MOBILES FOR DEVELOPMENT (M4D)1. An Introduction

2. Development Needs

3. Relevant Examples

Michael Sean Gallaghergallagher.michaelsean@gmail.com

M4D• Who am I?

• Michael Sean Gallagher• Doctoral Student at Institute of Education, University of London• Worked on several projects in Africa towards creation of digital

libraries, digitization projects, and information literacy• Blogger: http://michaelseangallagher.org/

M4D• This presentation was designed as a primer to the

discussions surrounding Week 3 of the 2012 edition of MobiMOOC on Mobiles for Development.

• It borrows (very) heavily from the sources listed on the references slide

• It is not comprehensive. Thousands upon thousands of projects exist in many developing nations. For the sake of brevity, this presentation focuses on particular areas and development needs.

M4D: Definition• Mobiles for Development (M4D) is the application of

mobile technology to

• bridge the digital divide in developing nations and developing pockets of developed nations

• meet development needs in all sectors of all societies• Take advantage of the ubiquitous of mobile technology in both the

developed and developing world

*Please note that I include both developing and developed nations in this definition, although that does not follow convention. To learn more about how ICT4D and M4D can be viewed with suspicion, see http://whiteafrican.com/2011/11/02/the-subtle-condescension-of-ict4d/

M4D: Definition• Mobiles for Development (M4D) is the application of

mobile technology to increase

• Economic growth (reducing transactional costs/increasing sales• Empowerment (learning, technical capacity, community,

communication)• Choice (new associations, new modes of participation)

* http://www.slideshare.net/lilltrasan/m4d2010

M4D: Development Goals• Often, M4D is related to activities that are considered

Millennium Development Goals (MGDs), which include

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger• Universal primary education• Promote gender equality and empower women• Reduce child mortality• Improve maternal health• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases• Ensure environmental stability• Develop a global partnership for development

M4D: Development Goals• Mobile technology is ubiquitous and can be manipulated

towards grassroots projects (without relying on top-down government initiative)

• Many mobile projects have served as economic (as opposed to merely social, educational, cultural, or medical) solutions to development needs.

• So, as a supplement to the Millennium Development Goals of 2015, perhaps we can think of M4D as further categorized in the following:

M4D: Categories• We see M4D projects and local initiative in all these

sectors:

• Health/Medical• Agricultural• Educational/Literacy• Governance/Citizen Involvement• Journalism• Economics/Banking

M4D: Context• Local needs demand a local(ized) solution• Local solutions (the good ones) are defined by local

context• Local context is generally best defined, organized, and

sustained by local communities

M4D: Context

“Technology in itself does not lead to social change; people decide how a particular technology will be used and, depending on the political and socio-economic environment in which they live, adapt it accordingly”-Jakob Svensson

Community, context, technology, and adaptation

* http://www.slideshare.net/lilltrasan/m4d2010

M4D: Questions• Does this project serve a local need?• Do outside parties have a right to/need to get involved? • Does a culture exist to assimilate this project? • Does local capacity exist to create, administer, and

sustain this mobile project?• Do local initiatives exist that can be bolstered? • Is this how this community does things?

M4D: Practice• Avoid technology dumps• Embrace local solutions/initiatives• Embrace capacity building and networking• Demand participatory design• Think long and hard about sustainability. Can this project

sustain itself (remembering there are more facets to sustainability than economic ones)?

M4D: References

• MobiMOOC• MobiMOOC M4D Resources Page

• M4D 2010 by Jakob Svensson• Mobile Trends 2020:

http://www.slideshare.net/rudydw/mobile-trends-2020-africa• UNESCO, ICT in Education, Mobile Learning:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/m4ed/ • United Nations 2015 Millennium Development Goals:

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/stats.shtml• MobileActive.org: http://mobileactive.org/