ESSENTIALS

Synthesis of Lessons Learned Evaluation Office No. 5 September 2001

Main Findings of ICTD Essentials Deirdre Collings Rafal Rohozinski Consultants

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ICTD

Overview
Challenge of doing this Essentials Essentials: Six+ challenges of ICTD M & E: Issues arising

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ICTD

Doing the Essentials

Complexity, scope, audience Post Okinawa era: the moving target

Voluminous amounts of writing about potential and promise

Countless new initiatives; greater focus on upstream Not yet at evaluative stage: ICTD in infancy in terms of outcomes

Lack of evaluative evidence

Iceberg phenomenon: hidden beneath the surface focus on management issues and project cycles, not outcomes outputs versus outcomes: technology transfer as end in itself tendency to hide failures -- the 80% figure

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ICTD

Essentials: Lessons Learned

Six Challenges + Awareness Politics Relevancy (meaningful use) Sustainability Co o - rdination Access + Lead by example

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ICTD

Challenge of Awareness
Highest level of government Mid levels of government Private sector NGOs, CSOs Beneficiaries

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ICTD

Challenge of Awareness
What to Do?
Workshops & training with key gatekeepers & stakeholders ICTD National Summits Cultivate ICTD Champions Pilot projects (demonstration effects) Also ensure awareness of limitations (false expectations) M & E: base-line studies; monitoring

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ICTD

Challenge of access
Physical availability telecommunications, electrical & skills infrastructures Economic Educational Socio c ltural - u

technophobia, oral vs virtual, gender, youth

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ICTD

Challenge of Access
What to Do?
New technologies (wireless, satellite, cellular, solar energy) Marry new technologies with old Empower intermediaries Gender awareness Focus on youth Upstream focus Dont equate access (availability) with appropriation

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ICTD

Challenge of Politics
Information, and ICT initiatives, are political National / local power relations can inhibit, circumscribe or redirect intended outcomes Politics can occur on many different levels

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ICTD

Challenge of Politics
What to Do?
Political analysis, engagement at all levels Broad-spectrum participation in planning, design, monitoring Participation can also be compromised by politics: aim for creative solutions & on-going engagement Political analysis is critical for upstream focus M & E mechanisms should also be attuned to unintended consequences

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ICTD

Challenge of Meaningful Use

Information must be relevant BUT

Information doesnt guarantee a capacity to act ICTs cant make information flow: IS before IT

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ICTD

Challenge of Meaningful USE

What to Do?
Be demand driven, not supply driven Focus on local knowledge dissemination Analyze existing information systems and flows Auxiliary support to enhance beneficiaries capacity to act Holistic: Access, use and appropriation Base-line studies, monitoring, learning assessments, outcome focus

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ICTD

Challenge of Sustainability
capacity development and socio-cultural change dont fit into 3-4 year programme cycles

Unrealistic timeframes:

Insufficient training & retention schemes Inappropriate technologies

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ICTD

Challenge of Sustainability
What to Do?
Realistic timeframes (e-readiness) Training success should be linked to appropriation, not use Dont insist on a Ferrari when a bicycle will do Upstream policy What do we mean by sustainability? Should it always be a primary success criteria? How do we assess it? What timeframes? What are the incentives?

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ICTD

Challenge of Co-ordination
Large and growing pool of actors $$$; therefore, multi p - artner assistance critical Public p - rivate partnerships critical, but tricky Too many cooks: inter oerability of systems - p Co o - rdination takes effort- - what are incentives?

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ICTD

Challenge of Co-ordination
What to Do?
Build partnerships in key areas; competency & complimentarity MOUs -- clarifying the relationship Work within national frameworks & strategies Can M & E encourage & facilitate co-ordination & partnerships ?

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ICTD

+: Leading by Example
Become an e-expert in your programming area Leverage ICTs in your work Monitor, evaluate and disseminate Challenge of indicators: outcomes/policy Incentives to document failures Incentives to disseminate failures

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ICTD

M & E: Issues arising

Importance/cost/utility of base-line studies Challenge of politics (political analysis and engagement, unintended consequences)

Holistic approach -- access, use, appropriation and capacity to act

(complexity, also for monitoring and assessing -- outcomes, learning). What is meant by sustainability? How do we assess it? Should it always be a primary success criteria? By what time-frames? What are the incentives? Can M & E encourage / facilitate co-ordination & partnerships? Appropriate indicators

What are incentives for documenting/disseminating failures &

unintended consequences?