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The goal of the programme is: to ensure ICT plays a key and integrated role in accelerating progress towards achievement of the MDGs.

To achieve this, its purpose is to empower the poor in Africa and Asia to address their key development challenges through effective use of ICT.

Background:

Both traditional and newer ICTs are increasingly recognised as a vital part of the economic, social and political fabric of countries, crucial for development in many ways. ICTs are needed to transmit information, to gather data, to facilitate efficient delivery of services such as health and education, and in management of business enterprises. ICT can enable people to discuss issues, to make their concerns known, to hold their governments accountable and to participate more effectively in political processes. ICTs are therefore essential components of the participation, transparency, and good governance, increasingly seen as the crucial basis for development and poverty reduction. However, the impact of ICTs on the lives of poor people can be both positive and negative. There is a need for more southern led research on key aspects of the ICT for development (ICT4D) agenda. We need to know how the opportunities for impact on poverty can be maximised.

There is growing dynamism and research capacity in a number of southern networks in Africa and Asia that focus on ICT4D. We will work with and support these networks. Building greater southern capacity in this important and rapidly changing area is critical.

This programme addresses the market failure of investment into a global public good: research in poverty-focused ICT4D.

Intended Outputs:

Desired Outcomes/Outputs are:

1. Sustained Policy Dialogue:
   Ongoing, evidence-based dialogue among regulators, policy makers, researchers, civil society and the private sector; leads to well informed decision making on policy issues relevant to ICT4D.
2. Social and Technical Innovation:
   Innovative use of ICTs in mainstream development sectors being researched, adopted and scaled up, as appropriate.
3. Enhanced Research Capacity and Networks in ICT4D:
   Researchers, research institutions and research networks in Africa and Asia increase their capacity to generate new knowledge on ICT that has application for poverty reduction.

Progress and Impact:

Many developing countries in Africa and Asia include mention of ICTs in achieving expected outcomes and delivering services within policy documents. This is also true of many regional development policies. A number of projects supported by Acacia and PAN input directly into these documents, while many others conduct studies to understand and analyze policy documents and policy environments to then be positioned to influence policy and practice.

There are numerous examples of national policies highlighting ICT in their delivery, as a result of programmes funded through the ICT4D programme, these include:

1) 2009 African Economic Outlook, published jointly by the African Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, included a special focus on innovations in ICTs. The publication referred to research supported by Acacia-IDRC.

2) In January 2009 the Namibian Communications Commission (NCC) commissioned the IDRC-funded Research ICT Africa! network to conduct a benchmarking study on interconnection charges between telco operators. Six months later, the new termination ceiling for interconnections was reduced by 43% and is planned to be reduced further by 2011. This evidence-to-policy-change outcome has spilled over into other countries such as South Africa, which has among the highest interconnection fees in the continent.

3) A statement was made at the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meeting on 27 May 2009 by the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project.

4) Based on work supported by the Open Architecture Standards and Information Systems (OASIS) for African Healthcare project, the WHO (including its Health Metrics Network group) and others have come together to convince the majority of health standards organizations (e.g. HL7) to put their standards in the open domain. These would normally cost developing countries.

5) A cabinet reshuffle in Namibia saw the formation of an ICT Ministry for the first time in April 2008. As part of the Research ICT Africa! (RIA!) project, the 2007/8 Household and Individual ICT Access and Usage results for Namibia were used to support a national review of the policy and regulatory environment and were used to demonstrate the sub-optimal impact of a constrained market structure and the absence of an autonomous regulator. Presentations to the presidency led to invitations to lead policy reform initiatives in the country. The household survey formed the basis for a dialogue with the regulator and Telecom Namibia, Mobile Telecommunications Limited and other stakeholders. The data was used for research reports, policy briefs and subsequent articles in a Namibian current affairs magazine.

General Notes: