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12 Habits of Highly Effective ICT-Enabled Development Initiatives
Bridges.org
January 17, 2007
http://www.bridges.org/12_habits
The 12 Habits
of Highly Effective ICT-Enabled Development Initiatives are a set
of best practice guidelines for project management, which aim to
ensure the internal health of initiatives harnessing ICT for development.
Like the Real Access criteria, the 12 Habits can be used proscriptively
for planning, or retrospectively for evaluation.
The
12 Habits are:
Habit
1. Start by doing some homework. Look at what has worked and what
has not worked, study good practices in the area, and build on what
you have learned.
The basic assumption underpinning this Habit is that there are few
completely original ideas. So just as entrepreneurs study business
models and competitors before they start a company, ICT-enabled
development initiatives should start by looking at other activities
in their field. If the idea appears to be wholly unique, then it
may be necessary to think more broadly to identify something similar,
looking at different technologies, geographic areas, and sectors.
For example, if the idea is to implement WiFi for healthcare in
a rural community in South Africa and it has not been done before,
then it would be useful to look at any implementation of WiFi in
any African country, or any rural setting beyond Africa, and projects
using a different technology for healthcare in rural South Africa.
Desktop research
is an obvious starting point for homework. As development initiatives
increasingly share information about what they do, it will be easier
for others to study past experience. However, many initiatives that
use cutting-edge ICT are ongoing and may not have disseminated their
lessons learned; in such cases it is can be helpful to find out
who is doing what in the field, and to contact researchers and project
leaders to learn about their experiences. Even when other projects
are very different, there may be elements and ideas that can be
borrowed, so it is important to adapt as needed. The term "best
practice" has come under fire recently in the ICT development
community, where practitioners point out that no practice can be
generically "best" where each project that uses technology
must necessarily be different to accommodate the unique characteristics
of each ICT use, the community where it is located, and the broader
social and economic systems that impact on its use. Nonetheless,
successes and failures should be studied and "good" practices
identified, which may require adaptation to be applied in different
settings. The main point is to learn from others and build on those
lessons with new ideas.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What kind of homework can
be done to gain a full understanding of the lessons learned by previous
efforts of this kind? What kinds of homework have been done? What
related work has been done in the field? What "good practices"
are relevant to this particular initiative? Does the initiative
draw on good practice in the field? What concrete steps have been
taken to build on good practices?
Habit
2. Conduct a thorough needs assessment of the community to be served
so you can plan to do what is actually required.
While Habit 1 deals with unearthing lessons from what has gone before
as general background to inform the work at hand, Habit 2 calls
for the collection of specific information on the environment and
needs of the particular community or group to be served by the initiative.
Like a business, an ICT-enabled development initiative must understand
its "market": local conditions, the needs and desires
of the people and organizations, and other factors that will affect
technology uptake and sustainability in this setting. The needs
assessment should fully investigate current technology use in the
area to be served, including local capacity to use the technology;
the availability of technical support; the kinds of services that
people and organizations would be willing to pay for and what may
need to be provided for free; the training needed to integrate technology
use into daily routines of the target groups (training in technology
use and business processes); the availability and reliability of
electricity and phone lines; secure storage for technology; and
many other factors. Depending on the initiative, it may be useful
to include both a high-level review, to gain an understanding of
the broader economic, social, and political landscape, as well as
a detailed review of data collected directly from the individuals
involved. The needs assessment must give a comprehensive picture
of local needs and conditions so that technology solutions can be
adapted to the particular circumstances. This is especially important
in developing countries, where technology solutions that work in
the United States, Europe and other "developed" environments
cannot simply be transplanted to developing-country settings and
expected to work.
Analyzing user
needs may not be simple in many developing country settings. Often
target groups and organizations have had little or no previous exposure
to technology, so they lack even a basic understanding of what ICT
can do for them and are unable to articulate their technology needs.
In that context, the analysis of user needs must consist of one-part
listening to potential users and one-part educating them about what
is possible with ICT.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What kind of assessment
will paint a picture of the needs of the community or target group?
Did the initiative start by looking at the concrete needs of the
people and community that it serves? Is this initiative built around
real needs of an identified group? Where the community has little
previous experience with ICT, did the initiative include an appropriate
education aspect alongside the needs assessment?
Habit
3. Make it local: ensure local ownership, get local buy-in, work
with a local champion, and be context specific.
There are generally two kinds of ICT-enabled development projects:
those that are created from within the community by local actors
who seek solutions to daily problems, and those that are devised
by outsiders with new ideas and good intentions for solving community
problems. The latter are often international development aid projects
planned in European or North American capital cities and delivered
in a developing country, or projects designed in national capitals
for implementation in rural areas. For projects that emerge from
within the local context, the advice of this Habit centers on the
need for gaining solid support from neighbors, colleagues, and local
leaders. ICT initiatives that are imposed from outside often struggle
to get the buy-in from communities that is needed to ensure their
success.
For outside
projects, this Habit recognizes the tension between the desire for
scaling and replicability (where there is pressure to build "generic"
projects that can be replicated at a wide scale), and the practical
need for localization (where the reality requires that projects
be very specific to each unique local setting). Certainly replicating
and scaling effective initiatives so they can extend their impact
and reach many beneficiaries is a desired outcome -- but it is rarely
a core component of initial success. The most effective initiatives
focus on localization first, thinking small and context-specific
in framing their approaches, and working with local people to build
programs around the findings of a needs assessment. And later it
can be determined whether elements of the approach can be replicated
and scaled. This Habit follows from Habit 2, because ensuring local
ownership starts with the needs assessment -- it must go beyond
information collection to be a process of education, awareness-raising,
and engagement with the people who will be served. This kind of
broad process will lay a foundation for local buy-in and a sense
of ownership among beneficiaries, and it will necessarily lead to
a context-specific project.
Working with
a local champion can help make a project that originates from outside
become more locally-driven. A local champion is someone who understands
and embraces the objectives and sees the big picture, supports technology-based
solutions, is trusted by the community served, and shares a vision
for the future. By working with a local ICT champion who embraces
the potential benefits of technology, the initiative can engage
an ally to support and promote ICT use among local groups. The champion
should play a key role in communication with the community, be an
advisor to the initiative, and act as a catalyst to help the initiative
introduce innovation. This individual may not necessarily be on
site in the community, but must have a concrete connection that
can be leveraged. Working at the local level can also mean navigating
local politics, so projects must be aware of the social, cultural
and political dynamics they may encounter and involve a local champion
who can help with this aspect too. Therefore, the best ICT champion
may be someone in a position of authority, who is respected by local
community members, and sets an example as a technology user. This
kind of champion will help shore up local support, and they can
be called upon to open doors and bring in resources as needed.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What can the initiative
do to ensure local buy-in for the project or policy? What would
the characteristics for an appropriate local champion be? How could
a local champion be engaged to support this project or policy? Has
a local champion been identified and engaged? Does the initiative
connect effectively with the people in the community that it serves?
What can be done to give local participants a sense of ownership
over the project or policy? Do local participants feel a sense of
ownership? Were local participants involved in project planning?
Habit
4. Engage a local problem-solver with some degree of responsibility,
and involve them sufficiently so they can identify and address problems
as they arise.
This Habit flows from Habit 3 by highlighting that initiatives work
best when there is at least one local actor on site who takes some
level of responsibility for the project and is resourceful enough
to solve whatever problems invariably arise. It is ideal if this
role is filled by a local project manager, if there is one. But
if the project is run by an outside organization the problem-solver
does not necessarily need to be a fulltime staff member; for example,
the role could be filled by someone from a partner organization.
The role of local problem-solver is not the same as that of local
champion, although the two may be played by the same person. Where
the champion may not need to be involved in the initiative in a
hands-on way, the problem-solver necessarily plays a more practical
role in the day-to-day, as someone who is present locally and takes
personal responsibility to deal with things that come up. This is
a person who can get things done, either by solving problems themselves
or doing what is needed to find a solution. The problem-solver might
provide services or make arrangements for services needed to keep
the initiative running, or complete a local government form to ensure
compliance with local administrative requirements. This would be
the person who shows up to deal with a situation like a flood or
a robbery. In an ICT-enabled initiative this person also needs to
either provide technical support, or make some kind of arrangement
with a service provider to keep computers working, including getting
systems up and running after a power outage, upgrading software,
doing backups, and so forth.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What kind of local problems
will be faced in the project? What kind of skills must the local
problem-solver bring to be able to address these problems? Is there
a project manager who can fill this role? How can a local problem-solver
be engaged?
Habit
5. Form sound partnerships and collaborations, and be good partners
and collaborators.
The massive scale of modern problems requires holistic and systemic
solutions. And the practical problems of integrating ICT into development
initiatives are complex and manifest in different ways in different
countries and communities. Often the issues at stake are beyond
the scope of any single project. Therefore, partnerships and collaboration
are essential for ICT-enabled initiatives to make a real impact
and to improve their chances of achieving sustainability. If ICT-enabled
initiatives are going to make a difference to socio-economic development
over the long-term, civil society organizations, governments, and
the business community must cooperate, pool resources and experience,
and tackle problems collaboratively.
But the word
"partnership" means different things to different people.
In some cases, partnership means a committed relationship between
two organizations that agree to work together over the long term,
targeting common goals, sharing funds, exchanging staff, and building
joint outputs. In other cases, the word "partnership"
is used more loosely, where organizations may just agree to publicly
endorse each other's work to help build mutual credibility in the
field, whether or not the partners are actually involved in each
other's work in a concrete way. In between these extremes, there
are many gradations on the interpretation of "partnership".
No matter what level of partnership is sought, forming sound partnerships
is about initiatives making good choices in who they partner with,
and making sure that they are clear about what they expect to get
out of it. And being a good partner means initiatives do what they
say they will do, communicate regularly, and share information in
a transparent way. If partners do not have the same expectations,
it can be discouraging and frustrating; however, expectations can
be managed by setting down clear parameters for the relationship
in a Memorandum of Understanding at the outset. Partnerships are
fragile; they should be based on trust, but trust has to be earned.
Initiatives can earn the trust of those they work with by being
good partners themselves.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What kinds of partners are
available and relevant? What level of partnership or collaboration
is appropriate? Should a partnership agreement be drafted to confirm
specifics of the partnership? What can the project do to be a good
partner and collaborator itself?
Habit
6. Set concrete goals and take small achievable steps. Be realistic
about outputs and timelines.
At some level, almost everyone involved in socio-economic development
work is inspired by big ideas and a desire to improve the world.
Faced with large-scale problems, the development community hopes
that grand visions, ground-breaking innovations, and tireless hard
work will make the difference. This brand of enthusiasm may well
form the engine driving efforts in this field. However, many ICT
initiatives suffer from goals that are too lofty, and project plans
that try to do too much in too little time. Just as Habit 5 points
out the reality that systemic problems require coordinated approaches,
this Habit underlines the importance of breaking down solutions
to big problems into concrete, achievable pieces with realistic
deliverables.
This is important
for a number of reasons. At a basic level, this is simply about
setting out a solid plan and sticking to it. Identifying concrete
and realistic objectives from the outset will give the initiative
targets to aim for. And when the project gets bogged down or sidetracked
-- as often happens even with the best plans in place -- these clear
targets will provide a focus point to get things back on track.
Equally important is the need for a structured methodology that
is based on small achievable steps, which can keep project implementation
moving forward, even when the objectives seem distant and unobtainable.
Additionally, in a field where burn-out is rampant, setting goals
too high can put untenable pressures on project staff, which can
turn optimism to cynicism. Setting unrealistic goals can also lead
to problems when initiatives do not deliver what they said they
would, leaving communities feeling discouraged and distrustful.
And while funders usually require well-considered objectives and
deliverables, they often put pressure on projects to deliver results
that fit within timeframes set to their funding cycles, which may
not always line up with what makes sense for the project. So ICT-enabled
development initiatives should chart an effective course that taps
the energy of optimism, but is realistic and achievable within the
constraints faced.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What are concrete and realistic
ICT goals for the project/policy? Does the initiative set concrete
and realistic goals for ICT use? Does the initiative have a structured
methodology based on small, achievable steps? What are the appropriate
small achievable steps that will help the initiative move toward
its goals? How can the initiative be designed to avoid the burn-out
of project staff and make the most of their optimism?
Habit
7. Found your initiative on technology-neutral concepts so it can
be adapted as needed to accommodate technology change over time.
The previous Habit calls for realistic timeframes to accomplish
project goals, and Habit 7 flows from that by further highlighting
the impact of time on technology-based projects. Modern information
and communication technologies change more quickly than many ICT-enabled
development projects can be moved from an idea, through the needs
assessment, proposal-writing and funding stages, and on to full
implementation. New technology standards are constantly being developed,
and new products introduced to the market. To stand the test of
time, development initiatives should avoid getting locked into a
specific technology, and use technologies based on open standards
whenever possible.
This Habit emerged
from the frustrated request of a researcher who had submitted a
proposal for a project based on very particular technology, and
by the time it was funded the technology was out-of-date. While
it may not be possible to speed up the funding process, using a
broader, technology-neutral concept when articulating the project
idea leaves room for adapting to the most current technologies once
the project is ready to get underway. For example, instead of basing
a project on WiFi standard 802.11b, building it using the more general
concept of an "appropriate wireless solution" would give
the same results as well as flexibility to move to a more current
WiFi standard or another wireless technology if needed.
Once a project
is underway, a technology-neutral approach leaves room for the project
to change and adapt technologies as needed. Technology use built
on open standards makes it easier for initiatives to shift between
technology solutions. That said, replacing technologies and systems
once a project is underway can be a significant burden, so choosing
technologies that can withstand the fast pace of change in the technology
sector is also a good way to help ensure sustainability for an ICT-enabled
development project. Yet many experts in the field would argue that
no technology choices can ever be "neutral": by choosing
one technology over another an initiative or policy is directing
community ICT use -- and the wider market -- in a certain direction.
So development efforts should make careful decisions, and to the
greatest extent possible make choices that will stand the test of
time.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What does "technology
neutrality" mean in the context of this project? How can the
project be built around technology-neutral concepts? Are open standards
available that could be used in the implementation of this technology?
Can more general or generic technology choices be made? Will the
technology used stand the test of time?
Habit
8. Involve groups that are traditionally excluded on the basis of
age, gender, race or religion.
The likelihood of living in poverty is far greater for groups who
suffer discrimination, so the issue of social exclusion necessarily
lies at the heart of much ICT-enabled development work. The infusion
of ICT into a country or community paints the existing landscape
of poverty, discrimination, and division onto the new canvas of
technology use. Because ICT can reward those who know how to use
it with increased income and cultural and political advantages,
the resulting digital divide shows up in increasingly stark contrast.
The trend is that privileged groups acquire and use technology more
effectively, and because the technology benefits them in an exponential
way, they become even more privileged. And it is a difficult circle:
social exclusion leads to unequal participation in economic, political,
educational, and digital arenas, and it follows that discrimination
limits ICT uptake.
So, socio-economic
development initiatives that fail to involve traditionally excluded
groups fall short on the universal mission to serve humanity and
promote equity. When groups are alienated for social or cultural
reasons it not only hinders ICT penetration to the detriment of
those excluded, but also limits the benefits of diversity in the
information society more broadly. ICT use and the information exchange
it engenders can be a powerful driver for social change. This potential
must be harnessed by ICT initiatives, to promote understanding of
the politics around discrimination and division in society and the
economy. ICT enabled-development initiatives must be aware of the
socio-cultural factors that have an effect on the use of ICT they
target, and take steps to mitigate discrimination. They must strive
to include all groups of society in their projects, and specifically
those that suffer discrimination for social or cultural reasons.
Example
questions for applying this Habit:
What are the dynamics around social exclusion and the use of ICT
in the communities targeted? Which groups are excluded in the communities
targeted by the project/policy? How can the project/policy be implemented
to actively involve them? Does the initiative take steps to involve
groups that are traditionally excluded because of social, cultural,
economic, political, or other reasons?
Habit
9. Identify and understand the external challenges you face, and
take practical steps to address them.
External challenges are obstacles to the success of an initiative
that are beyond the direct control of those implementing the project.
They may be something that can be planned for (like electricity
outages that require power backup for projects to carry on) or not
(such as changes in the political landscape or natural disasters).
For example, each of the Real Access criteria -- such as illiteracy,
the lack of training for technology use, or a lack of public trust
in technology use -- can become an external challenge for ICT-enabled
projects in one way or another. There will always be external challenges
that will affect ICT initiatives, including many that will not be
anticipated in planning processes. These kinds of factors cannot
always be controlled, but what is essential in effective project
management is that these challenges are identified, understood,
and tackled head on.
In some cases,
these challenges may seem beyond the scope of the project and too
big to address -- such as laws and regulations, or shifts in political
power -- but they are ignored at the peril of the initiative. If
those managing a development initiative look at an external challenge
and decide that it is beyond their ability to address at its root,
it is still critical that they determine what steps can be taken
to mitigate its affect on their work. For example, changes in the
local government structures where a community-based project is located
are likely to impact on the project. While it may be beyond the
scope of the work to get involved in local politics, it remains
crucial to understand the political environment and adapt the approach
as needed. To illustrate the point, in such a case, building in
time to introduce newly-elected government officials to the project
could help mitigate problems down the road.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What are the key external
challenges that could affect the ICT initiative? Have each of the
Real Access criteria been reviewed and understood as potential external
challenges that could have an effect on the project? Does the ICT
initiative/policy identify and understand the external challenges
it faces? Does the ICT initiative take practical, proactive steps
to overcome the obstacles? What are the practical steps that could
be taken? If it is not appropriate for the initiative itself to
get involved in tackling the external challenges, what other options
are there for seeing that they are addressed?
Habit
10. Monitor and critically evaluate your efforts with effective
tools, report back to your clients and supporters, and adapt your
approach as needed.
Significant amounts of money have been spent on ICT initiatives
during recent years, and too frequently there is little to show
for it. ICT initiatives should treat the funding that supports their
efforts more like an investment than a gift. They should regard
funders as investors or clients, and report back to them regularly
on progress and impact. Equally important is the need to report
back to users, as they are the most important stakeholders of any
development initiative. Their input ensures that an initiative's
efforts are focused on real needs.
Part of the
reporting should be based on a critical evaluation of the ICT project
or policy. If traditional monitoring and evaluation frameworks are
not effective gauges of progress, then new tools should be developed
that are more suitable. For example, emerging ideas around "social
return on investment" offer promise for use in the ICT-based
development field to illustrate ground-level impact (see more below).
An initiative should demonstrate progress and impact. But where
results are not as successful as expected, the evaluation should
be used as a learning process, to identify and understand mistakes
and shortcomings so methodologies can be adapted as needed to improve
the work. Monitoring a project at regular stages and collecting
data can also give evaluation results statistical relevance, and
create a yardstick for managers and funders to measure the impact
of their work over time.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: Does the initiative evaluate
its efforts, glean what is working and what is not, and learn from
its mistakes? How could its work be measured in different and innovative
ways? Does it adapt its methodologies as appropriate? Does it report
back to the community it serves as well as funders and supporters,
to explain what it is doing and why, and how it is helping the community?
Habit
11. Make your initiative sustainable over the long term -- either
by bringing in sufficient income to be self-sustaining, or by delivering
on a social mission so effectively that it is worthy of continued
donor funding.
While the usefulness of technology for socio-economic development
has been demonstrated, the sustainability of such efforts in developing
countries has proven challenging. Many well-intentioned ICT initiatives
start off strong but fail in the long-term because they do not become
sustainable. ICT-enabled development initiatives should be built
upon sound "business" plans (whether for-profit or non-profit)
that include provisions for overall sustainability. At the end of
the day, the local economic environment determines the extent and
frequency of technology use in the long-term. So ICT projects and
policies should also be designed with local economic conditions
in mind. If people and organizations cannot afford to use technology
now, subsidized ICT projects will not succeed in the long-term if
steps are not taken to improve the economic environment. It is also
important that ICT initiatives consider the "soft" issues
that can impact on their sustainability, such as their ability to
retain human resources, in-house skills, and the intangible support
of project participants.
If an initiative
simply will never achieve economic sustainability by generating
income, then it must make other plans for its long-term sustainability.
One way is to deliver very well on its social mission and report
back effectively on the positive impact it is making, so that its
funders will continue to support the work. An initiative may need
to develop indicators for quantifying its "social return on
investment", or the non-financial benefits to society and the
community that the initiative brings. If such indicators cannot
be captured, descriptions of qualitative measures can also be used
to paint the picture of how ICT-enabled development initiatives
deliver a social benefit worthy of continued support.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What is needed to make the
ICT initiative sustainable? Can it bring in sufficient revenue to
support itself over the long term? If not, what are the options
for achieving sustainability based on the social benefits it brings
to the community and society at large? Does the initiative work
to make its efforts economically and socially sustainable, over
the short and long term? What kinds of "soft" issues relate
to the sustainability of the ICT initiative and how are they being
addressed?
Habit
12. Widely disseminate information on what you are doing and what
you have learned so others can avoid your mistakes and build on
your efforts.
Underpinning this Habit is the strong, ethical argument that work
done in the name of social good should be shared in the public domain.
Actors within the development aid community have a responsibility
to share their knowledge and disseminate their findings as widely
as possible, especially when projects are supported by donor money
(often provided by tax-payers). Many organizations working in the
ICT-enabled development field are known to keep information about
their initiatives to themselves, sometimes because they seek to
make income from production of proprietary work, and often due to
internal politics, bureaucracy, and disorganized processes. However,
sometimes information is kept quiet in order to play down the shortcomings
of projects. But how can the field move forward if no one is willing
to speak frankly about mistakes so they can be studied and understood?
Mistakes themselves are not the problem: repeating the same mistakes
is.
This Habit brings
us full circle from where we started at Habit 1. ICT initiatives
should build their efforts on what is already known in the field
based on findings from the homework exercise. But in order for this
to work each initiative must share information; if they do not disseminate
knowledge and lessons learned it makes it difficult (if not impossible)
for others to learn from past experiences, and this can lead to
mistakes being needlessly repeated. As they implement good practices
in their projects, ICT initiatives should carefully examine their
efforts and determine what works best for them, and then share their
experiences with others. Disseminating strategies for overcoming
obstacles and other lessons learned can greatly contribute to the
community of knowledge and help move the whole field forward.
Example
questions for applying this Habit: What can this initiative
do to contribute knowledge on good practices to the field? Does
this initiative do its part to contribute to the body of knowledge
in the field by sharing experiences and lessons learned? Does the
project/policy openly discuss both its successes and failures? Is
information held as proprietary and sold for a fee, or is it made
publicly available and widely disseminated through open channels?
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