 The Drum Beat 671 – Research to Promote Growth and Development |
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| For this edition of The Drum Beat, we welcome contributing content from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), one of The Communication Initiative (The CI)’s long-time supporters. Current IDRC-funded programming emphasises efforts to open up access to information and communication technology (ICT) to address a range of development issues, secure the future of children and youth, advance democracy by promoting security and stability, stimulate sustainable economic growth, and increase food security. Please click on the links below to find out more about just a few of the IDRC-funded initiatives in these areas.
You will note that, in this particular edition, some of the URLs lead to content on the IDRC website. For access to all IDRC-related summaries on The CI site, click hereand view the «Editor’s note» comments below that guide you to related CI content. We encourage you to visit those links and also to return to The CI site and share reviews and thoughts about the summaries below and/or by sending an email to info@comminit.com |
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| FOSTERING ACCESS TO ICTs |
| 1. Information Lives of the Poor: Fighting Poverty with Technology |
| With mobile phone use exploding across the developing world, even marginalised communities are now benefiting from modern communication tools. This IDRC in_focus book explores the impacts of this unprecedented technological change. Drawing on household surveys undertaken by research networks active in 38 developing countries, it aims to help fill knowledge gaps about how the economically poor use ICTs. How have they benefited from mobile devices, computers, and the internet? What insights can research provide to promote affordable access to ICTs, so that communities across the developing world can take advantage of the opportunities they offer? The core of the book synthesises the findings from research conducted in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This research catalysed policy changes that helped improve access to ICTs. |
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| 2. Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries (ODDC) |
| Open data holds the promise of improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and economic opportunity. Citizens in Brazil, Nepal, and Nigeria are using publicly available data on government budgets to track and fight corruption, for example. It is estimated that governments have already posted more than one million datasets on the internet. Launched in 2014 by IDRC and the World Wide Web Foundation, ODDC aims to understand the dynamics of open data policy and practice across the developing world, looking at positive impacts and unintended consequences. Through 17 case studies in 14 countries, the project will identify the potential benefits and challenges of open data. |
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| 3. Connecting ICTs to Development: The IDRC Experience |
| This collection highlights more than 15 years of IDRC-supported research through its information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) programme. Beginning as local-level pilot projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the initiative grew to include multi-country national networks and, eventually, global projects addressing ICT and development policies. These networks sought to foster knowledge sharing, broaden the scope of research activities, build capacity, develop resilience and mitigate risk through peer support and mentoring, and promote changes in policies and practices. |
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| EMPOWERING YOUTH THROUGH TRAINING AND EDUCATION |
| 4. Giving Youth a Voice: Bangladesh Youth Survey |
| Bangladesh has one of Asia’s youngest populations, yet, according to researchers, the needs of youth have been largely overlooked by decision-makers. A national survey by the Institute of Governance Studies (IGS) aimed to put youth concerns on the public agenda. In 2011, IGS initiated the Bangladesh Youth Survey: Giving Youth a Voice, supported by the multi-donor programme The Think Tank Initiative, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. This nationwide survey of youth captured their concerns on a host of issues. The findings show that youth consider education, improved services, and jobs to be the most important tasks for government. IGS published these findings and has continued to promote youth issues through a national network of experts, d! evelopment partners, and Bangladeshi ministries with responsibilities for youth.
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| 5. Training the Next Generation of African Scientific Talent |
| Since 2003, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) has been working to boost scientific expertise in Africa by offering talented young Africans rigorous training in applied mathematics. With funding from the Government of Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID), IDRC is helping to expand the AIMS network. The expansion programme, called the Next Einstein Initiative, envisages 15 AIMS centres in 15 African countries by 2021. As of this writing, 4 centres – in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, and Cameroon – are training postgraduate students from across Africa. Since the first centre opened in Cape Town, South Africa, 559 students from 39 African countries have graduated, one-third of them women. More than 87% have entered advanced Master’s ! and doctoral programmes. At a panel discussion marking AIMS’ 10th anniversary, graduates of the intensive 10-month course reflected on the programme here.
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| 6. Bringing Education Online in Mongolia |
| IDRC has worked since the 1990s to promote and support digital infrastructure in Mongolia, helping the country establish an information economy and address its health and education needs. Recent IDRC-supported research by Datacom, a local telecommunications service, has led to new government investments in distance education, using freely available, open-access software. Building on this research, the Government of Mongolia has committed 1 billion Tugriks (about US$550,000) to implementing the Open Network Education (ONE) project. Through the ONE initiative, more than 150 Mongolian video lessons adapted from Khan Academy tutorials and a Mongolian dictionary are available online. Schools and universities are using classroom tools powered by Google Education, without the cost and complexity of maintaining hardware and software. Through Creative Commons licensing, these resources have been adapted for local use and are available for free.
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| ADVANCING DEMOCRACY |
| 7. Involving Communities in Improving Governance |
An IDRC-funded initiative is helping communities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America put scarce resources to work to address pressing local problems. The key: engaging community members in collecting just-in-time information about living conditions, the extent of poverty, and its causes. The Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) network was established in the Philippines in 2002 as a cost-effective way of improving local governance and accountability in managing resources, and empowering communities. Now a national programme in the Philippines, CBMS surveys help local governments focus assistance on the neediest households and communities, lobby for new resources, and monitor impacts of crises and policies. This model of evidence-based policymaking has been expanded to 19 developing countries. Learn more from the IDRC in_focus book Fighting Poverty with Facts.
- Editor’s note: As of now, there are 9,420 items on our website focused on the communication strategy of community participation (for all types of development issues). To take a look, click here.
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| 8. E-Government for Good Governance in Developing Countries |
| Morocco has emerged as a trailblazer in promoting the use of ICTs for socio-economic development. A recent World Bank report attributes this success to champions at the highest national levels and municipal ICT supporters, notably Fez, the country’s third largest city. Fez’s success is the result of an IDRC-funded project that developed an e-government system to deliver public services, particularly providing the birth certificates required for job applications, health care, and school registration. Co-published by IDRC and Anthem Press, this book discusses the findings and methods of the eFez project and other e-government initiatives. The city’s business process is, according to the book, now more transparent, more efficient, and less prone to corruption. |
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| 9. Syria Transition Roadmap |
What are the building blocks of a democratic, pluralistic, post-conflict Syria? An IDRC-funded consensus-building initiative is working to lay the groundwork for more inclusive policies and institutions that can assist Syrian efforts to move from dictatorship to democracy. The Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies (SCPSS) convened experts and a broad spectrum of the fragmented opposition to engage in dialogue and come up with a common vision for building a democratic Syria. The result is the Syria Transition Roadmap, which presents detailed plans for a future transition to democracy. The report is the combined effort of about 300 opposition politicians, human rights activists, academics, judges, lawyers, and others grouped in the Syrian Expert House, which was founded by SCPSS at a 2012 conference in Istanbul. The result of a series of workshops, the 238-page Syria Transition Roadmap [PDF] proposes constitutional, judicial, political, economic, and security-sector reforms.
- Editor’s notes:
- Within that report, one communication-related element highlighted by SCPSS is as follows: «The greatest advantages of the parliamentary system are that it encourages dialogue and serious discussion among all political forces on the major issues facing the country, and thus raises the level of politics in the state and society, increasing both trust and communication between the political forces. This system also allows small political forces and minorities to play an important role in power.»
- See also The CI’s Democracy and Governance theme site and our Fragile Contexts theme site.
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| STIMULATING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH |
| 10. Inclusive Growth Insights |
| As an engine of economic growth, private enterprise plays an important role in combating poverty by creating jobs and livelihood opportunities. In helping developing countries pursue private sector development strategies that benefit women, youth, and the economically poor, research supported by IDRC is laying the groundwork for more inclusive growth. Learn more about these efforts in a collection of articles on this theme: Private Sector Development: Aligning Goals for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction.
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| 11. Supporting Entrepreneurship in Africa |
Business start-ups have been a springboard out of poverty for millions. Launched in 1999, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a continuous study of entrepreneurship. By shedding light on what makes entrepreneurs tick, GEM helps governments create a supportive business environment. Since 2009, IDRC has supported GEM research in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. In 2012, a GEM report gave countries in sub-Saharan Africa a firm base of evidence, enabling them to compare their levels of entrepreneurial activity. GEM asked more than 20,000 adults across 10 sub-Saharan African countries about their business activities, attitudes, and aspirations. The survey points to an entrepreneurial revolution transforming the region. Click here to access it.
- Editor’s note: Within that report, one communication-related element highlighted by GEM is as follows: «The entrepreneurship process is a complex endeavour, carried out by people living in specific cultural and social conditions. For this reason, the positive and negative perceptions that society has about entrepreneurship can strongly influence the motivations of the people to enter entrepreneurship. Societies benefit from people who are able to recognise valuable business opportunities and who perceive that they have the required skills to exploit them. If the economy, in general, has a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship, this can generate cultural and social support, financial and business assistance and networking benefits that will encourage and facilitate potential and existing entrepreneurs.»
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| This Drum Beat was written by Kelly Haggart of IDRC and Kier Olsen DeVries of The CI. |
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| The Drum Beat is the email and web network of The Communication Initiative Partnership – Partners: ANDI, BBC Media Action, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Breakthrough, Calandria, Citurna TV, DFID, Eldis, FAO, Fundación Imaginario, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo, Heartlines, Iberoamericano (FNPI), IFPRI, Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam Novib, PAHO, The Panos Institute, Puntos de Encuentro, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, STEPS International, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, USAID, The Wellcome Trust, World Health Organization (WHO), W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
Chair of the Partners Group: Garth Japhet, Founder, Soul City garth@heartlines.org.za
Executive Director: Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com |
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| The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries. |
| Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Send to drumbeat@comminit.com
The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
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