Publications

Below you'll find a collection of working papers, workshop presentations and legacy research outputs related to the Centre for Digital Development.

Actor-Network Theory for Development

These working papers apply the ideas and concepts of actor-network theory (ANT) to issues and cases within international development.

To join discussions on use of ANT in development, please see our Linkedin page:

You can also find collated references on the Mendeley website:

Working papers

Workshop presentations

Understanding Development Through Actor-Network Theory

Initial papers in this series derive from the "Understanding Development Through Actor-Network Theory" workshop. The workshop presentations can be found below:

AuthorPresentation
Isam Faik, Mark Thompson and Geoff Walsham Flattening the Development Landscape
João Porto de Albuquerque, Henrique Luiz Cukierman, Ivan da Costa Marques and Paulo Henrique Fidelis Feitosa Challenging the Ontology of Technoscientific Artefacts: Actor-Network Theory in the Context of Developing Countries
Tom Smith Making and Marketing a Leaf Protein Concentrate: The Formation and Dissolution of a 1970s Development Project
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
Frederik Oberthür, Ulrike Felt, Birgit Habermann and Christian Vogl From Herding to Business: A Sociology of Translation of Dairy Farming in Western Uganda
Samer Abdelnour and Akbar Saeed Technologies of Othering: The Case of Fuel-Efficient Stoves in Darfur
Jaap Voeten, Gerard de Groot, Job de Haan and Nigel Roome Understanding Responsible Innovation in Small Producers’ Clusters in Vietnam through Actor Network Theory
Yingqin Zheng and Cheng Zhang Decentring Collective Action: Internet Activism and Collective Agency
Richard Heeks and Carolyne Stanforth Understanding the Politics of Development Project Implementation: An Actor-Network Perspective on Local-Global Interactions

Big and Open Data for International Development

AuthorPresentation
Richard Heeks Opening Welcome
Richard Heeks and Jaco Renken  Data justice for development: what would it mean?
Daniela Gabor and Sally Brooks  The digital revolution in financial(ised) inclusion
Mike Smith Challenges in digitising Kampala's vehicle collision data
Dan Brockington, Dorothea Kleine and Chris Foster What are the prospects of a data revolution from mobile phone data in data-poor countries?
Eleanor Carey Will SDG indicators drive the use of big data to plug the gender statistics gap at developing country National Statistical Offices?
Isabella Rega, Ioanna Samakovlis, Alessandro Inversini and Nigel Williams Listening to the voices from the slums: using Twitter to frame interventions
Elise Dufief Exploring the potential of open data and aid transparency for development
Rolf Kleef Traceability and linking in IATI data
Tom Fisher Privacy, big and open data, and development
Felipe Gonzalez-Zapata and Richard Heeks Path dependency and institutionalisation of open government data in Chile

New Models of Innovation for Development

Author(s)Title
Hannes Toivanen Invisible innovation: integrating innovation by the poor into inclusive innovation frameworks
Theo Papaioannou How inclusive can innovation and development be in the 21st century?
Maria Clara C. Soares and José E. Cassiolato Innovation systems and inclusive development: some evidence based on empirical work
Kees Swaans, Birgit Boogaard, Ramkumar Bendapudi, Hailemichael Taye, Saskia Hendrickx and Laurens Klerkx Operationalizing inclusive innovation: lessons from innovation platforms in livestock value chains in India and Mozambique
Elisa Arond, Mariano Fressoli, Dinesh Abrol, Adrian Smith and Adrian Ely The framings of grassroots innovation and implications for models of inclusive innovation [Abstract only]
Beth Cullen , Josephine Tucker, Katherine Snyder, Alan Duncan, Zelalem Lema Innovation platforms, power, representation and participation: lessons from the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
Roald Suurs, Fernando J. Diaz Lopez, Jenny de Boer, Matilde Miedema, Linda de Kamp and R.A. Mashelkar A systems-based model for the successful scaling up of sustainable innovation at the bottom of the pyramid
Rukmal Weerasinghe, A.K.W. Jaywardene and Ronald Ramlogan Innovation for the bottom of economic pyramid: the role of manufacturing SMEs in Sri Lanka
Jaap Voeten and Wim Naudé Internal regulation of innovation externalities for development: lessons from Vietnam
Mario Pansera Is there space for non-conventional innovation in mainstream theory? Towards a framework to explain heterodox innovation
Christopher Foster Nurturing user-producer interaction: innovation flows in a low income mobile phone market
Adrian Ely, Adrian Smith, Melissa Leach, Andy Stirling, Ian Scoones Globally-linked local innovation for sustainable development: implications for a new hybrid politics post-Rio+20
Diana Akullo, Harro Maat and Arjen Wals The public-private partnership: a case of agricultural innovation in Uganda?
Judith Sutz and Cecilia Tomassini Knowledge, innovation, social inclusion and their elusive articulation: when isolated policies are not enough
Pankaj Sekhsaria The making of an India STM and ‘technological jugaad’ as a culture of innovation
Gillian Marcelle, Lesego Nkhumise and Shahid Vawda Making innovation and science relevant for poor communities: the case of a water management project in South Africa

Social Media and International Development

AuthorPresentation
Shita Laksmi  Empowering Indonesian Civil Society through ICTs and Social Media: An Experience of Hivos Netherlands in Indonesia
Yanuar Nugroho  Citizens in Action: Mapping Contemporary Civic Activism and the Use of New Social Media in Indonesia
Yanuar Nugroho  Citizens in @ction: Collaboration, Participatory Democracy and Freedom of Information (Full report)
Aghil Ameripour, Brian Nicholson & Michael Newman  Conviviality of Internet Social Networks: An Exploratory Study of Internet Campaigns in Iran
Aghil Ameripour, Brian Nicholson, Michael Newman  Internet Usage Under Authoritarian Regimes: Conviviality, Community, Blogging and Online Campaigning in Iran (Full report)
Heba El-Sayed & Chris Westrup  Social Networking in International Corporate Environments: Innovation and Control (

ICT Policy in Developing Countries

AuthorTitle
Prof Richard Heeks, CDI, University of Manchester, UK ICT Policy Coherence in Developing Countries
Dr Ping Gao, CDI, University of Manchester, UK China's National Policy for Catching-up in the IT Industry
Ranjan Baral & Dipu Murti Bhurtyal, Forum for Information Technology, Nepal ICT Policy in Nepal: Opportunities and Challenges
Md. Masum Billa, D.Net, Bangladesh Bangladesh National ICT Policy 2009: Key Features and Challenges
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
Andy Bardelli-Danieli, CDI, University of Manchester, UK ICT Policy and Policymaking in Uganda: An Interpretive Approach
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
Irfanullah Arfeen, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, Pakistan IT and e-Government Policy in Pakistan

CDI Launch

AuthorTitle
Prof Subhash Bhatnagar ICTs and Development
Aumnat Tongkaw Speed presentation
Carolyne Stanforth Speed presentation
Noemi Pezderka Speed presentation
Yanuar Nugroho Speed presentation
Brian Nicholson Speed presentation
Sharon Morgan Speed presentation
Richard Heeks Speed presentation
Victor Gonzalez Speed presentation
Richard Duncombe Speed presentation
Frederic Agboma Speed presentation