The Promises of Fibre-Optic Broadband: A Pipeline for Economic Development in East Africa
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Internet Institute
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Anwar M
(2019)
Hidden transcripts of the gig economy: labour agency and the new art of resistance among African gig workers
in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
FOSTER C
(2017)
Reconsidering the role of the digital in global production networks
in Global Networks
Foster C
(2017)
Digital Control in Value Chains: Challenges of Connectivity for East African Firms
in Economic Geography
Foster, C.
(2016)
Geographies of Information Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
in The African Technopolitan
Graham M
(2014)
Geographies of Information Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
in IDRC - IT for Change Network Inclusion Round Table 2014
| Description | Following the arrival of the first ever submarine fibre-optic cables into East Africa, this project examined the expectations and the impacts of changing connectivity in Kenya and Rwanda. Through interviews and a content analysis of key speeches and texts, we found that politicians and business speak of growing connectivity using the language of economic transformation - of 'leap-frogging to become knowledge economies'. However, we found very few cases in which changing connectivity was actually a key driver of significant economic change. In the three sectors that we studied (BPO, tea, tourism), changing connectivity tended to benefit established firms (often multi-nationals) and their existing value chain relationships/configurations. There was certainly widespread use of new forms of connectivity amongst small firms (driven by lower prices and expectations that better internet access would support growth). This use has facilitated efficiency gains and improved trust, but small firms are still limited in how they exploit this connectivity: by their ability to use new technologies, in management and implementation skills around integrating technology, and in finance to support investments in connectivity. The lack of significant transformative effects brought about by changing connectivity should not solely be seen as a deficiency in the capacities of small firms. There are also more systematic and global-scale barriers that can be observed when we examined how firms attempted to either disintermediate value chains or interact with distant markets. In the three sectors studied, the interaction of better connectivity and mediation in value chains was complex. While some intermediaries are being marginalised, we found new processes of 'reintermediation' where online platforms or new information-driven relations integrate into core value chains. These new intermediaries are often even more exclusionary and value extracting than previous configurations. East African firms in all sectors have looked to explore use of the online resources to reach end-markets, but frequently find themselves limited by the barriers embedded in the global sectors they are engaging with. In tea, established retailers in end markets, and the large costs of marketing, limit direct customer engagement; BPO firms in East Africa are often too small to take on the large and complex requirements of international firms who are looking to outsource demand. Better connectivity and the potential of more immediate engagement cannot simply overcome these structural limits. In sum, this work suggests a two-fold awareness in policy and practice. First, better connectivity does enable tangible benefits, and clear regulatory policy that pays careful attention to value-for-money and moves beyond hype around how 'knowledge societies' can boost East African firms attempting to make the most of new forms of connectivity. Second, digital connectivity (and indeed wider ICT) policy should pay particular attention to the wider socio-technical limitations - skills, finance, systems - that prevent East African firms from taking advantage of online opportunities (issues that are amplified by inequalities within global production networks). |
| Exploitation Route | We have shown that expectations and impacts of changing connectivity in East Africa are significantly different. This matters because many policy makers and business managers have enacted plans and strategies based on steeply unrealistic goals. From a research perspective, these findings have been expanded on by the PI through a five-year, ERC-funded, project to better understand successful strategies that have emerged in Sub-Saharan Africa's 'knowledge economies.' But there remains much scope for further interrogations of precisely who is winning and who is losing at this moment of changing connectivities. More practically, these findings could be taken forward by national-level policy makers. More targeted policies to support the ability of small firms to export to new markets and capture more value in existing value chains could be developed by focusing on some of the socio-technical barriers outlined in our three outcome reports. In Kenya, some of our findings related to the BPO sector have already been placed into the policy sphere (see impact narrative). Such policy activity might be extended to a broader range of national contexts. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism |
| URL | http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/eastafrica/ |
| Description | Findings from this research have been used in impactful ways in a number of directions. In the original grant proposal, we identified the ways that practice and policy making around the information society are often undertaken "without clear understandings as to the specific ways in which local firms can best take advantage of newly altered positionalities". Indeed, project findings supported this suspicion and we found marked contrast between the expectations of connectivity from global organisations, regional politicians and technology firms engaging in the region and realities. A crucial goal was thus to disseminate our findings in order to question existing expectations around connectivity, and ultimately impact on misguided policy stemming from skewed expectations. Discrepancies between the expectations and actual impacts of changing connectivity relate both to academic knowledge and policy. To influence ICT policy one needs to begin from a position of clear empirically-supported argument. Thus, we discuss both academic and policy interaction here. Academically, sessions have been organised as part of key high-profiles conferences (such as the AAG, ICTD and ECAS) which look to begin to reconfigure the academic agenda around the information society and connectivity. We also sought to engage in events that link academic findings and policy in order to influence policy making. For instance presentations and papers were made at a number of global policy focussed events such as the Internet Africa Summit, CPR South Conference and a talk to the delegates of the UNCTAD Commission on Science and Technology for development in Washington DC. In such forums, we sought to translate finding into tangible recommendations for policy professionals in the areas of ICT and internet policy. More directly, we have facilitated several one-on-one meetings with higher ranking officials involved in information policy such as former Director General of Communications in South Africa and the current ICT minister of Columbia. Finally, in partnership with other groups in Oxford University, team members have been running a regular the flagship 'ICTD Seminar series', inviting key thinkers to discuss topics of ICT in developing countries and frequently linking to research findings of this project. Events were also webcast and freely shared online. The webcasts have been viewed and have been watched over 7000 times. Thus, this combination of impact activities - contributions to academic conferences, policy forums, direct engagement with senior policy makers and Oxford based events - has allowed us to post questions to policy linked to broadband connectivity in the Global South. Two examples include PI Mark Graham's invitation to serve on DFID's Digital Advisory Panel (which allows experiences from the project to inform global policy agendas, and has also resulted in a series of research-based presentations to senior figures in DFID: including the Secretary of State) and CI Tim Waema's chairmanship in the Kenyan ICT Masterplan (as an example of how this work is concretely influencing new plans and policy formations). Specific activities in East Africa have been important in making research findings impactful in regional policy making circles. The most visible impact here is PI Tim Waema's invitation to be chairman for the Kenyan ICT Masterplan. The extent that the final policy report weaves the conclusions of research from the project into core goals is notable. The policy is one of the first ICT policies in Kenya that places broadband policy at its centre and the framework of activity developed - in broadband infrastructure and broader sectoral goals - is a case where our research has overtly informed policy making. More recently, the project members have also completed and disseminated final project reports (as well as short 'executive summary' and 'policy brief' documents). As part of the final outreach meetings, this material has been widely shared with East African policymakers and practitioners. This work is relatively recent, so tracking impact is difficult, but we suspect that they will likely be a crucial source of empirical evidence for future policy making in the region. In-hand with policy influence, a key goal for impact was in influencing best practices around use of connectivity within the three sectors researched (as well as other service and agricultural sectors). The main initiative has been the twelve sectoral meetings that have taken place in Kenya and Rwanda during the project - six early result/focus group meetings and five final outreach meetings (one for each sector with each of the two countries). Attendance has on average been around 25 participants in each session. Response to presentations and reports has been good and feedback has been encouraging suggesting that sectoral specific policy advice drawn from this research is influencing online activity. All of the events also included networking elements so that contacts and best practice could be shared. Sectoral meetings were also undertaken in partnership with key institutions related to the sectors (e.g. the Kenyan Tea Development Agency (KTDA), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), The Rwanda Tourism Chamber, and the iHub & kLab technology innovation hubs). This ensured that the findings and suggestions for good practice were integrated into ongoing local initiatives, and that that the project findings have local champions to drive longer term impact. This is illustrated for example in how our research in connectivity in the Rwandan tea sector in partnership with kLab innovation hub in Kigali has supported and informed the ongoing ICT and agricultural programmes being undertaken by this organisation. When there has been opportunity, we have also sought to generalise our results and offer wider cross-sectoral recommendations related to the region's changing connectivity. For example, we apply our extend tea sector research related agricultural practice (for instance, in running the well-received outreach event 'The Agricultural sector for ICT developers' in Rwanda). Project researcher Laura Mann also instigated a lecture series called 'Nairobi Research Buzz' at the Nairobi iHub which looked to draw on our own research (and the research of others) into more general debate about connectivity and innovative practice in Kenya. We have also sought to feed our work back into the practices of SMEs and emerging businesses in East Africa. The project has been closely involved in ongoing partnerships with two technology innovation hubs (iHub and kLab), regularly presenting and disseminating work. Wherever possible, we have sought to actively support these institutions (for instance through our starting of the research seminar series mentioned above) These hubs have been key spaces for supporting emerging and new generation of practitioners and our support and dissemination into these spaces is crucial. Another way in which we have impacted on business practices is through the setting up of a new project (a 'Fairwork Foundation') that is is partially based on findings about job quality from this project. The Foundation aims to certify the job quality of digital platforms operating in Africa. Finally, this research has also made a wider contribution to public understanding around development and specifically digital development in East Africa. The project team has frequently presented work and written articles in mainstream media and press (for instance the BBC, The Guardian, The Atlantic, New Scientist, TEDx and SciDev.net): discussing a broad set of related issues around the social and economic impacts of emerging networks and technologies in Africa. Supporting this work, has been frequent and dynamic use of social media by the project team. This included a series of articles on the well-known Oxford Internet Institute's blog, a broader range of work on many of the team's personal blogs and microblogs, and more detailed discussions on the Institute's 'Internet and Policy' blog. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Citations in National ICT Masterplan (2014-2017) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | http://www.icta.go.ke/national-ict-masterplan/ |
| Description | Keynote to Socialists and Democrats grouping in the European Parliament |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | http://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/events/sd-group-seminar-how-use-opportunities-digital-union-ord... |
| Description | Member of DFID's Digital Advisory Panel |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/dfid-digital-advisory-panel |
| Description | Project Researcher (Waema) was Chairman for Kenyan National ICT Masterplan - 2014-2017 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Whilst this Masterplan is only in it's early stages of implementation, the output of the Masterplan focus on improving the regulatory environment and delivering economic impact. Policy suggestion in this plan directly follow from our research. |
| URL | http://www.icta.go.ke/national-ict-masterplan/ |
| Description | Further funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) |
| Amount | £286,237 (GBP) |
| Organisation | International Development Research Centre |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Canada |
| Start | 03/2014 |
| End | 10/2016 |
| Description | Further funding: European Research Council Starting Grant |
| Amount | £1,260,193 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 335716 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 07/2014 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | A new methodology for measuring the impact of ICTs on the economy |
| Organisation | Research Councils UK (RCUK) |
| Department | ICT Chambers, Private Sector Federation and Japanese International Cooperation Agency |
| Country | Rwanda |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The Rwandan ICT chambers, in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), wants to develop a new methodology for measuring the impact of ICTs on the economy. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Laura Mann has been working with an intern from the ICT chambers in Rwanda, training him in research skills. They have designed questionnaires, conducting surveys with phone credit sellers and organized interviews at banks. The intern has made excellent progress and the ICT chambers and JICA hopes to carry on the project into the future. |
| Impact | Training of intern in Kigali. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Nairobi Buzz |
| Organisation | iHub Research |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | During fieldwork, Laura Mann helped the Ihub Research centre to establish a new seminar series aimed at understanding ICTs in Africa. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Laura Mann helped to formulate the scope, design and publicity around the launching of the event. Details about the series can be found here: http://www.ihub.co.ke/blog/2013/01/the-nairobi-research-buzz-sharing-research-on-new-technologies-communications/#more |
| Impact | The above mentioned ongoing seminar series that functions as a focal-point for this topic in Nairobi |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | African Internet Content Production |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at the Internet Africa Summit in Lusaka, Zambia to an audience of internet policy makers (African communications ministries/departments, domain registrars, telecommunication companies etc.). . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | An export or an import? the Transnationalisation of labor practices in Kenya's business processing outsourcing sector |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Paper presentation: 'An export or an import? the Transnationalisation of labor practices in Kenya's business processing outsourcing sector' at the 2013 European Conference on African Studies. Abstract: Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) was intended to be Kenya's next big export earner and a source of employment for its graduates. After observing the successes of India and the Philippines, Kenya made substantial investments into infrastructure, hoping to woo global business onshore. Consultants pronounced Kenya's niche to be contact centres due to the country's educated workforce and its neutral English accents. Over the past few years, things have changed dramatically. Finding it difficult to establish direct contact with clients overseas, many Kenyan BPO managers were forced to take on exploitative contracts with intermediaries. The global recession also negatively impacted the sector, drying up work opportunities and putting pressure on Western governments to bring back jobs. Kenyan BPO companies have undergone painful re-orientations. Many have closed. Others have turned to 'impact sourcing', positioning Kenya as a site for corporate social responsibility work. The BPOs that remain increasingly cater to local and regional clients. The government has responded by encouraging a new culture of outsourcing within East Africa. It is said that this local experience will inspire confidence in international clients and better protect Kenyan BPO firms from external shocks. Efforts have also been stepped up to attract Indian BPO and Western ICT companies to Kenya. After being hailed as a booster of exports, BPO has in effect, become an import, modernising and globalising Kenya's own organisations. This paper explores how an idea aimed at boosting exports to the outside world ultimately became a discourse about modernizing the home economy. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Broadband Internet and Expectations of Altered Development Trajectories for East Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Paper abstract: Only a year ago, East Africa was the last major region on Earth without fibre-optic broadband internet connections. People were forced to rely on painfully slow and prohibitively expensive satellite connections. However, the recent arrival of three submarine fibre-optic cables into the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa has now fundamentally altered the connectivity of the region. This paper presents preliminary findings from case-studies in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors of two East Africa Countries (Kenya and Rwanda). Specifically, the paper compares stated potentials of broadband internet before the arrival of the cables, expectations amongst small and medium enterprises (SMEs) after the arrival of the cables and actual effects that broadband connectivity is having on the value chains of SMEs. na |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Business Process Outsourcing Outreach meeting in Kigali |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Kigali for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting had a good cross-section of national and international industry players, training institutions and government representatives. The Rwandan meeting had 9 participants from the private sector and the Rwandan Development Board (RDB). . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Business Process Outsourcing Outreach meeting in Nairobi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Nairobi for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting had a good cross-section of national and international industry players, training institutions and government representatives. The Kenyan meeting consisted of 17 people from the private sector, the Kenya ICT Board, and the education/third-sector (KEMU-ICOS, and iHub research). . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Connectivity and the potentials of the internet for development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker to Baroness Martha Lane Fox and a RaceOnline 2012 seminar . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Connectivity, Inclusion and Inequality group/website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Formation of research collective within Oxford Institute Institute around the topics of connectivity, inclusion and inequality. This group has then organised reading groups and run a website, blogs and twitter stream. Thus, this group has brought together disperate areas of research and presented and disseminated them user the connectivity and inclusion topic. - Website launched in May 2014 but has already generate international interest - 19 blog posts created over this time on diverse topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://cii.oii.ox.ac.uk |
| Description | Digital Divides and Uneven Geographies of Knowledge (invited speaker) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An invited talk at Frankfurt's Goethe University as part of their 'Global Economy' lecture series. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/47284315/graham |
| Description | Digital divides and uneven geographies of knowledge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker at TEDx Life Online (Bradford, UK) . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://tedxbradford.com/events/life-online/ |
| Description | Does Kenya's National Broadband Strategy Position it for Second-World Status? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A piece in the newspaper 'Government Technology' that extensively features some of our findings Government Technology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.govtech.com/network/Does-Kenyas-National-Broadband-Strategy-Position-it-for-Second-World-... |
| Description | Economic Activity Gone Virtual. What Does This Mean For Development? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A short talk given at DFID's "Digital for Development" day-long showcase event at DFID offices in London. None yet. DFID have told us that they are going to produce a podcast and summary document |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | End of project outreach meeting - Connectivity and growth in the Rwandan BPO sector |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Half day workshop on BPO sector and internet connectivity presented to managers and policy makers from the BPO and ICT sectors in Rwanda. Interactive sessions presenting the final results and policy guidance from our research in BPO in Rwanda. Took place in collaboration with local technology innovation hub kLab. Attendance included 20 managers and policy makers from the BPO sector. Session was interactive as a way to promote discussion on research findings. - BPO managers reported interest and agreement in results. Managers reported gaining new insights from the session - Follow up meetings with policy making and key consultants in the sector, as part of continuing research work in ICT firms and BPO in Rwanda |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | End of project outreach meeting - The Rwandan agricultural sector for ICT developers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Half day workshop on use of internet connectivity and ICTs in agriculture presented to software developers in Rwanda. Interactive sessions presenting the final results and policy guidance from our research in the tea sector in Rwanda with discussions of how our work applies to the wider agricultural sector. Took place in collaboration with local technology innovation hub kLab. Attendance included 20 software developers, including a number already involved in startup firms in agriculture. Session was interactive as a way to promote discussion on research findings. - Continued discussion with partners kLab as they look to expand their activities in ICT for Agriculture - Positive feedback from session including a number of delegates reporting that this work provided new directions for their development activities - Extensive blogging and twitter output from delegates as part of discussions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | End of project outreach meeting - The rough guide to ICT for tourism |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Half day workshop on ICT use in tourism presented to managers and policy makers from the tourism industry in Rwanda. Interactive sessions presenting the final results and policy guidance from our research in tourism. Took place in collaboration with policy making Rwanda Development Board - Tourism Section and The Rwandan Chamber of Tourism. Attendance included over 40 managers and policy makers from the sector. Session was interactive as a way to promote shared information and networking amongst delegates - A number of delegates reported that were intending to implement some of the best practices that were outcomes of this work. - Continued interaction with management of Rwandan Chamber of Tourism following this event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Final Tea Outreach Meeting in Nairobi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Nairobi for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting was attended by a section of players in the tea value chain: including producers, packers and representatives from the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). Discussion in these sessions focused largely on online presence, online payments, competition, (dis)intermediation, information acquisition, and geographic expansion of business. The researchers offered presentations of findings in each of these areas, but participants then worked together to develop common critiques and understandings of each topic. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Final Tourism Outreach meeting in Nairobi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Nairobi for stakeholders in order to discuss findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting had a good cross-section of national and international industry players, training institutions and government representatives. Discussion in these sessions focused on current vs. desired value chains, disintermediation, new entrants, and changes in supplier-customer connections. The researchers offered presentations of findings in each of these areas, but participants then worked together to develop common critiques and understandings of each topic. Reported interest for delegates in implementation of policy recommendations from this work |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Geographies of information and digital divisions of labour |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker SciDev Headquarters (London, UK) . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Geographies of the world's knowledge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Keynote and invited at Convoco Foundation Forum (London, UK) . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | ICT for Development seminar series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Ongoing series of events within the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) inviting in key academic thinkers and practitioners to present works on the topics of ICT and connectivity within developing countries. Events have also been webcast and are available online as part of reaching a wider audience. - Engaging with a number of key academics and practitioners. Has spurred a number of ongoing dialogues - New engagement with international institutions and policy makers as a result of this series (for example, World Bank, Columbian Ministry of ICT) - Improved interest and presence of ICT and development topics within OII and more widely in the University of Oxford. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| URL | http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/series/?id=6 |
| Description | In the Balance: Are we all smartphone users now? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Mark Graham went on the BBC World Service (radio) to discuss whether increased connectivity changes lives and if business people must have smartphones. Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Kenya's laptops for schools dream fails to address reality |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Article that Mark Graham wrote for the Guardian on Kenya's new digital strategy. Strapline: "Kenya wants to be Africa's digital heart but its e-learning strategy ignores the need for more trained teachers and less inequality" http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jun/27/kenya-laptops-schools The Guardian |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jun/27/kenya-laptops-schools |
| Description | Limits of technology for transparency and uneven geographies of knowledge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker and discussant for meeting chaired by Andrew Mitchell MP, Secretary of State and included Alan Duncan MP, Stephen O'Brien MP, Francis Maude MP, and Paul Collier. DFID Ministerial Advisory Group: 'Open Societies, Open Economies' (London, UK) . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Mapping and measuring local knowledge production and representation : geographies of the internet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker - included a focus on changing connectivities in East Africa . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/pblctns/cdmctrch/nfrmng_stblt-eng.asp |
| Description | Meeting of DFID's Digital Advisory Panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Mark Graham served as a member of DFID's first Digital Advisory Panel http://blogs.dfid.gov.uk/2013/10/introducing-dfids-digital-advisory-panel/ http://blogs.dfid.gov.uk/2013/10/introducing-dfids-digital-advisory-panel/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Microsoft beams Internet into Africa -- using TV 'white spaces' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Mark Graham is interviewed by CNN to speak about the Internet in rural Africa. Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/23/tech/innovation/microsoft-beams-internet-into-africa/ |
| Description | Moving jobs, moving workers: examining the threats and opportunities of globalization for workers in Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | We are organizing a two-session panel for the upcoming European Conference on African Studies. Details of the panel can be found here: http://www.nomadit.co.uk/ecas/ecas2013/panels.php5?PanelID=2140 . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.nomadit.co.uk/ecas/ecas2013/panels.php5?PanelID=2140 |
| Description | Participation in the Digital Economy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk on ICTs and potentials for participation from the Global South. I was an invited speaker to the UNCTAD Commission on Science and Technology for Development inter-sessional panel at the US State Department . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Presentation - Geographies of Information Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | International roundtable on network society and developing countries. Project members Foster and Graham presented drawing on research from the project of East African connectivity. Event attended by 40 key practitioners and academics. But wider distribution of materials and discussion website means that this even will be widely disseminated Ongoing |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://itforchange.net/inclusionroundtable2014/ |
| Description | Tea Outreach Meeting in Nairobi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Nairobi for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting was attended by a section of players in the tea value chain: including producers, packers and representatives from the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). Discussion in these sessions focused largely on online presence, online payments, competition, (dis)intermediation, information acquisition, and geographic expansion of business. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Tea Outreach meeting in Kigali |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Kigali for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting was attended by a section of players in the tea value chain: including producers, packers and representatives from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Discussion in these sessions focused largely on online presence, online payments, competition, (dis)intermediation, information acquisition, and geographic expansion of business. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Technology and the Digital Economy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Mark Graham was the organiser of a panel on "Technology and the Digital Economy" at the 2013 Oxford University Pan Africa Conference. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | The Potential of the Internet for Development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | An invited talk at the Norwegian-organised ICTs and the Global Governance of Peace and Security meeting in Oslo. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.hf.uio.no/imk/english/research/center/media-innovations/events/program-ict.html |
| Description | The Promises of Fibre-Optic Broadband - A Pipeline for Economic Development in East Africa? Focus on IT and Outsourcing. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | First presentation at the Ihub 'Nairobi Buzz'. More details can be found here: http://lauraelizabethmann.com/presentation-at-the-new-ihub-seminar-series-in-nairobi/ . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://lauraelizabethmann.com/presentation-at-the-new-ihub-seminar-series-in-nairobi/ |
| Description | The economic expectations and potentials of broadband Internet in East Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An interview and post on the Policy and Internet website about findings in our work: There has been a lot of hope and publicity about the economic potential of increased Internet connectivity in the East African region; including the hope of disintermediation and better connection to global markets. Chris Foster discusses initial findings of an OII project on Development and Broadband Internet Access in East Africa. Through surveys, interviews and in-depth observations, the project examines the expectations and stated potentials of broadband Internet in East Africa, comparing those expectations to the on-the-ground effects of broadband connectivity. Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://blogs.oii.ox.ac.uk/policy/the-economic-expectations-and-potentials-of-broadband-internet-in-e... |
| Description | The potential of the internet for development : digital divides and uneven geographies of knowledge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker; talk also live-streamed to six DFID offices in Asia and Africa at Department for International Development (DFID) seminar (London, UK) . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.slideshare.net/DFID/digital-divides-the-potential-of-the-internet-for-development |
| Description | Tourism Outreach meeting in Kigali |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Kigali for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting had a good cross-section of national and international industry players, training institutions and government representatives. The meeting also brought together stakeholders from various parts of the tourism value chain: including hotels, tour operators, travel agents, ancillary service providers and tourism associations. These meetings were constructed to maximize the amount of time that participants had to discuss issues within a small group setting and provide feedback. Discussion in these sessions focused on current vs. desired value chains, disintermediation, new entrants, and changes in supplier-customer connections. The researchers offered presentations of preliminary findings in each of these areas, but participants then worked together to develop common critiques and understandings of each topic. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Tourism Outreach meeting in Nairobi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised and hosted a day-long meeting in Nairobi for stakeholders in order to discuss preliminary findings and listen to remaining suggestions and concerns from participants. The meeting had a good cross-section of national and international industry players, training institutions and government representatives. The meeting also brought together stakeholders from various parts of the tourism value chain: including hotels, tour operators, travel agents, ancillary service providers and tourism associations. These meetings were constructed to maximize the amount of time that participants had to discuss issues within a small group setting and provide feedback. Discussion in these sessions focused on current vs. desired value chains, disintermediation, new entrants, and changes in supplier-customer connections. The researchers offered presentations of preliminary findings in each of these areas, but participants then worked together to develop common critiques and understandings of each topic. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Traversing the Hype: the Growing Tech Sectors of Kenya and Rwanda |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | A presentation of our project's preliminary findings during the Trinity term's Brownbag seminar series of the Oxford Internet Institute . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |