Not being able to operate a phone is one of the most reported barriers to women adopting and using mobile technology and ultimately accessing life-enhancing mobile services in low- and middle-income markets globally.
Based on research on the mobile landscape in the Pacific region, where low levels of technical literacy were identified as a major barrier to women’s adoption of mobile technology, GSMA’s Connected Women programme worked with local partners and community groups to develop Mobile Technical Literacy Toolkits for both Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Steeped in local context and knowledge, it quickly became evident that these toolkits could not be replicated in other contexts simply by translating them into other languages— research and an informed design process would be crucial to creating relevant and appropriate resources for communities in different parts of the world and even within the same region.
The Mobile Technical Literacy Toolkit Adaptation Framework provides a framework for delivering mobile literacy training workshops for women in other communities and regions. By following five sequential steps – Scope, Understand, Design & Create, Test & Deliver, and Evaluate & Refine – you will understand what mobile services women in your community are currently aware of and use, and those that they aspire to use.
Crucially, the process also focuses on learning preferences, revealing the diverse ways of explaining and sharing concepts of mobile phone use. The importance of strong, local partnerships to understanding and reaching your core audience cannot be underestimated, and local brands and expertise can generate trust and buy-in.
The Connected Women programme used an iterative design process to create the Mobile Technical Literacy Toolkit to improve Pacific women’s awareness and understanding of their mobile phone. This Adaptation Framework distils and explains this method, and allows MNOs, NGOs, or anyone else interested in improving the uptake of mobile to adapt these resources for use in different parts of the world. It is our hope that this adaptation framework helps our partners build effective and informed resources to improve women’s mobile technical literacy and usage of mobile phones in their communities.
Catherine Highet, is an independent ICT4D consultant and formally with GSMA Connected Women.
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