These days, modern ICT is driven by computer technology that helps people to store, access, manipulate, communicate and share information.^[1] ICT has made great leaps forward during the last twenty years. Its impact on civil society and commercial business has been immense. Indeed, the way it has changed the fabric of social interaction – both locally and globally – has led commentators to call this the ‘Digital Age’ or the era of the ‘Digital Revolution’. Even so, the growth of ICT has focused primarily on the more affluent segments of society, leaving poor regions, both urban and rural, out of the information loop. Due in large part to their lack of resources and skills and to the inherent technical disadvantages resulting from that, huge numbers of people are increasingly being excluded from playing an active role in society. The more pivotal this new digital arena becomes to social and economic activity, both locally and globally, the more developing regions will face new economic disadvantages and an ever-increasing social exclusion.

While IICD acknowledges that Information and Communication Technology is a sector in its own right and recognises the importance of stimulating this sector in developing countries, IICD’s primary focus is on the use of ICT as a cross-cutting tool that that can help improve development in various different sectors such as Education, Health, the Environment, Livelihoods, Participation and Governance.

In looking for practical and sustainable solutions, IICD not only makes use of modern information and communication technology such as computers, the Internet and mobile telephones, but also applies traditional media such as radio and television. Indeed, depending on the specific needs and technical possibilities, it often uses a number of different kinds of ICT in combination. The primary objective for IICD is not merely to stimulate the use of technology but rather to have it serve as a catalyst for improving development.

When applying various types of ICT, IICD considers four different aspects:

• Technical. What do people need to have to be able to access information and communication? (connectivity and improved access to radio and television as well as to various applications relevant to specific sectors, e.g. market information systems and health management information systems)
• Content. Are people able to create and organise content? (content development)
• Capacities. Do people possess the necessary skills for working with ICT? (capacity development)
• Sustainability. Will the solution be sustainable in the long term? (funding, policy support).

^[1] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_Communications_Technology

IICD’s mission and approach

IICD uses a cross-cutting approach that addresses ICT-for-Development issues for different sectors within countries. Its ultimate goal is to see ICT fully integrated into development programmes and national policies. Currently, IICD is active in nine countries across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, where it works with partners in Country Programmes to improve development within the sectors of Education, the Environment, Governance, Health, and Livelihoods. Within each Country Programme, IICD supports projects that help the local partners (who in fact own the projects) understand and successfully apply ICT within their own setting. A mature Country Programme involves at least two different development sectors, with five or six active projects in each.

The support that IICD gives can have a number of different forms. We sometimes offer ‘seed funds’ for pilot projects, for example, or provide technical expertise with the help of our private partners to find technical solutions to improve connectivity. IICD also sets up capacity-development programmes to train project partners, aligned with the direct and indirect beneficiaries of the projects, to develop their understanding of information and communication tools. In addition, we help to build national and regional networks for knowledge sharing, advocacy and lobbying. We also closely monitor and evaluate each activity on the ground to enable everyone involved to learn from and build on each experience. For our partners in the ICT for Development sector, IICD can be considered an adviser and a broker.

IICD’s work is defined by a set of guiding principles that influence all its activities. While those principles are automatically applied at all levels within IICD, they are continually re-evaluated and reviewed to ensure their relevance to development cooperation. Local ownership involves each partner organisation recognising its own role and working towards making the activities sustainable. Demand-driven ensures that the development activities actually respond to local demand and are applicable within the local context. Capacity development addresses those skills that are essential in order to work effectively. Multi-stakeholder involvement ensures that the added value of the stakeholders in each sector is fully utilised. Partnerships enable IICD and its local partners to use their experience and resources to increase the impact of ICT in the different sectors. Learning by doing tackles the issue of making sure there is an environment conducive to expanding the knowledge base. Finally, Gender equality enables women to remain prominent stakeholders at all stages.

Understanding both ICT and development

Over a decade of experience in working in the field of ICT for Development has given IICD a clear sense of how ICT can contribute to sustainable development as well as a thorough knowledge of how best to apply it.

Within the Livelihoods sector, ICT has turned out to be a useful instrument for gathering, analysing and sharing information on prices in various markets, so that farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs can now decide where best to sell their products and at which price. This gives them access to new markets and customers – sometimes even beyond their own national borders – and offers resources on fertilisers, pesticides and other ways to improve their production. By increasing their income in this way, ICT is making a sustainable impact on the lives of farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs.

Within the Education sector, ICT is helping people in isolated areas – where both teachers and learning materials are scarce – gain access to education. It also enables teachers to update their curriculum and improve the quality of their lessons, especially at schools that have only few facilities if any, and it allows for testing to be done in a virtual environment. Teaching young people how to use computers will also improve their career prospects and, in the longer term, help to bridge the widening digital gap.

Within the Health sector, ICT has proved to be useful for health workers who need information about outbreaks of infectious diseases, about new treatments and drugs, and about the status of patients, clinics and hospitals.

ICT is by definition a tool for connecting people. It helps isolated groups to organise themselves better and to access and gather information about their civil rights. Moreover, it offers them a channel through which they can be heard. Both governments and citizens, including minorities, have been shown to benefit from ICT, as it has made information flows more transparent and improved the communication flows between different levels of government.

The importance of innovation

While the value of applying ICT in a development context has been amply demonstrated in recent years, IICD is aware that it must constantly reflect on the work it does to see if there are better methods, more efficient processes and more useful tools that could be used to support our goals. As a result, IICD constantly monitors and evaluates its processes and achievements together with local partners. We analyse our experiences on the ground and share those within the development community. This knowledge is then re-invested in new ICT for Development activities. Moreover, we use this ongoing review and updating of knowledge to enhance our methods and innovate our processes.

Innovation also plays a major role in the search for solutions to the problem of connectivity; one of the main challenges in the integration of ICT in developing countries. Together with private partners, research institutes and local partners, IICD is constantly looking for new tools and solutions that can meet the information and communication needs of people in those countries. Recent technologies that we have experimented with include wireless community networks, Web 2.0 tools and mobile technology.