Technology

The Top Four Innovations in Emergency Response

Innovation is the word of the year in international relief and development. Here are four recent innovations we've seen in disaster response--and their potential downsides.

Innovation is the word of the year in international relief and development. Here are four recent innovations we've seen in disaster response--and their potential downsides. 
1.       Plumpy’nut

The Bi-Weekly ICT4D Retrospective: Important Links for Aug 17-31, 2010

Sending MMS your way: On August 26, the good folks over at FrontlineSMS, upped the ante with the addition of MMS capabilities to the latest release of their software. Imagine the doors this will open up for health-care delivery, disaster management, eLearning...

FrontlineSMS goes MMS!

It’s been three long years since the idea of supporting multimedia messaging (MMS) within FrontlineSMS was first raised by a handful of users. About a year later, the Hewlett Foundation stepped in and funded its development, excited by its potential in health, agriculture and governance, among others. Today, we’re excited to finally announce MMS support in FrontlineSMS. And it’s something of a game-changer for us and our users.

Dissecting “m4d”: Back to basics

Do the majority of people working in “mobiles for development” work in mobile, or development? It may seem like an odd question, but how people approach “m4d” may have more of an impact on success or failure than we think.
The world of social mobile isn’t short of anecdotes. “Put the user first”, “Consider the technology only at the very end”, “Don’t re-invent the wheel” and “Build with scale in mind” are just a few. Ignore these and failure won’t be far around the corner, we’re told. But maybe we’re missing something here. Sure, there’s a growing number of ‘best’ practices, but one thing we rarely seem to question are the very credentials of the project origin itself.

The rise of “user-experienced” innovation

Around the time of two recent talks – Thinking Digital in Newcastle (UK) and National Geographic (Washington DC) – much of the world’s tech media was focused on Apple. Both the iPad and iPhone 4 had hit the shelves in relatively quick succession, and many people were marvelling at the latest innovations from California.

Pakistan Floods--ICT Humanitarian Response

Mariko Hall of the World Food Program reports on the ICT aspect of the humanitarian response to massive flooding in northwest Pakistan:

 Mariko Hall of the World Food Program reports on the ICT aspect of the humanitarian response to massive flooding in northwest Pakistan: 
The IT Emergency Preparedness and Response team of WFP is deploying an emergency mission to support the team of five national ICT staff in Islamabad currently managing the operation.

How to become a feudal lord with hundreds of servants for $99

Our image of a medieval king is of somebody with hundreds of servants waiting upon His Majesty. Today, for $99, you commoners can get a much larger and better group waiting upon you. You will even have dead servants working for you – (1) Sumerians from 3000 BC (2) Babylonians from 2000 BC, (3) Egyptians from 1850 BC (4) Indians from 500 BC, (5) 7th century BC Romans, (6) 18th century Austrian musicians, (7) a 19th century professor from Lake Como.

Gates Foundation Gets a C-

The Center for Effective Philanthropy gave the Gates foundation a C- in a recent report. Specifically, they cited its relationships with grantees.

The Center for Effective Philanthropy gave the Gates foundation a C- in a recent report. Specifically, they cited its relationships with grantees. Grantee partners were unclear on the foundation’s goals and strategies, and found communications to be unclear and confusing.

Closing the Technology Gender Gap for Economic Developing

A new formula for development. Women + Mobile Phones = Economic Development

By Wayan Vota
While everyone is amazed at the quick proliferation of mobile phones in the developing world, here's a startling statistic from the Technology Salon which should check our unbridled enthusiasm for m-everything: 73% of women in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia do not have a mobile phone.

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