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ICT Survey

A Desk Study of USAID's Experience Using Information and Technology for Development Assistance Programs: Executive Summary

August 29, 2008

1.   ICT Survey: Methodology and Definitions

Methodology

This report is the product of a desk study undertaken between January and June 2008, focusing on USAID assistance in the area of information and communications technology (ICT).  References used for the creation of this report include the websites of Missions, USAID/Washington bureaus and offices, implementing partners and contractors, and inter-governmental initiatives with which USAID is involved; the USAID Telling Our Story database; Global Development Alliance (GDA) database; and the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) database of USAID documents.

Activities include those that focus on the ICT sector directly to those that utilize ICT as a tool to help further development goals in various sectors, including health, education, economic growth, democracy and governance, environment, humanitarian assistance, and peace building. A total of 221 activities are included in this report.

Report Scope and Parameters

This report is an analysis of the activities funded by USAID (Washington and Missions) and implemented by its implementing partners, which use ICTs to support direct international development objectives. Activities which use technology to support internal USAID objectives (such as Bureau-level Knowledge Management programs) are not included in this survey, though many were discovered in the research performed.

This report does not include analysis or evaluation of the effectiveness nor the appropriateness of these interventions; measurement of the sustainability or long-term impact of the activities was beyond the scope of this survey. In addition, due to limitations in scope, this report does not include interviews with USAID or implementing partner staff, and as a result, validation of the data was limited to what was readily found on the internet.  The report is not exhaustive, either in scope of activities reported upon, nor in the descriptions of those activities.

2.   ICT@USAID

Regional Breakdown of Assistance 2003-2008

The ICT Survey revealed a fairly even distribution among the different regions, despite vastly different experiences in ICT for Development and technology. For example, 60% of all ICT@USAID activities are targeted at Sub-Saharan Africa (38.65%) and Asia (21.88%), with the remaining 40% focused on Latin America, Europe and Eurasia, and the Middle East (three areas where internet and computer technology tends to be more widespread). The 40% also includes programs that are classified as Global in focus.

Percentage of activities per region

10% of all activities in the ICT Survey are targeted to more than one country, and many are in more than one region. Most of these activities partner with regional organizations, such as the Southern Africa Telecommunications Policy and Regulatory Support Project (SIPRS), which worked with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and therefore worked directly or indirectly with all its member countries.

Other programs, such as the Famine Early Warning Systems Network projects (I and II), worked multi-regionally with countries in Africa, Afghanistan, Haiti. These types of programs rely on aggregation and dissemination of regional as well as national information, making it logical to work in multiple countries in the same region.

Percentage of activities which are targeted to more than one country

Sector-Specific ICT Applications

USAID defines ICT@USAID as a cross-cutting program that touches a variety of key sectors economic growth, democracy and governance, education, health, environment, humanitarian assistance, and post-conflict/peace building.  Given the increased access to certain technologies over the last 10 years (i.e. email, worldwide web, SMS) nearly all USAID activities utilize ICT applications to implement their goals and objectives to some extent. This survey, however, focused on specific USAID funded activities where ICTs played a significant role in development outcomes.

Many USAID ICT activities are cross-sectoral in scope and nature and, as such, cannot be stove-piped into one discreet sector. In addition, many activities, while they may be focused on one sector, contribute to other sectors; for instance, activities geared toward ICT public policy and legislation affect the ICT private sector as well as a countrys overall economic climate.

Distribution of ICT@USAID activities by Sector

Reflecting the role that ICT has played in the world in supporting increased incomes and economic expansion, the majority (121 out of 221) of the ICT@USAID activities in the survey contained an economic growth component, though in many cases, the component is a secondary outcome to a different primary objective. For example, the second most targeted sector is Democracy and Governance, reflecting the importance ICTs have played in this field, particularly in the areas of improving government transparency and accountability and more efficient government administration and service delivery. However, many ICT activities focused on democracy and governance also included an economic growth component, especially those involved with public-private partnerships and the role of civil society, e-procurement, property/land rights, and regulation and policy for the telecommunications sector.

Technology in ICT@USAID Activities

The trends in technology have been important, though challenging, to track, as many technologies are now so widespread, they are rarely explicitly mentioned. Websites, email mailing lists, or hardware/software support are examples of ICTs that are mainstream in most USAID projects.

In addition, much of the technology used is old technology radio, for example, is still widely used as a method of reaching some of the most inaccessible populations or for widespread promotion of important information. Telephony, now via cellular service or VOIP, still remains one of the most popular technologies demanded by populations. And internet access continues to be a priority, especially for economic growth.

New technologies such as GIS however, are allowing governments and organizations the ability to perform different forms of data analysis and land  management which is being used to support environmental, health, and emergency response initiatives.

Other Trends in USAID Assistance

Assistance Targeted to Vulnerable Groups

Much of USAIDs ICT assistance targets groups considered disadvantaged, vulnerable, or underserved, helping them access tools like the Internet and computers so they may use them to improve their skills, gain knowledge and information, and/or increase their opportunities.  Such groups include women and girls, people with disabilities, people living in rural and remote areas, the poor, refugees and internally displaced people, and ethnic and religious minorities.  Communication and information dissemination campaigns activities aimed at protecting vulnerable groups often utilize mass media such as radio and television, as well as the Internet.  Some activities use telephone hotlines.

Many of the ICT activities described in this report have been public-private partnerships (2001) between USAID and a host of private partners, including Intel, Motorola, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems. Many of the PPPs fall under the umbrella of the Global Development Alliance, the USAID PPP initiative launched in 2001.  Information technology is one of the 12 key sector focus areas of the GDA.

The GDA Global Framework is a new model for cooperation between USAID and private sector partners. Missions can connect to important private sector partners without having to initiate the relationship. In return, the GDA Global Framework offers Intel Agency-wide access to multiple USAID missions. b

One of the important parts of USAIDs ICT assistance is helping improve the competitiveness and growth of the ICT private sector in developing countries through policy assistance, capacity building, training & technical assistance, business linkages, and market integration. Policy activities include topics such as interconnection, licensing, cost accounting, general management of a regulator and public relations, cyber crime legislation, broadband strategies, frequency management, and private sector advocacy. Training and technical assistance includes both technical training on specific technologies and business support training on how to manage local technology firms. Many activities also include business linkages designed to support the growth of local industry to compete in larger markets by developing business-to-business relationships.

3.   Conclusion

Summary Findings and Trends

Several patterns have emerged in the review of ICT applications for specific sectors. In terms of the structuring and focus of activities in 2003-2008, there was a continuation and expansion of private sector involvement in all aspects of activities with strong ICT components. Many activities relied on partnerships with local technology companies, especially for software design and development, hardware sourcing and support, networking, etc.  Capacity building of these partners was directly and indirectly addressed in many activities. In addition, many activities saw an increasing use of open source software that can be reused, customized, and localized.

There has been an increasing focus on the gaps in the private-sector either through supporting regulations which allow for a more fertile business climate, or addresses inequalities that a purely market-driven system would leave, especially for disadvantaged or marginalized groups. In some cases, USAID activities took the initial risk, which lowered the barriers to entry for other, local and international, private-sector partners.

Often, local access to technology issues have been addressed mainly by using the local private sector without any explicit partnerships. In some cases where either the locale or the beneficiaries would not have access, local partners were explicitly supported. The capital investments were mainly in the form of WIMAX systems which opened up internet (and therefore telephony) access in areas previously underserved, which in turn opened up business and government service delivery opportunities.

USAID also showed a tremendous level of cross US government coordination and information sharing. Several legal and regulatory reform activities involved representation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ). Emergency response and monitoring activities used data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among others. And activities involved in conflict and post-conflict zones also sometimes involved the Department of Defense and State Department. In addition, several USAID activities involved multi-lateral and bi-lateral organizations, such as the World Health Organization, United Nations Development Agency, and the European Union.

Its important to note that many activities, while they may be focused on one sector, contribute to other sectors; for instance, activities geared toward ICT public policy and legislation affect the ICT private sector as well as a countrys overall economic climate. Many activities had economic growth as their secondary focus area, as most ICT activities relied on private sector input in one way or another (especially important for long-term sustainability).

The implementation methods also showed a few interesting patterns. There is an increasing focus on local gathering and sharing of information for local use. Many took advantage of multi-channel, multi-media dissemination of information, reflecting on different levels of technology access and different information needs. Some of the information dissemination activities used data aggregation from existing sources (instead of creating/gathering the data themselves) using GIS, GPS, government and international databases, etc. and focusing on freeing this information for more ease of use. Some activities worked on the promotion of data standards to allow for more data aggregation.

Despite the advancements, some things havent changed many technologies which are common in the developed countries are still needed in developing nations (such as computer networking in government processes, online shopping, ATMs and digital banking, IT business services for local businesses, content management systems for information sharing, mailing lists, and online learning). While the use of innovative technologies elicits much excitement, more mundane technological applications such as using a radio for information sharing or publishing a static website with up to date information are still appropriate and needed.

Trends for the Future for ICT@USAID

Some trends for the future can be intuited from a review of the survey combined with predictions about technological advances.

Expansion of ICTs

ICTs will become increasingly integrated into USAID activities. Already, many activities are using ICTs (websites, email, databases) to manage communication and data collection needs of the project. The increasing ubiquity of cell phones, with their increasing capacity to perform may computer functions, makes this platform increasingly attractive for development implementations.

However, while USAID will continue to develop individual activities which use these technologies in inventive ways, without more central support, many such activities may continue to be isolated and not informed by USAIDs broad experience in the field.

The Role of Digital Data

Data aggregation and management will become an increasing priority within USAID activities, especially with integration of GIS and other data sources. Pulling together data from a variety of sources, especially those outside the control of the activity or even the government is increasingly seen to be not only valuable, but essential, for planning and management purposes. For example, tracking Avian Influenza requires real-time aggregation of several different sources of data from international sources, all pulled together in a format useful to on the ground health and medical officials.

Data protection (privacy, security) will need to become more important. In the US, we have seen the impact of having personally identifiable information stolen or lost. For development programs focused on working with governments or vulnerable populations, databases containing property information, names/addresses of women reporting being trafficked, or education records for a country must also be secured and protected. USAID can play a vital role in offering technical assistance for data security.

Developing Fertile Environments for Private Sector Growth

Private sector partnerships will continue to grow, as the private sector will continue to be the primary driver in the expansion and usage of ICTs for development. However, the private sector cannot provide all the answers to development challenges; USAID, host governments, and civil society can continue to ensure the traditionally underserved and marginalized are not either forgotten about or are not in fact further disadvantaged by the private sector provision of services. USAID, by working with host governments on legal and regulatory reform, can create the fertile business climate for private sector growth.

There is an ongoing need for reform of legal environments and regulations for telecommunications and ICTs, especially for cyber security, e-signatures, e-commerce, e-procurement, e-government, etc. The legal and regulatory environment in many developing countries is still not sufficient for them to take advantage of the opportunities of ICTs while protecting their citizens.