DAI Unveils New ICT4D Blog

March 16, 2016

DAI’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) team has launched Digital@DAI, a blog offering a behind-the-scenes look at the way digital technologies are contributing to global development work.

From data collection tools for client reporting to social media marketing for cause advocacy, our ICT team is constantly working on how best to utilize digital technologies in support of DAI projects. This blog is an effort to expand those conversations beyond our own cluster of cubicles and email threads.

Written by our technology-for-development experts, the blog will include:

• Consumer insights—how segments of the population are using ICT in countries where we work, or in places where digital landscapes are changing rapidly
• Reviews of products, events, and tools
• Topical observations, discussion of trends, and digital project case studies

“The Digital for Development field has enormous potential—and plenty of room for learning,” said Krista Baptista, DAI’s Director of ICT Services. “We launched this blog as part of our own learning process, and we hope to engage the Digital for Development community as we find our way forward.”

Among the initial posts, you’ll find Anand Varghese reflecting on new programs to better integrate women into Afghanistan’s tech sector, Adam Fivenson reporting on mobile phone use among El Salvador’s young people, and Karim Bin-Humam on how GPS technology may be a “game changer” for people and businesses facing the perplexing problem—all too common in the developing world—of lacking a physical address.

“In the discipline of ICT for Development, the pace of change never lets up and the range of potential activities is immense,” said Baptista. “We look forward to sharing what we are seeing, hearing, and learning—across DAI’s diverse portfolio and beyond.”