Intervention or Collaboration – Rethinking Information and Communication Technologies for Development

“Be Collaborative”, is one of the key principles for digital development, as formulated by influ­ential multilateral development agencies, targeting people in poor and unconnected parts of the world. When reflecting on the meaning and purpose of these principles, a question comes up: how can one come to know what “the unconnected people” actually want, need or have an interest in, such that this can become a basis to build meaningful information systems?
This book provides practical methods how to develop information and communication technologies for people in low resource environments. The methods, designed, developed and dep­loyed in real world contexts, can be a source of information and inspiration for students and practitioners — experienced or new – in the field of ICT4D. lllustrated with case studies from field research in rural areas of West Africa, this book shows how sociotechnical innovation is not a linear transfer of technology, but a networked process, driven by local agency, diffusing and evol­ving in a complex world. lt shows that what ultimately matters is how principles are translated into meaningful collaborative action.