Live notes at Cooperación al Desarrollo 2.0: I Encuentro Internacional de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación para la Cooperación al Desarrollo [Development Cooperation 2.0: I International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Cooperation for Development], in Gijón, Spain, 30 and 31 January 2008.
Keynote speech: Manuel Acevedo
The challenges of the integration of ICTs in a networked cooperation
How do we integrate ICTs in Development Cooperation? What does “networked cooperation” exactly means?
Human Development and Network Society
Human Development according to Amartya Sen: not only “physical” development, possibilities, but also capabilities, entitlements.
Network Society according to Manuel Castells: everything (society) is structured in networks, which are indeed different from hierarchical, vertical structures.
ICTs for Development
Denning: we can describe knowledge ecosystems, using the metaphor of a garden: Knowledge cannot be extracted, we have to make it grow
Labelle: ICTs for Development:
- making access easy
- helping countries to reach knowledge economy
- enabling people
Digital Divide
- access
- capacity
- relevant content
Fostering the Information Society:
- Infrastructure
- Capacity
- Services
- Content
- Education
- Health
- Work
- Commerce
- e-Government
- Other Services
- Legal Framework
- Policies
Mainstreaming ICTs in Development Cooperation
Use it in each and every aspect of the daily work in a cooperation agency or nonprofit: design, planning, project implementation and management, communication, etc.
It, hence, implies and extensive adoption of ICTs within the organization.
Issues: special attention towards ICT integration, corporate strategies about ICT4D, specialized departments about ICT4D, ICT4D project funding, etc.
Reasons to: increase efficacy; more control about performance and autonomy; stimulator and catalytic effect, using the own organization as a sandbox; to share knowledge and good practices.
Networks for Development
1-D networks: much alike hierarchies
2-D networks: coordinated; norms very important; action is mostly planned; access to information is the priority
3-D networks: nodes are to dynamize the network; no coordinators; the functioning is ad-hoc; monitoring is periodic; knowledge creation is the priority
Development networks
- corporate
- about knowledge or thematic
- around projects
- networked projects
- open source
- created by “diaspora”
3-D networks, enabling networks, are the best fit for development cooperation
Development Cooperation needs a redesign in its architecture, shifting towards networked collaboration. And same stands for projects, not only for organizations. A shift towards putting knowledge at the center would be a must. It is important to state that the network creates a network capital, which emerges from the fact of the mere existence (and intensive use, of course) of the network.
More info
- Position paper by Ismael Peña-López
- Position paper by Carlos Guadián
- Breves ideas de Manuel Acevedo
- Slides by Carlos Guadián
