August 31, 2013 · 2:00 pm

How to make multi-stakeholder partnerships for ICT4D work

I have just finished revising a chapter on multi-stakeholder partnerships for ICT4D that will be appearing next year, and this gave me an interesting opportunity to revisit some of my previous thinking on the subject.

The chapter concludes with eight things that I have come to think are essential for any such partnership to work effectively, and although these are all crucial I guess that they are more or less in descending order of importance:

  1. A political and infrastructural environment that is conducive to the implementation of partnerships.  Without this, there is little point in starting.
  2. Engagement of all relevant stakeholders as early as possible in the initiative.
  3. The involvement of a high level champion, as well as leaders of all of the entities involved.
  4. The identification of clear and mutually agreed objectives for the partnership at the very start.
  5. Consistent monitoring and evaluation of the partnership and its intended outcomes. Again, this must be done from the beginning by ensuring a baseline study exists to enable impact and outcomes to be measured effectively.
  6. A clear and realistic resourcing framework, whereby each partner is explicit about the resources that they are willing to make available to the partnership, as well as their expectations of the benefits of being involved in the partnership.  Mechanisms must also exist for the inclusion of additional partners at stages during the process where new needs are identified.
  7. An ethical framework that emphasises a focus on transparency, and helps build trust within the partnership.
  8. A management office and/or partnership broker that will ensure the day-to-day and effective management and delivery of the partnership.

It would be really interesting to know what others think, and whether there  are more important factors that need to be included and I might have missed!

I have summarised the text in the image below (using Wordle):

Partnerships 2013

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August 12, 2013 · 10:53 am

Commonwealth Professional Fellowship Round 3 2013 just announced

Professional Fellows smallThe Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK has just announced the latest round of its exciting Professional Fellowships programme which is designed to enable citizens of ‘developing’ Commonwealth countries to spend time gaining relevant professional experiences in UK organisations.  Any UK organisations can apply to host people for the scheme (for between 1 and 6 months duration), and any interested individuals are recommended to contact organisations that have previously hosted such fellowships, or that might be interested in hosting them in the future, to see whether they would be willing to nominate them.  Individuals cannot apply directly to the Commission for these awards.  The closing date for organisations to submit nominations is 7th October 2013 for Fellows to start between January and December 2014.

Details of the scheme from the Commission’s website are given below:

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships support mid-career professionals from developing Commonwealth countries to spend a period of time with a UK host organisation working in their field for a programme of professional development. Fellowships are typically three months but can be between one and six months in length, and can include limited time for attendance at short courses or conferences, as well as visits to other organisations.

Programmes must have demonstrable development impact in the Fellow’s home country and the Fellow must be able to show how the knowledge and skills they will gain during the Fellowship will be disseminated after their return home.

Organisations in any sector in the UK can apply to host a Professional Fellowship. A broad selection have done so over the 12 years since the scheme was established. Organisations previously selected to host Professional Fellows

Prospective host organisations might find it helpful to read about previously successful programmes:

Key features of Professional Fellowships

  • Applications must come from an organisation in the UK willing to set up a programme and host the Fellow(s), or have the agreement of a separate organisation in the UK to act as the host (if the latter is the case, a letter will need to be supplied at the time of application to confirm the agreement).
  • Organisations wishing to nominate a Fellow or Fellows will need to set up a suitable programme and identify the Fellow(s) themselves. A programme can include time spent within their own organisation, learning from colleagues in a structured manner and undertaking project work which meets their learning objectives, as well as time spent at other organisations within the UK and at conferences and a limited time on short courses.
  • Funding can be given for programmes of between one and six months (though typically for three months). Justification is required for awards of more than three months.
  • Applications are sought for programmes within the broadly defined fields of agriculture/fisheries/forestry, economic growth, education, engineering/science/technology, environment, governance, and public health.
  • Organisations can apply to host up to six Fellows in one year.
  • Fellows must be Commonwealth citizens, refugees, or British protected persons and must be permanently resident in a developing Commonwealth country.
  • Fellows must normally have at least five years’ relevant work experience in the field within which they wish to undertake the Fellowship.
  • A Commonwealth Professional Fellowship covers the living expenses for the Fellow as well as a return airfare to the UK. It also provides £800 funding support to the host organisation, with a budget of up to £3,000 available for attendance at conferences, on short courses, and other eligible costs.
  • Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are not for academic study or research of any sort. However, academics can be nominated for programmes of professional development in academic management.

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2013 prospectus – includes full details of the scheme and terms and conditions

2013 (Round 3) Professional Fellowships – information for prospective nominators/hosts

2013 (Round 3) Professional Fellowships – information for candidates

 

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August 12, 2013 · 10:31 am

Latest round of Commonwealth Scholarships for citizens of ‘developing’ Commonwealth countries announced

Pakistan smallThe Commonwealth Scholarship Commission has just announced its application process for scholars wishing to study in UK universities for Master’s and PhD degrees from the 2014-15 academic year .  Its Electronic Application System is now live, and will close on 3rd December 2013.  All applications need to be made through national nominating agencies – full details of which are available on the Commission’s website.  Summary details of the application process taken directly from the Commission’s site are given below:

Commonwealth Scholarships – developing Commonwealth country citizens

Commonwealth Scholarships for students from developing Commonwealth countries are offered for Master’s, PhD, and split-site (PhD) study in the UK. These scholarships are funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Nominations

There is a nominating agency for Commonwealth Scholarships in each Commonwealth country. In addition, universities and university bodies in a number of developing Commonwealth countries are invited to nominate candidates to the CSC.

Each year, the CSC invites each nominating agency/university/university body to forward a specific number of nominations. Each nominating agency/university/university body is responsible for its own selection process, and in most cases they will set their own closing date, which will be before the CSC’s deadline for nominations (17 December 2013).

Approximately 300 scholarships are awarded each year. The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to get a scholarship. There are no quotas for scholarships for any individual country. Candidates nominated by national nominating agencies are in competition with those nominated by universities/university bodies, and the same standards will be applied to applications made through either channel.

Terms and conditions and eligibility

Applications are considered according to the following selection criteria:

  • Academic merit of the candidate
  • Quality of the proposal
  • Likely impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country

See Selection criteria – 2014 Commonwealth Scholarships for developing Commonwealth country citizens for further details.

Please note that the CSC does not impose any age limit on applicants for its awards, but national nominating agencies may do so in line with their own priorities.

Candidates may also find the Feedback for unsuccessful candidates in 2013 useful.

Levels of study

You can apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship for the following levels of study:

  • Master’s (one-year courses only)
  • PhD
  • Split-site, where the CSC supports one year’s study at a UK university as part of a PhD being undertaken in your home country

All subject areas are eligible, although the CSC’s selection criteria give priority to applications that demonstrate strong relevance to development.

You are requested to apply for a course of study at a UK university with which the CSC has a part funding agreement.

How to apply

All applications must be made through your nominating agency (or university/university body, if applicable) in your home country. You must check with them in the first instance for specific advice on how to make an application and for their own closing date. The CSC cannot accept any applications direct from candidates.

The CSC expects all Commonwealth Scholarship candidates to be nominated by an approved nominating agency/university/university body, and to have completed an application form using our Electronic Application System (EAS).

Full help on how to apply using the EAS is provided in our guides, which should be read in full before making any attempt to use the EAS.

The EAS will close to applicants on 3 December 2013 and no further applications can be made after that date. The CSC will not accept any applications which are not submitted via the EAS to the nominating agency/university/university body in the candidate’s home country.

How to access the EAS

Please note that all enquiries about these scholarships should be directed to the nominating agency/university/university body in your home country.

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August 10, 2013 · 9:31 am

How will we communicate in 2113?

ScholarsAn invitation to speak on the theme of “How will we communicate in 2113?” at the third annual Commonwealth Residential School meeting at Cumberland Lodge provided an interesting opportunity (at least for me!) to explore some fascinating interests “at the edges” of communication and technology.

The outline of what I intended to say focused around the following themes:

  • Grounding prediction
  • Are there any certainties?
  • How do we communicate today, and why?
    • In whose interests?
  • Trends in communication and technology
  • Extending into the foreseeable future

In particular, I explored the implications of seven trends:

  • The observation that technology can be used for “good” or for “evil” – challenging the many instrumental views of technology in development that so often dominate thinking today
  • Making the case that technology is increasing inequality rather than reducing it – too few people really understand this, but to me it is critically important, and has very significant implications for the future
  • Those in power use technology to remain in power: both states and global corporations.  This is one of the key drivers for how ICTs will be designed and used in the future
  • The ways in which our understandings of privacy have been changed as a result of recent developments in ICTs, and the implications for the relationships between citizens, states, and global corporations
  • Cambridge telephone statueThe ICT sustainability crisis – not only in terms of the energy demands of ICTs, but much more importantly the ways through which corporations generate much of their profit through  making users buy new hardware and software on a regular basis
  • The implications for learning and literacy of next generation ICTs – we will no longer need to learn to read and write, we will be able to understand people speaking any language, and the changes to the brain caused by no longer needing to remember things.
  • The blurring of the human and the machine – and whether or not we want to become cyborgs (encouraging participants to see one of my favourite films – Blade Runner – and also to see the recently released Cloud Atlas!).

One of the fun things about the session was that for the first time I used Promethean’s ActivInspire to gauge participants’ thoughts on a range of issues around their current usage of ICTs.  This did not throw up any particularly novel views from the participants – although 25% felt that Edward Snowden was wrong in exposing the NSA’s mass surveillance programme, with 56%  agreeing that he was right to do so.

Ultimately, I found myself arguing that we have some very important ethical decisions that need to be made here and now with respect to our relationships with ICTs, because there are many forces at play that are seeking to make us increasingly intertwined, and unless we act very soon we may already be far too far down the path to turn back.

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August 6, 2013 · 8:52 pm

CTO is currently advertising for post of Head of Research and Consultancy

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is seeking to appoint a Manager to serve as Head of its Research and Consultancy Division. This exciting opportunity would suit applicants from diverse backgrounds, including academia, the private sector and the international development community. Ideally, candidates for this role will have worked for at least five years within a university research environment, a top-tier consultancy, or within the research department of a leading company within the Telecoms, Media, or Technology sectors. The key role of this position is to manage the delivery of the CTO’s research and consultancy work, both for member organisations and other entities working in the field of ICT for Development. It is expected that applicants will be able to attract new research and consultancy projects, and also to undertake some of this work themselves. The appointment will be at Manager level with a starting salary in the range £36,000-£38,938, and it will be permanent subject to satisfactory performance and a 6 month probationary period. The closing date is 1st September 2013.

Outline Job Description:

The successful applicant will:
  • Lead, manage and motivate staff in the Research and Consultancy Division
  • dentify appropriate research and consultancy opportunities for the CTO, and manage their effective delivery
  • Undertake research and consultancy work in their own areas of expertise
  • Manage the CTO’s priority areas and their advisory boards
  • Manage the CTO’s alumni networks
  • Ensuring that the CTO’s website is updated in all areas of its research and consultancy activities
  • Be responsible for the effective control and management of the Division’s finances, in collaboration with the Finance and Administration Department
  • Lead relationships with relevant entities in one or more of the CTO’s regions
  • Lead the CTO’s work in one or more of its priority areas.
  • Assist in any other aspect of the CTO’s work as assigned by the Secretary General, or by the Head of the Operations Department

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August 4, 2013 · 9:46 pm

Cultural Diplomacy in the Commonwealth

4I am fortunate – well, I think that’s the right word – to serve in two Commonwealth roles:

  • since 2004, I have served as a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner, and since 2009 have had the privilege of being Chair of the Commission; and
  • in 2011 I was appointed as Chief Executive Officer, and since 2012 have been Secretary General, of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation.

At times, this gives rise to interesting comparisons – being Chair of one Commonwealth organisation, whilst Chief Executive of another!

Rarely, though, do I write specifically about the Commonwealth.  There is so much that could be written!  One day, I must definitely write something substantial on the subject.  However, an invitation to give a lecture on cultural diplomacy in the Commonwealth for the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy at the Romanian Cultural Centre in London on 10th July provided an opportunity to present some of my thoughts on the subject.

This identified six main challenges facing cultural diplomacy in the Commonwealth:

  1. A failure to understand each other – emphasising the immense cultural diversity that exists in the Commonwealth, as well as the remaining arrogance of so many of the privileged across the Commonwealth
  2. The dominance of an economic mentality – highlighting a world driven by simplistic economic imperatives, and the need to recalibrate our values to focus more on social and cultural agendas
  3. A damaging emphasis on the individual rather than the community – to be balanced by the need to reassert our responsibilities to each other rather than simply human rights
  4. The need for wise leadership – and the reticence of the metropolitan power.
  5. Failures of the international aid system – that have left many Commonwealth countries both poor and also focusing on economic growth rather than how to address inequality
  6. A lack of understanding of the huge potential of the Commonwealth – including its many shared values, its basis on Common Law, and the fact that its members are drawn from every continent.

In overcoming these challenges I suggested six practical ways forward:

  1. The need to focus more on ways of developing shared understandings – focusing especially on shared cultural values and the critical importance of agendas for peace
  2. A recognition of mutuality of interests and benefits – focusing on common interests and mutual benefits rather than competitive advantage
  3. It does not just happen – it is essential to spend considerable effort in fostering a coherent diplomatic strategic vision
  4. Recognition of the costs of cultural diplomacy – and therefore the need to quantify the very considerable long term mutual benefits of such diplomacy
  5. The potential for digital technologies to support new social networks and relationships between citizens and states.
  6. Balancing diversity with uniformity – and the need for clarity of cultural rather than simply economic agendas.

In conclusion, I emphasised that:

  • we must reassert the value of cultural diplomacy
  • we need to explain more clearly why the Commonwealth really matters
  • the common-weal is ultimately more important than individual success
  • we must invest more in the youth of the Commonwealth
  • we need to explore innovative ways through which ICTs can help foster shared values within the Commonwealth

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July 31, 2013 · 10:03 pm

Habton House Farm Bed and Breakfast: an excellent place to stay in Yorkshire

HH2For anyone looking for somewhere to stay to the north of York,  I’m adding to my periodic comments about interesting hostelries and places to stay by recommending Habton House Farm.  This is an exquisite, hidden-away 200 year old Grade II listed farmhouse situated in the small hamlet of Little Habton just to the north-west of Malton, and not far from Castle Howard.  It makes a great place from which to visit the North York Moors and the Vale of Pickering, with both York and Scarborough each being less than an hour away.  The rooms are beautifully decorated and the quality of furnishings and services offered have been chosen with great care and are of a very high standard. I particularly liked the choice of bath oils and soaps (Bamboo from Bath House if I recall correctly) – as well, of course, as the teas!

HorsesHowever, above all this, what really makes the place is the friendly, welcoming hospitality of James and Lucy who have worked enormously hard to create this very special place to stay.  They have a really magical touch of making guests feel very much at home, getting just right that difficult balance between being open and friendly, while at the same time giving space to guests who just want to escape and be alone.

The breakfasts are also really special!  They offer a good range of delicious food – from bacon and eggs produced on their smallholding, to porridge, smoked salmon and home-made jams and marmalade; and, for the healthier minded, don’t forget the fresh fruit salads and fruit compote!  All of the guests sit around one large breakfast table – which can be a bit daunting for some – but this offers a great opportunity for interesting conversation!

HH1With only three double rooms, there are never many people staying, and there is plenty of room to relax.  Guests have use of a lovely drawing room, which has a log fire in the winter, and for those who cannot escape being an appendage to a digital device there is good quality Wi-Fi, as well as a television in each room, and DVDs to borrow in the drawing room.  Nearby are several good restaurants, and James and Lucy are always on hand to recommend somewhere interesting to explore.  We certainly had a very pleasant pub dinner at The Grapes in Great Habton!

PigsTheir smallholding specialises in breeding and rearing rare-breed pedigree Oxford Sandy and Black pigs, and has pioneered the ultimate in food provenancing by enabling people to adopt a pig, and follow it throughout its life until the time comes to enjoy a wonderful porcine feast!  Mind you, the bacon at breakfast is also very, very good!

All in all, if you are looking for a quiet, luxurious place to stay in Yorkshire, at very good value, and with really friendly young hosts, this is definitely somewhere you should get to know!  I really hope that James and Lucy make a success of this venture – and that by encouraging others to come and stay I can express something of my gratitude to them for a really lovely weekend!

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July 25, 2013 · 8:06 am

Full moon over Virginia Water

Sitting out last night it was amazing seeing the nearly full moon rise in the sky.  It was easy to understand how powerfully our prehistoric ancestors felt about the sun, moon and stars!  This picture does not quite do it justice.  In reality, the colour was much redder, and indeed brighter!

Moon over VW

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July 16, 2013 · 9:51 pm

#EFF7: Access and Quality in Education – can we achieve both?

The latest Education Fast Forward debate is due to be held tomorrow, 17th July 2013, at 13.30 GMT+1.  The debate, featuring Carol Bellamy and Andreas Schleicher on Access and Quality in Education – can we achieve both? can be joined live from the EFF site.  Can also be followed on Twitter at #EFF7.

Education Fast Forward (EFF) brings together leading global experts and change agents from the world of education to discuss the topics that matter most. The forum addresses the key challenges facing governments, educators and employers both now and in the future, and aims to find practical resolutions.

Quality and access to education continue to top the list of education priorities in countries across the world. According to UNESCO in 2010 59 million primary school-age children were not enrolled in school and 31 million primary school-age children had dropped out of school. An additional 32 million repeated a grade. These figures are truly shocking but is access to education enough? Students today live in an entirely different world to 10, even 5 years ago. The digitally connected world is bringing down boundaries and making education more fluid. Pupils are increasingly demanding a more personalised working environment with instant access to data and collaborative team work as the norm.

EFF7 will look at key questions such as How can we balance the needs of access and quality and how do we measure quality? Can we achieve both? What will be the drivers and who will champion the students? What are we doing to address the issue of an education system that is still failing many students, leaving them poorly prepared for work or enterprise?

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June 12, 2013 · 9:38 am

Barriers to learning through mobile devices in Africa

Screen-Shot-2013-06-07-at-17.36.39-300x159I had the pleasure of participating in the Planet Earth Institute‘s discussion on mobile technology for education in Africa, held on 5th June at the House of Lords.  It’s interesting how such occasions, where one has to speak on the spur of the moment about important issues, provide a spur for innovative and creative thinking.  The mix of the people, and the sharing of ideas really can generate new thoughts.

The main point that I tried to convey throughout the event was that it is the learning that matters.  Far too many initiatives are technology-led, rather than needs driven.  Hence, mobile devices are absolutely not the solution for African education, although they can indeed help to deliver certain new kinds of learning opportunity.  After all, as I mentioned, many years ago I engaged in mobile learning when I read books on long car journeys!

Screen-Shot-2013-06-07-at-17.31.05At one point, we were asked to think about the barriers preventing the spread of m-learning in Africa, and I want here to expand a little on the five ‘Cs’ that I came up with.  To be sure, they are a little contrived, but I do think that if these barriers can be overcome, then some real progress can be made:

  1. Connectivity.  To me, this is one of the biggest challenges for any ‘mobile-‘ initiative.  Certainly people have developed simple SMS based learning solutions, and games that can function on basic phones and devices, but the difference between these and what can be done on smart-phones is huge.  Smart-phones enable engagement with the wealth of resources on the web, and offer a completely different learning experience for people of all ages and backgrounds – if they can afford them (Cost!).  So, providing mobile broadband solutions that everyone can access seems to me to be the most important challenge facing those who want to deliver high quality learning experiences through mobile devices.  Hence, initiatives such as the work of the Broadband Commission and the Alliance for the Affordable Internet are of particular importance – but we must turn the rhetoric into reality!  That’s one reason why the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation has placed such emphasis on the importance of mobile broadband in its current strategic plan.
  2. Charging (electricity).  By this, I mean the importance of ensuring that it is easy and cheap to charge mobile devices everywhere.  Electricity is absolutely essential for all digital technologies, and is all too often insufficiently considered when developing such initiatives.  For those off the main grid, it is essential that simple, cheap and accessible means of recharging devices are developed and shared widely across the continent. Likewise, developing batteries that last much longer than at present is also an important consideration.  My experiences in 2011 in rural China have given me lots of ideas about how this can be achieved – and where there are supplies of running water I have been very impressed with some of the micro-hydro initiatives that have been developed in south-east Asia.
  3. Communication rather than content.  I have often written about this, but it seems to me that the really innovative thing about mobile-phones is that they enable entirely new ways of communication.  Yet, far too often they are seen primarily as devices to supply/enable content consumption.  I believe passionately that learning should not simply be about learning and regurgitating – yet our education systems seem to focus more and more on encouraging people to take on board accepted ‘truths’.  Learning, should be about thinking for oneself, and coming up with new solutions to old problems!  This is often best achieved through communication and interaction – the debating of ideas – and not just through digesting existing knowledge.  Far too often, digital technologies associated with learning have reinforced regurgitation, rather than encouraging new ways of thinking.  Hence, I want to shift the balance towards using devices for communication – they are, after all, mobile phones – rather than just for content consumption.
  4. Calculating (effective monitoring and evaluation).  This is a bit contrived, but I could not think of a better ‘C’ for ‘monitoring and evaluation’!  By ‘calculating’, I mean that we need to calculate the impact of our initiatives on learning achievements.  Although many people talk about the importance of monitoring and evaluation, there is far too little good and effective work in this area.  If we do not understand the real effects, including the unintended consequences, of the use of mobile devices in learning, then we cannot really determine how best to implement initiatives at scale.  We must also be much more open about our failures so that others can learn from our experiences.  Hence, the lack of quality monitoring and evaluation is a real barrier.
  5. Commitment.  This is hugely important.  There must be real commitment to using mobile devices effectively for learning, rather than simply using content provision as a means of selling more mobile devices!  I fear that all too often, ‘m-‘ initiatives are driven  too much by commercial interests, often in alliance with those who see ICTs as some kind of silver bullet that will transform society for the better, rather than by the real health, learning or governance needs and aspirations of people.

At the end, I was asked by Lord Boateng to sum up my thoughts about barriers, and simply said that the biggest barrier of all was our imagination!  If we really focus on the learning, and develop innovative solutions whereby everyone can use mobile devices to enhance their lives, wherever they are living, then, and only then, can we talk about real m-development.

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