique, Cameroon and Kenya to track rights abuses. These offices will participate in
training on Open Street Map (www.openstreetmap.org) and use of GPS and plan to upload
videos and other materials produced by participating youth to an on-line map as a way to
engage and inform supporters. From the map, sponsors would be able to find video footage of
individual projects and follow progress as it occurs, and be able to interact, encourage others
to watch and become sponsors, or even donate online.


By this stage the aims and objectives, as well as the potential tools, for the ICT-enabled initiative
will have been identified. Though the basic shape of the system is emerging, there is a lot more
work to be done, and questions to be asked, to refine the details. Most importantly, participatory
assessments with the groups and communities where the initiative is to be carried out will provide
crucial information and understanding of the socio-technical context. This means not only who
has access to what types of technology, or skills to use it, but also the cultural and social issues
which may favour one group over another, or make certain types of ICT more appropriate. There
are also a lot of other decisions to be made and issues to consider about the choice, procurement
and installation of the technology and associated applications.
The workshop methodologyviii included some exercises which could be included in a participatory
assessment, and some questions and issues to consider when designing a system. These are
expanded in this section, along with insights from the workshop teams.

Thinking about: setting up a new ICT system
These factors, based on reflections in Linda Raftree’s blog about the Benin experience
(lindaraftree.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/7-or-more-questions-to-ask-before-adding-
icts) highlight some key considerations when setting up a new information and
communications system:
Building on what exists: It is critical to understand how information currently flows,
who communicates with whom, in order to find points where ICT system can help
improve that flow. This can also be a catalyst to identify, map out or even adjust that
flow.
Getting end user input and testing: The initial ideas and designs were shared with
local stakeholders, service providers and youth, and many changes were suggested and
made. Participation by the local Social Protection Services and Plan’s Child Protection
point persons who know how things work on the ground brought us amazing knowledge
on who should be involved and who should receive reports and alerts, and at what
levels different parts of the system should be managed. Testing SMS with the youth,
the team realised that the keyword “HALTE” (necessary to trigger automatic transfer
of the report to the Ushahidi map on the website) was being misspelled, and so they
adjusted the system to ‘ALT’ to capture alternative spellings being used.
Continued monitoring and evaluation: The end goal, to evaluate in the long term,
is whether actual levels of violence and abuse go down over time, and what role
this system had in that. But as this is a new initiative, it is critical to capture learning
for potential scale up and replication. As well as quantitative data on reporting and
response rates, verified cases and actual prosecutions or actions taken, the team will be
paying attention to issues such as: additional costs to maintain the system; adoption and
sustained use by local entities/government; user suggestions for improvement; privacy
issues; promotion of the hotline; and factors deterring people at different levels from
using the system.


3.1 Carrying out
participatory assessments:

The user group, or target beneficiaries, for any ICT enabled initiative will be defined in part by
organisational capacity and priorities, and in part by the development priorities and processes
which it is designed to serve. Participatory assessments will help to inform the details of the
plans, ensuring that they meet the needs of those who are easily excluded because of gender,
age, language or any other characteristic. People are different, and bring different skills and
experiences to bear on their use of technology, and issues such as literacy and gender play a big
part in access and control over technologies. For example, while a community may have plenty
of access to radio, when you break this down you may find that poor, married women have no
control over what is listened to and when. For this reason, strategic use of ICTs should be planned
based on a deep and detailed local analysis of access to, control over, and capacity for ICT use.
However, it is very difficult to generalise about how they should be done, and with whom,
given the almost unlimited range of ICT-enabled initiatives that are possible. ICTs enable
communication and connections over great distances, over time-zones, national borders and
language barriers, so this group could be any size and could be incredibly varied. Bottom-up
planning processes might begin with a participatory assessment and clear target group, and
decisions on even the broad objectives and
needs to be met based on the outcome.
Other projects may be quite well defined,
Thinking about: especially those which put tools first, using
the capacity to use the participatory assessment to understand
information the user needs of those who are most
excluded and hardest to reach and adjust
Information may be useful, but it may the design to suit them.
not be used. It is worth thinking with the
target group/ community about different The tools and questions here and in the
factors affecting the perceived usefulness Mobiles for Development Guideix are
of information, such as: designed to be applied and adapted to
different participatory assessments, but
• The source: do people trust more will always be necessary which are
information from doctors more than specific to the context and design.
from websites? newspapers? leaflets?
• The format/medium: Does the
spoken word carry more weight and
credibility than written or taped? Not just availability:
• Relevance: what issues are people usability
interested in? Just because the infrastructure and
• Capacity: Do people have the skills, equipment is there does not mean that
including literacy, computer skills or people can get to use and benefit from it.
language, and equipment to find and Communities are not homogenous groups,
understand the information? and it is usually the most educated, wealthy
and well connected who benefit first and
• Confidence: Do people have the
foremost from such facilities. For example,
confidence to request and use the
the costs of the buying and using ICTs,
information? This usually requires
from radio to mobile phone, has always
confidence in your own knowledge.
been a limiting factor which excludes
women in many rural settings because


their culture does not allow them to handle
money. The market will usually take care of
people who can afford to pay for products
and services, and as a development NGO
Plan can ensure that the information
and communication needs of those who
are not reached by market forces, poor
and marginalised people in communities
and households, are better met. What’s
more, where information services are
targeted at a particular group, for example
child nutritional information targeted at
mothers, this needs to be based on a good
assessment of the tools and sources of
information that women can access.
People in a physical community, such
as a village, will share many of the same
basic contextual issues, such as policy
and infrastructure, and these should be
borne in mind when planning (see Stage
1: understanding the context). Virtual
FIGURE 2: EXAMPLE OF AN ICT RANKING MATRIX, FROM
communities are more diverse, and it is A REFLECT GROUP IN ORISSA, INDIA.
important to be aware of differences, and
especially the needs of the least-served
members. But in any community, different people will have different experience, skills and
abilities, so participatory assessments should ask groups of women, men, older, younger, poorest,
etc (depending on the target groups) to analyse the accessibility of different ICTs.
There are many tools and methods which can be used to facilitate the participation in this analysis
of different groups and people. For example, the mapping techniques described in the box on the
communications context (below), or the use of graphics such as a matrix to allow different groups
to identify and rank different ICTs. One exercise is for a group to list all the types of media and
ICTs that they know of and use in relation to different types of communication in a matrix format.
They could show different types of communication (spoken, written, images and numbers) across
the top axis; and different processes (capture, store, process, share and retrieve) along the side to
bring out all the different tools and media they use for each.
The matrices could be divided by gender and age to highlight issues of power and control
over different types of media and technology. Each box would be filled in according to what
women and men, girls and boys can and can’t use, to promote discussion of who has control over
different media and equipment or who has the time and skills to access information in different
ways. Finally, the different age and sex groups could each create another matrix to rank the
different media and ICTs according to factors such as: accessibility; reliability; affordability; and
appropriateness. This encourages discussion of accessibility issues such as: language, literacy,
cost and control of income, physical accessibility, ease of use, efficiency, etc. It will also allow
further investigation, with a strong gender lens, of the types of tools and media people don’t use
and the reasons why.

ICT Enabled Development Plan 2010

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