A Really Bad Blockchain Idea: Digital Identity Cards for Rohingya Refugees

A Really Bad Blockchain Idea: Digital Identity Cards for Rohingya Refugees

Published on: Jan 11 2018 by Wayan Vota - 34 Comments
The Rohingya Project claims to be a grassroots initiative that will empower Rohingya refugees with a blockchain-leveraged financial ecosystem tied to digital identity cards. First, the Rohingya Project will utilize a unique...
Please RSVP Now for USAID Digital Development Forum: The Next 10 Years

Please RSVP Now for USAID Digital Development Forum: The Next 10 Years

Published on: Jan 10 2018 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
Twenty years ago, USAID’s groundbreaking Leland Initiative helped accelerate the internet revolution in African countries. It was followed by numerous other programs, like the Dot Com Alliance and Digital Freedom Initiative,...
What Topics Should ICTworks Cover in 2018? Respond to Win a Prize!

What Topics Should ICTworks Cover in 2018? Respond to Win a Prize!

Published on: Jan 09 2018 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
We face many problems every day in international development, from digital divides, to data divides, to gender divides, and there always seems to be a new innovation that can solve it. But where does the hype end and reality...
Apply Now: $600,000 in Grant Funding for Your Digital Health Solution

Apply Now: $600,000 in Grant Funding for Your Digital Health Solution

Published on: Jan 08 2018 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
Do you have an existing digital health solution? Do you need grant funding to support its sustained development? Does your software rank well on Digital Square’s Global Goods Maturity Model? Apply Now for $600,000...
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence for International Development – Your Weekend Long Reads

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence for International Development – Your Weekend Long Reads

Published on: Jan 05 2018 by Steve Vosloo - Comments Off on The Rise of Artificial Intelligence for International Development – Your Weekend Long Reads
Artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the hottest topics of 2017. A Gartner “mega trend,” their research director, Mike J. Walker, proposed that “AI technologies will be the most disruptive class of technologies...
Surprise! Esoko’s Agricultural Market Prices Are Private Sector Failures

Surprise! Esoko’s Agricultural Market Prices Are Private Sector Failures

Published on: Jan 04 2018 by Wayan Vota - 15 Comments
We’ve all heard of Esoko, the ICTforAg company specializing in market prices for farmers. Starting in Ghana in 2007, then expanding across West Africa and beyond, it quickly became a donor-darling by promising an African...
Lean HCD: How to Do Human-Centered Design from Headquarters

Lean HCD: How to Do Human-Centered Design from Headquarters

Published on: Jan 03 2018 by Adam Fivenson - 2 Comments
Back in late 2015, I landed a unique design assignment via Nexos Locales, a USAID-funded, DAI-run project that works with municipalities around the Western Highlands of Guatemala to improve public financial management and...
Learning from MERL Through Visual Storytelling

Learning from MERL Through Visual Storytelling

Published on: Dec 25 2017 by Guest Writer - 1 Comment
As evaluators, we know that if we want data to be used for learning and adapting, the data itself must be easily accessible. We’ve found that visualizing data increase motivation, trigger emotion, and aid comprehension....
7 Lessons Learned From 20 Years of Technology Blogging

7 Lessons Learned From 20 Years of Technology Blogging

Published on: Dec 21 2017 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
Waaaay back in December 1996 – 20 years ago this month – I started blogging. Only then it wasn’t called blogging. That term would not be coined until 1999 with the advent of platforms like LiveJournal and...