News & Events
Examining Inclusive Innovation: A Study of Micro-Entrepreneurs in the Kenyan Mobile Phone Sector
Chris Foster - Centre for Development Informatics, University of Manchester
Tuesday 21st February 2012, 1pm-2pm, Harold Hankins Building room 10.05
The seminar is free and open to all; no booking is required.
Summary:
There has been recent interest in reconnecting with the notions of innovation in developing countries. Notably, there is a growing focus on considering how innovation theory and policy can be more 'inclusive' - that is, with consideration to the involvement of marginal groups in innovative activities, and of the benefits of innovations being more focused towards these groups.
Inclusive innovation is examined through research among more marginal micro-enterprises in the mobile phone sector in urban Nairobi. We analyse how such actors undertake a number of entrepreneurial activities which are central to how this innovation is localised and appropriated to poor groups.
This case highlights weaknesses in contemporary models of innovation from the perspective of inclusive innovation, particularly established systems of innovation models. Models require more incremental and cumulative understandings of innovation, and analysis needs to better conceptualise informal actors, relations and institutions if they are to help guide policy for inclusive innovation.
The Harold Hankins Building is building no.30 on campus map: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/medialibrary/maps/campusmap.pdf; entrance via first floor of Precinct Centre opposite the Legal Advice Centre. For travel details, see: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/travel/
"Understanding Development Through Actor-Network Theory" International Workshop
Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics and LSE's Department of International Development hosted an international workshop on "Understanding Development Through Actor-Network Theory " on 30th June 2011. This brought together new work applying actor-network theory in international development research. Our aim was to explore the extent to which ANT can improve our understanding of development.
Join the online network sharing ideas and resources on ANT in development studies at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/ActorNetwork-Theory-in-Development-Studies-3995328
Details of the presenters and abstracts for their papers are available online. You can find a summary of the workshop at: http://www.devstud.org.uk/studygroups/information_technology_and_development-34.html
| Authors | Title | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Isam Faik, Mark Thompson & Geoff Walsham | Flattening the Development Landscape | Link to Prezi |
| João Porto de Albuquerque, Henrique Luiz Cukierman, Ivan da Costa Marques & Paulo Henrique Fidelis Feitosa | Challenging the Ontology of Technoscientific Artefacts: Actor-Network Theory in the Context of Developing Countries | Link to PDF |
| Tom Smith | Making and Marketing a Leaf Protein Concentrate: The Formation and Dissolution of a 1970s Development Project | Link to PPT |
| Henrik Ernstson | Re-Translating Nature in Post-Apartheid Cape Town: The Alliance of People and Plants in Opening 'Urban Nature' to "Coloureds" and Other Non-Whites | Link to PDF |
| Frederik Oberthür, Ulrike Felt, Birgit Habermann & Christian Vogl | From Herding to Business: A Sociology of Translation of Dairy Farming in Western Uganda | Link to PDF |
| Samer Abdelnour & Akbar Saeed | Technologies of Othering: The Case of Fuel-Efficient Stoves in Darfur | Link to PPT |
| Jaap Voeten, Gerard de Groot, Job de Haan & Nigel Roome | Understanding Responsible Innovation in Small Producers’ Clusters in Vietnam through Actor Network Theory | Link to PPT |
| Yingqin Zheng & Cheng Zhang | Decentring Collective Action: Internet Activism and Collective Agency | Link to PPT |
| Richard Heeks & Carolyne Stanforth | Understanding the Politics of Development Project Implementation: An Actor-Network Perspective on Local-Global Interactions | Link to PPT |
If you have any questions about the workshop or the ongoing network on ANT in Development Studies please contact us: ant4dev@gmail.com Please note that papers from the workshop are not available at present.
Workshop organisers: Richard Heeks (CDI, University of Manchester) & Shirin Madon (DID, London School of Economics)
ICT4D Practitioner Seminars
- "Bridging Technology and Politics" (2.00-3.00pm) by Ben Taylor, Executive Director of Daraja, a governance-focused NGO based in rural Tanzania. Ben discussed Tanzania’s technological and governance context, particularly within the water sector. He outlined the design and practice of Daraja’s MajiMatone programme which uses mobile phones to increase local government accountability around water supply; drawing conclusions about the addition of digital technologies to traditional institutions of governance. This seminar was held in collaboration with the University's Herbert Simon Institute. A copy of Ben's presentation can be found here.
- "Connecting Remote Rural Communities: Lessons from the eBario Project in Malaysia" (3.00-4.00pm) by Dr Alvin Yeo, Director of the Institute for Social Informatics and Technological Innovation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Alvin discussed the eBario project, which deployed ICTs in a very isolated rural community in Malaysian Borneo. By using a multi-disciplinary team spanning technical and social sciences, and by using a participatory, action research methodology, this project was able to make a direct contribution to improvement of rural livelihoods. The project is winner of the CAPAM International Innovation Award.
Workshop on "Social Media and International Development"
Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics and Institute of Innovation Research hosted a half-day workshop on "Social Media and International Development" on 31 March 2011.
Social media such as Twitter and Facebook has been much in the news recently, and this workshop explored some of the implications for developing countries and international environments. Papers dealt with the use of social media by civil society organisations, for the organisation of protest movements, and within transnational corporations.
Presentations and some related papers are available online:
- Empowering Indonesian Civil Society through ICTs and Social Media: An Experience of Hivos Netherlands in Indonesia (Shita Laksmi: Hivos & MIOIR/MBS, University of Manchester)
- Citizens in Action: Mapping Contemporary Civic Activism and the Use of New Social Media in Indonesia (Yanuar Nugroho: CDI & MIOIR/MBS, University of Manchester)
>>> Full report available: Citizens in @ction: Collaboration, Participatory Democracy and Freedom of Information
- Conviviality of Internet Social Networks: An Exploratory Study of Internet Campaigns in Iran (Aghil Ameripour, Brian Nicholson & Michael Newman: CDI/MBS, University of Manchester)
>>> Related CDI working paper available: Internet Usage Under Authoritarian Regimes: Conviviality, Community, Blogging and Online Campaigning in Iran
- Social Networking in International Corporate Environments: Innovation and Control (Heba El-Sayed & Chris Westrup: CDI/MBS, University of Manchester)
For further details, contact : yanuar.nugroho@manchester.ac.uk
Hallsworth Fellowship Award for CDI Member
CDI member, Yanuar Nugroho, has been awarded a Hallsworth Fellowship, running from Sept 2010 to Aug 2012. The focus will be on innovation in third sector organisations in Southeast Asia. The research will map the way third sector organisations innovate and manage their innovation. It will then map the impact of innovation on organisational performance and networks and eventually their role in the development of, as well as socio-political dynamics in, Southeast Asia. Central to their innovation is organisational adoption of Internet- and new media-based technology both for internal organisational purposes and for external objectives such as engagement with their beneficiaries or informing public policy-making processes.
Prize-Winning Paper on ICT Micro-Enterprise
CDI doctoral researcher, Chris Foster, was awarded a prize at the December 2010 ICTD2010 conference for his paper and presentation on: "Analysing ICT Micro-Enterprises using Activity Theory: The Case of Mobile Regulation in India"
UK Launch of 2010 UN Information Economy Report: ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation
Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics and Brooks World Poverty Institute hosted the UK launch of the global Information Economy Report 2010 on the afternoon of Thursday 14 October 2010.
This year's IER, produced by the UN Conference on Trade and Development with significant contributions from CDI members, focused on ICTs, enterprise and poverty.
It showed how mobile phones are creating millions of new jobs in developing countries, supporting micro-enterprises that innovate to reach "bottom of the pyramid" markets in ways large firms cannot. Outsourcing is starting to bring new income to Africa, and new business models such as "social outsourcing" are pushing benefits into poor communities. Further growth requires greater ICT diffusion, but policy must move from a supply- to a demand-driven approach that recognises and scales up the innovations already occurring within micro-enterprise.
Speakers:
- Torbjörn Fredriksson, Chief, ICT Analysis Section, UNCTAD.
- Andrew Zerzan, Regulatory Projects Director, GSM Association.
- Andrew Scott, Policy and Programmes Director, Practical Action.
- Dr George Manu, Director, Creative Squares.
- Prof. Richard Heeks, Director, Centre for Development Informatics.
Chair:
- Prof. Armando Barrientos, Brooks World Poverty Institute (http://www.bwpi.manchester.ac.uk/)
Presentation: IER Report Overview [PPT; 1.2MB]
Photos: Fredriksson 1; Fredriksson 2; Scott & Zerzan; Manu; Heeks, Manu & Barrientos; Heeks & Manu; All Speakers [JPEG; 1MB each]
Press Release: University of Manchester Press Release
See also: Online Copy of IER 2010 Report
Past Events
"Urban Slums and ICT-Based Entrepreneurship" seminar
Friday 11th June 2010
Nimmi Rangaswamy, from Microsoft Research (India), discussed the role played by a variety of ICT-based micro-enterprises like cyber cafés, mobile phone stores, computer skill training institutes, mobile phone repair and servicing units, and PC assembling and servicing units in the context of urban slums in India. Subjects of focus in the talk included: types of local demand for ICT consumption; non-formal business routes to servicing demand; and localization and impacts of ICT business adoption.
ICT-aided entrepreneurship was identified as a harbinger driving local technology immersion in resource-poor environments, extending access to marginalized populations. The talk also covered the nature and function of informal business practices in emerging markets and challenged notions of them as illegitimate piracy.
Presentation: The PC-Aided Enterprise and Re-Cycling ICT: An ICT for D Story? [PPT; 7MB]
Paper: The PC-Aided Enterprise and Re-Cycling ICT: An ICT for D Story? [DOC; 200KB]
Photo: Introduction to Seminar [JPEG; 1.8MB]
"ICT Policy in Developing Countries" workshop
Thursday 25th March 2010
Starting some 15 years ago, information and communication technologies (ICTs) began to rise up the development agenda, as their potential contribution to achievement of development goals was recognised. In order to give strategic direction to that contribution, developing countries – some with the encouragement of donor agencies – started to formulate national ICT policies, and also sub-policies around specific application areas, sectors and technologies. This workshop reviewed those policies, and produced an overall summary guide on coherent ICT policy for development.
Click here to read: *** Workshop Summary Report- Delivering Coherent ICT Policies in Developing Countries ***
Presentations:
| Author | Title | Abstract | Presentation | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prof Richard Heeks, CDI, University of Manchester, UK | ICT Policy Coherence in Developing Countries | - | Heeks PPT | Heeks Photo |
| Dr Ping Gao, CDI, University of Manchester, UK | China's National Policy for Catching-up in the IT Industry | Gao Abstract | Gao PPT | Gao Photo |
| Ranjan Baral & Dipu Murti Bhurtyal, Forum for Information Technology, Nepal | ICT Policy in Nepal: Opportunities and Challenges | Baral & Bhurtyal Abstract | Baral & Bhurtyal PPT | Baral Photo Bhurtyal Photo |
| Md. Masum Billa, D.Net, Bangladesh | Bangladesh National ICT Policy 2009: Key Features and Challenges | Billa Abstract | Billa PPT | Billa & Group Photo |
| Dr Adesina Iluyemi, University of Portsmouth, UK | How New Global Alliances and Identities Shape ICT Policy in Developing Countries: Insights from Globalization of e-Health in Africa | Iluyemi Abstract | Iluyemi PPT | Iluyemi & Group Photo |
| Andy Bardelli-Danieli, CDI, University of Manchester, UK | ICT Policy and Policymaking in Uganda: An Interpretive Approach | Bardelli-Danieli Abstract | Bardelli-Danieli PPT | Bardelli-Danieli Photo |
| Adnan Rafiq, University of Cambridge, UK | From 8 to 80 Million Subscribers in 80 Months: Reform and Regulation in the Mobile Telecommunications Market in Pakistan | Rafiq Abstract | Rafiq PPT | Rafiq Photo |
| Irfanullah Arfeen, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, Pakistan | IT and e-Government Policy in Pakistan | Arfeen Abstract | Arfeen PPT | Arfeen Photo |
This workshop was a meeting of the UK Development Studies Association's "Information, Technology and Development" study group
If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact us: ping.gao@manchester.ac.uk
Book Launch: "Communication for Another Development", Wendy Quarry & Ricardo Ramirez, Zed Books
The Centre for Development Informatics hosted the launch of "Communication for Another Development" on Thursday 19 November.
This lively book argues that in the development process, communication is everything. The authors, world experts in this field as teachers, practitioners and theorists, argue that Communication for Development is a creative and innovative way of thinking that can permeate the overall approach to any development initiative.
They illustrate their argument with vivid case studies and tools for the reader, drawing on the stories of individual project leaders who have championed development through communication, and using a range of situations to show the different possibilities in various contexts. Free from jargon, and keeping a close look at how development is actually being implemented at ground level, this book is an important contribution to development studies not just for students but also for development practitioners and policy makers.
Photos: Presenters; Presenters & CDI Director [JPEG; c.200KB]
For further details: Zed Books catalogue entry
UK Launch of UN Information Economy Report 2009
Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics hosted the UK launch of the global Information Economy Report 2009 on Friday 23 October.
This year's IER, produced by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, gives special attention to the impact of the global financial crisis on ICTs. It includes up-to-date findings on the use of ICT in business, including SMEs in developing countries; on the impact of the financial crisis on global ICT trade; and on the changing digital divide between global North and global South. Statistical data is provided on changing patterns in offshoring, ICT trade and ICT diffusion.
The launch was presented by Torbjörn Fredriksson from UNCTAD.
Presentation: Information Economy Report 2009 [PPT; 3.3MB]
Photo: Presenters [JPEG; 450KB]
See also: Online copy of IER 2009
"Gold Farming: Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games"; Prof. Richard Heeks
Thursday 4 June 2009, University of Manchester
Employing up to 1,000,000 people in East Asia and with an annual trade worth up to US$5bn, gold farming is big business yet virtually unknown outside computer gaming circles. This presentation provides the first academic analysis of this major new industry through which Asian "playbourers" produce virtual currency and high-level avatars for online gamers. It provides best estimates of the industry's size, describes the global value chain and trade processes, and analyses its developmental implications. It will outline a future research agenda given gold farming reflects growing trends in developing countries towards cybersourcing and towards "liminal" ICT work (which lies on or just below the threshold of what is socially-acceptable and formally-legal).
See also: Online copy of report on gold farming
Powerpoint presentation: "Gold Farming" [PPT; 4.5MB]
Launch Event: Prof. Subhash Bhatnagar
On 14th May 2009, the Centre for Development Informatics held its launch event at which Prof. Subhash Bhatnagar, from the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, presented on "ICTs and Development: Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going?".
Prof. Bhatnagar presentation: "ICTs and Development" [PPT; 4.8MB]
Speed Presentations:
| Aumnat Tongkaw | Carolyne Stanforth | Noemi Pezderka | Yanuar Nugroho | Brian Nicholson |
| Sharon Morgan | Richard Heeks | Victor Gonzalez | Richard Duncombe | Fredrick Agboma |
2009 International Conferences on ICTs-for-Development
The CDI Directors, Richard Heeks and Brian Nicholson were co-chairs for the two major ICTs-for-Development conferences of 2009; respectively:
- The ICTD2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (17-19 Apr 2009, Doha, Qatar). Proceedings for this conference are available at: ICTD2009 Conference Proceedings [PDF; 35MB]. Keynote speeches from Bill Gates and Carlos Braga can be viewed at: ICTD2009 Outcomes Further details of the conference: ICTD2009 Conference
- The IFIP working group 9.4 international conference on Assessing the Contribution of ICT to Development Goals (26-28 May 2009, Dubai). Papers for this conference, a PDF of the proceedings, and further details are available at: IFIP9.4 2009 Conference
Past News
CDI Member Wins "Academic of the Year" Award
We are proud to announce that CDI member, Yanuar Nugroho, has been honoured with the "Academic of the Year" award by Manchester Business School. Yanuar's CDI research focuses on use of ICTs within civil society organisations.
Scientific American Feature Article for Prof. Richard Heeks' "Gold Farming" Research
Ground-breaking research from the Centre for Development Informatics has led to a feature article in the January 2010 issue of Scientific American, by Prof. Richard Heeks.
The research shows how online computer games have opened up a whole new industry in developing countries; providing jobs for up to 1 million workers.
This industry – known as "gold farming" – sees impatient computer gamers paying workers in Asia to go online into games such as World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings. The Asian gold farmers build up a supply of the virtual currency (called "gold"), which they then sell to other gamers via e-commerce Web sites.
The Scientific American feature shows how the gold farming industry has progressed over time. Originally a US-based cottage industry during the 1990s, it became a sector of super-profits and millionaires when work was first outsourced to China in the early 2000s. More recently, the profit bubble has burst as competition has forced virtual currencies to devalue an average 85% against the US dollar.
Nonetheless, gold farming continues to grow, providing jobs for hundreds of thousands of urban unemployed and rural migrants. It represents an initial example of "cyber-sourcing": the sub-contracting of virtual world activities; something that may present a growing opportunity for livelihood creation in developing countries.
The impact of computer gaming and virtual worlds on developing countries forms part of the research agenda for CDI. See current output: Online copy of report on gold farming
For further details, email: cdi@manchester.ac.uk
CDI Member Appointed Chair of IFIP International Working Group on Computers and Development
We are pleased to announce that CDI member, Chris Westrup, has been appointed chair of IFIP working group 9.4 on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries. IFIP – the world association for all national computer societies – set up the working group in 1988. It has been the leading international grouping for academic work on information systems and development, with its published proceedings from bi-annual conferences forming the "canon" for analytical work in the field. For further details of the group, see: IFIP WG9.4 site.
CDI Wins Major Research Grant on ICTs, Climate Change and Development
CDI members Richard Heeks and Angelica Ospina will lead a major new research project on ICTs, climate change and development, funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre. The two-year project will produce foundational thematic and regional position papers on the use of ICTs in mitigation, monitoring and adaptation to climate change in developing countries, leading into COP 17 to be held in South Africa in 2011. Those working in this field are invited to join NICCD, the Network on ICTs, Climate Change and Development that has been set up in conjunction with the project. Emerging ideas from the project are being published on the project blog.
For further details, email: cdi@manchester.ac.uk