Organizational Guide to ICT4D: Leveraging Technology for International Development

"The world faces many challenges that require academic understanding, technological application, and program implementation to address. This guide is intended for internal change leaders and lays out an approach to using technology to improve development outcomes by a variety of stakeholders."

Prepared for the ICT4D Conference, this guide from NetHope gives practical guidance to building organisational capacity in information and communication technology for development (ICT4D). Drawing from the experience of the international development community and funded by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3), and Microsoft, the guide connects established principles with processes for implementing new technology in areas ranging from agriculture to education, emergency, health, and peacebuilding and governance. It addresses the following:

• Why should I be interested in ICT4D and what does it mean for my organisation?
• How do I build ICT4D capacity within my organisation?
• What are the practical approaches and best practices I can implement to improve success?

This guide is designed to help organisations adopt processes, build knowledge, and ultimately develop solutions that are guided by the Principles for Digital Development:

1. Design with the User
2. Understand the Existing Ecosystem
3. Design for Scale
4. Build for Sustainability
5. Be Data Driven
6. Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation
7. Reuse and Improve
8. Address Privacy & Security
9. Be Collaborative

The guide includes symbols for implementation steps, tips & key considerations, and recommended approaches. These symbols appear throughout the sections, which include:

• "Transformative Power of ICT - Understand how increased access to technology is creating new opportunities for developing communities and the businesses, governments, and institutions that serve them.
• Lead Organizational Change - Lead the organization in embracing the changes needed to take advantage of ICT4D solutions to improve the quality of development programs.
• Drive Knowledge Exchange - Implement and continuously improve standard practices for ICT4D project implementation that adhere to the principles for digital development.
• Build a Portfolio - Manage a portfolio of field-proven ICT4D solutions that are quickly and easily adapted to project and community need, scaled, and sustained over time.
• Manage Processes - Implement an ICT4D talent management program that supports people in building their capacity through knowledge exchange, learning, and technical assistance.
• Develop an Advisory ServiceTie it all together by developing an advisory service which uses your ICT4D change agent network to build on the experience of colleagues, leverage the ICT4D portfolio, and develop ICT4D solution implementation plans that embody best practices.
• References - See this section for the Glossary, References, and Additional Resources."