In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the ability to harness technology for economic growth and social development has become a critical factor for nations across the globe. Adopting a digital-first culture for data-driven decision-making and upskilling civil servants to foster better collaboration remains a key priority for low- and middle-income countries. Read to learn more about how Panoply Digital supported the data and digital upskilling work of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change with the governments in Ghana, Malawi, and Senegal.
Read MoreFacilitating Online Meetings and Events: Key Considerations for Local Private Sector Organizations
Since Panoply Digital began our collaboration with CIPE, training sessions we have delivered on their behalf have occurred both face-to-face and online. From our extensive online training experience, we’ve developed 5 top tips that can help you host meetings successfully and securely.
Read MoreCIPE Launches New Technology for Democracy Online Course
Nearly seven years ago, Panoply Digital was founded and almost since that time, we have collaborated with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). As a long-time partner, we know that CIPE has always valued the use of digital learning approaches to advocate for #civictech, or Technology for Democracy. In this post we’ll share a bit more about the course we created with them!
Read MorePanoply Digital User Experience Evaluation work in Malawi featured in new Women Deliver report
A recently released report from Women Deliver, Going Online for Sexual and Reproductive Health (August 2020), spotlights evaluation fieldwork Panoply Digital conducted in Malawi on behalf of the Praekelt Foundation and Girl Effect. This user experience evaluation of a youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information platform was designed to help improve the overall user experience. Click to read more about the Women Deliver report and the impact Panoply Digital helped realize.
Read MorePutting a spotlight on girls and digital
In the gender and ICT world, adolescent girls often take a backseat compared to adult women - there is comparatively very data on girls under 18 and their access to and use of technology, and they are often harder to reach than adult women. So we’re very excited to have several stories focusing on adolescent girls and digital this month…
Read MorePanoply Digital contributes to new "Language for Resilience" report from the British Council
In 2019, as part of our efforts to continue stimulating innovative ideas for education provision in refugee contexts, Panoply Digital collaborated with LearnJam to contribute expertise to a new British Council report on Language for Resilience.
Read MoreCelebrating Women's History Month in the Digital Age
We’ve been tracking the intersection of gender and mobiles for eight years now. As part of Women’s History Month celebrations, in this post we spotlight some of the up and coming history makers!
Read MoreDigital education work and urban resilience
I am typing this out from Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi reflecting on the past week spent with the good people of UN Habitat, specifically those associated with the CityRAP tool. The CityRAP tool trains city managers and municipal technicians in small to intermediate sized cities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to understand and plan actions aimed at reducing risk and building resilience through the elaboration of a City Resilience Action Plan.
Read MoreHow Relevant was Bridge International Academies' EdTech Intervention in Liberia?
We have been some of the most vocal critics of Bridge International Academies (BIA), largely because most investigations and evaluations of their edtech impact to improve schooling in sub-Saharan Africa have been less than spectacular (many would say the impact is non-existent). So imagine our surprise to see Wayan Vota's latest ICTworks™ post highlighting the successes of BIA in Liberia.
Read MoreWakanda forever: a fintech tribute
By the time you are reading this blog post, you most probably have already gone to the movies to watch Black Panther. If not, do yourself a favour: stop reading and go watch it NOW.
Yet, regardless of whether you watched it or not, I hope you have come across the bountiful articles, tweets and social media posts that describe what makes it so revolutionary: it is the first Hollywood blockbuster movie to have an African-American director, starring a predominantly black cast, with the first black super hero. Above all, it is a celebration of blackness and a movie that finally offers black people the representation they deserve: that of powerful, smart, creative and beautiful people.
Read MoreDigital Financial Services and the Financial Inclusion Gender Divide
In my previous blog post, I wrote about smallholder farmers and how they are more likely to experience financial exclusion because of heightened operational and risk assessment challenges. Today, I want to focus on another group of people that is disproportionately underserved by financial institutions: Women.
Read MoreWTF?! Presentations & Four takeaways from the sub-Saharan africa Startup-themed London ICT4D Meetup
How can startups in sub-Saharan Africa reap their potential in challenging environments? The October 2017 London ICT4D Meetup had some answers, which we'll summarize in four key points for this post. We also share the presentations given that night.
Read MoreGender Inequality in Education: Datasets and Sources
Returning to the subject of education and gender, this post is a bit more about using the data available to you to make informed decisions when running ICT4D projects. For some, these will be painfully apparent; for others, perhaps a little less so, so I am essentially writing this post for the latter group. Experts and data-savvy types, avert your eyes.It is probably best to frame this around a particular question or conjecture, so I am going to assume that one of the potential pathways for greater employability for women in some countries and in particular greater employability in "innovative" fields is research.
Read MoreThree Big Questions to Ask Before Funding an Online Mobile4Dev Solution
There was a time, early in my career, where I exhibited Tom Cruise levels of enthusiasm for the use of mobile websites in development projects. Sitting in meetings trying to convince clients that they could use a mobile site to deliver vital information and support to thousands of people at a time would trigger sofa-bouncing displays as I tried to convince them that it was possible.
And it worked - funders took the plunge, access to the mobile web has continued to grow, and I went on to lead the design and launch of over 20 mobile sites aimed at connecting audiences across Africa for fantastic projects ranging from sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), to gender equality, to advocacy.
As time went by, however, I started doing less sofa bouncing and more soul searching. Showing off a website I’d designed to some friends, I once dissolved into tears because I knew that the site itself had very little chance of making a real impact in an area I cared deeply about. Not because it wasn’t well designed, but because of a number of fail-factors which I had by then become savvy to.
Read MoreAlternative Credit Scoring Models for Smallholder Farmers
According to the latest estimates by the World Bank, two billion people still lack access to basic financial services. The main barriers of lending to the unbanked have always been high costs of outreach anddelivery, and lack of traditional data for risk assessment. These barriers exacerbate when dealing with smallholder farmers (SHFs), making them the most likely to be underserved. In fact, despite agriculture remains the main economic activity and employs the majority of the people in most low income countries, only a smaller share of financial institutions portfolio is invested in it, leaving a $ 200 billion in unmet financing, as estimated by the Initiative for Smallholder Finance.
Read MoreWithout open and free internet, Indonesia will come short in achieving Sustainable Development Goals
The Government of Indonesia have committed to adopt SDGs while at the same time want more control over internet. Can they achieve these ambitious goals and targets without giving more freedom for citizens online?
Read More#eSkills4Girls online platform debuts: Highlights from the Gender and Mobiles Newsletter
A new issue of me and Alex's Gender and Mobiles Newsletter is out, and we are delighted to help spread the word about the eSkills4Girls.org online platform! Launched to help close the digital gender gap, this initiative is a flagship activity of Germany's 2017 G20 presidency.
Read MoreDigital divides and accumulated advantage: Huawei Global Connectivity Index and the Business of Education in Africa
I have been spending some time with two reports recently that have me thinking a bit about the outcomes we in the ICT4D and digital education fields are looking for in our work. Both challenge some of my perhaps idealistic beliefs that the technology could enable positive impact (which in some cases it has) in resource deprived environments. I can point to enough evidence there to suggest that is the case, but it isn't evidence that scales very well. A success story here or there tied to a regional context. Some data to suggest increased literacy levels or greater access to health care. Overall, a tick upwards towards meeting SDGs, a small triumph in and of itself.
Read MoreUnderstanding Open Data as an integral part of eGovernment Systems: A Perspective from Jakarta
In this blog post, Panoply Digital Associate Eko Prasetyo discusses open data and eGovernment systems, with a perspective from Jakarta city's recent open data work. "eGovernment systems are information systems handling data to deliver information for decision making and transactions. Workstreams in Open (Government) Data, either data publication on portals or a more specific use case like an e-contracting system fit in this category too.
Read MorePanoply Digital and new directions: introducing our new Associates
We are expanding a bit, so I wanted to take a brief moment to introduce the newest additions to Panoply Digital. The Panoply Digital Associates joined us in 2017 and represent some of the brightest lights in the field bringing with them considerable capacity for knowledge management, for programming, evaluation, informatics, and more. Truly an exceptional bunch.
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