Practical Insights on ICT4D

what is ICT4D?

What is ICT4D?

Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is the use of digital solutions to magnify the intent of communities to accelerate their social and economic development.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) include hardware, software, content, and the design and implementation methodologies required for their successful adoption. ICT4D employs all technology interventions that can assist poor and marginalized people. Radio, television, mobile phones, artificial intelligence, blockchain, UAV drones, and geographic information systems are common digital tools.

Who Uses ICT4D Solutions?

ICT4D advisors use digital development approaches to deploy cutting-edge innovations in the world’s more difficult environments. They work to reduce the digital divide in education, healthcare, agriculture, and civil society. Advisors  ensure equitable access to information and communication technologies around the world, minimizing disparities in gender, geography, and wealth.

Experts in ICT4D solutions work for major donors, like USAID, DFID, and the Gates Foundation, their implementing partner organizations, and humanitarian aid organizations. They also work in national and local governments, and the private sector.

What Are ICT4D Solutions?

ICTs are deploying in multiple sectors to improve international development outcomes. Here are the three most popular ICT4D solution areas:

  • Healthcare: Mobile phone applications can help patients self-diagnose their ailments using the camera, microphone, or other sensor. Front line health workers can use electronic medical records to track patients, and healthcare managers employ big data and algorithms to see disease patterns at national scale.
  • Education: Students read eBooks to improve their reading ability while teachers employ computer-assisted adaptive testing to understand learner needs. School headmasters leverage educational management information systems to predict learning solutions.
  • Agriculture: Farmers work with drones and GIS to modernize farming practices taught by extension agents trained in online learning programs. Ministries estimate crop yields with real-time satellite data.

Examples of ICT4D Solutions

ICTworks is constantly researching emerging ICT4D programs to identify successful interventions and share lessons learned with our growing readership. You can learn more about impactful projects in the expanding list below:

5 Examples of Sustainable Public Internet Access Programs

5 Examples of Sustainable Public Internet Access Programs

Published on: May 22 2013 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on 5 Examples of Sustainable Public Internet Access Programs
Public libraries exist in nearly every country and culture as institutions committed to facilitating access to information. With the right policies and support,...
USAID Assessment of Market Information Systems in Africa

USAID Assessment of Market Information Systems in Africa

Published on: May 20 2013 by John Zoltner - 1 Comment
This Assessment of Market Information Systems in Africa briefing paper presents the results of an assessment carried out to explore the current use of sustainable...
Citizen election reporting in Kenya was a breakthrough in online-offline collaboration

Citizen election reporting in Kenya was a breakthrough in online-offline collaboration

Published on: May 13 2013 by Guest Writer - 1 Comment
The Kenyan elections were more than a month ago, but a debate continues in the crisis mapping community about whether the various technologies deployed to track...
Every Single Presentation from CRS’ 5th ICT4D Conference Now Available Online

Every Single Presentation from CRS’ 5th ICT4D Conference Now Available Online

Published on: May 03 2013 by Aaron Mason - Comments Off on Every Single Presentation from CRS’ 5th ICT4D Conference Now Available Online
In March of this year Catholic Relief Services held it’s fifth ICT4D conference, looking to explore how ICT is being applied in development situations. The event...
What Are Best Practices in ICT4D? Tweet Your Answers to #ICT4Real Today!

What Are Best Practices in ICT4D? Tweet Your Answers to #ICT4Real Today!

Published on: Apr 12 2013 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on What Are Best Practices in ICT4D? Tweet Your Answers to #ICT4Real Today!
Yesterday, my good friend Jon Camfield asked a great question: Hey ICT4D folks, is there a best practices and principles document for our work, or do we all just...
ICT4D Routers and a Downloadable Firewall

ICT4D Routers and a Downloadable Firewall

Published on: Apr 05 2013 by Jen Overgaag - Comments Off on ICT4D Routers and a Downloadable Firewall
At Inveneo, we push technology hard. Our engineers work with the latest tools on the market and our deployments span some of the harshest environments on the planet....
Want to Scale ICT4D Projects? Stop Developing Software!

Want to Scale ICT4D Projects? Stop Developing Software!

Published on: Mar 29 2013 by Wayan Vota - 5 Comments
Recently Priya Jaisinghani, Teressa Trusty, and I brought together a few folks to have an informal Technology Salon around the pertinent question of how can the...
3 Key Factors for Your Next Mobile App to Scale Like M-PESA

3 Key Factors for Your Next Mobile App to Scale Like M-PESA

Published on: Mar 27 2013 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on 3 Key Factors for Your Next Mobile App to Scale Like M-PESA
I am Josephine Mutugu and at the Nairobi Technology Salon on What is the Next Mobile Development App that Will Scale? we launched into the discussion with a brief...
BarCamp Shows ICT Dam Ready to Burst in Myanmar

BarCamp Shows ICT Dam Ready to Burst in Myanmar

Published on: Mar 25 2013 by Aaron Mason - Comments Off on BarCamp Shows ICT Dam Ready to Burst in Myanmar
Attendees look on at the opening ceremony for BarCamp Yangon 2013. Photo: Mark Summer Recently Mark Summer, Inveneo’s co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer,...
What the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Learned From 10 Years of ICT4D

What the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Learned From 10 Years of ICT4D

Published on: Mar 18 2013 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on What the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Learned From 10 Years of ICT4D
After more than ten years of support in the realm of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation...