Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs): An enabling tool for international cooperation

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are transforming the way governments, business and individuals learn, work and communicate with each other. If they are employed strategically within development programmes to promote access and sharing of relevant knowledge as well as fostering participation of the poor and marginalised in decision- making processes that affect their lives, ICTs help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

SDC focus

The focus of SDC from 2001 to 2008 was to support international mainstreaming efforts of ICTs in development processes, e.g. through supporting a series of targeted publications, thematic roundtables and particularly through strengthening to the development perspective and the multi-stakeholder process in the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS). In addition to a direct support to the WSIS process and the promotion of the active participation of Civil Society Organisations from the South and the East therein, SDC has directly participated in and supported a whole range of organisations and networks active in the area of ICT4D (see below).

Support for most of these organisations was phased out between 2008 and 2010. The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) is responsible for Switzerland’s commitments in this area, in collaboration with the ECOSOC Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The SDC is currently focusing on the integration of ICTs in its own projects and programmes (as a strategic instrument).

Background

ICTs encompass a full range of increasingly converging technologies, including traditional and emerging devices such as interactive community radios, television, mobile phones, computer and network hardware and software, the Internet, satellite systems, and podcasting. The effective use of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is not just a question of infrastructure and software. It also requires an appropriate institutional and regulatory framework and the development of human capacity and relevant content. Holistic and contextualised implementation of ICTs is complex as it depends considerably on the sector or theme in which they are employed as well as the overall socio-economic context (access and affordability of infrastructure, human capacity, cultural habits). Thus ICTs should not be seen as a panacea for all development problems but rather an important tool to be applied as part of a broader strategy for sustainable development.

ICTs can be employed fulfilling three partly overlapping functions:

  • Access: Using ICTs to facilitate access to and sharing of timely and relevant information and knowledge.
  • Voice and Communication: Using ICTs to strengthen the voice of poor, excluded and disadvantaged people in decision-making and self-expression of their culture.
  • Networking: Using ICTs for networking and human communication while fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve effects on a larger scale (up-scaling).

The transformative potential of ICTs as a tool can be particularly harnessed to

  • increase efficiency: reaching more people while reducing transaction costs.
  • increase effectiveness: in terms of process, ownership, participation, networking and improvement of governance and better delivery of basic services such as education agricultural extension, microfinance and health.
  • improve innovation and productivity: for example for micro, small and medium enterprises through better access to information, credit, markets and procurement using ICT tools in management, marketing and distribution channels.

Links

Documents

Connecting people for a better world
Are information and communication technologies (ICT) such as computers, TV or mobile phones effective instruments to empower people, reduce poverty and improve lives? This book offers new answers to these questions.
Publication ICT4D – Connecting people for a better world (PDF, 2.1 MB)

Up-scaling pro-poor ICT-policies and practices
a review of experience with emphasis on low income countries in Asia and Africa
[en] (PDF, 1.9 MB, English)

Building Bridges across Time and Space – Experience and Success of a Telemedicine Pilot Project in Mongolia
Asia Brief - May 2013
[en] (PDF, Number of pages 4, 413.9 kB, English)

Information and Communication Technologies and large-scale poverty reduction - SDC/Panos 2005
Lessons from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Edited by Kitty Warnock and Ravi Wickremasinghe in cooperation with John McGill and Gerolf Weigel. Published by Panos London.
[en] (PDF, 799.0 kB, English)

ICTs and Education – Public-Private Partnership to connect Schools to the Net
A National Model in Switzerland - Summary of the Final Report
[en] (PDF, Number of pages 11, 1.7 MB, English)

Deepening Participation and Improving Aid Effectiveness through Media and ICTs
A Practical Manual Translating Lessons Learned into Daily Practice – SDC Working Paper
[en] (PDF, Number of pages 25, 632.2 kB, English)

Un seul monde
No 4/03 - Société de l'information
[fr] (PDF, 1.5 MB, French)

Chennai Statement - on Up-scaling Pro-Poor ICT Policies
[en] (PDF, Number of pages 6, 143.3 kB, English)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Poverty Reduction?
Discussion Paper - World Summit on Information Society WSIS 2003
[en] (PDF, Number of pages 71, 759.0 kB, English)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Poverty Reduction
in Sub Saharan Africa - A learning Study (Synthesis)
[en] (PDF, 454.3 kB, English)

Current projects

Object 613 – 624 of 971

International Development Association (IDA)18 – Core Contribution 2017-2020

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2026

IDA is the part of the World Bank Group (WBG) that helps the world’s poorest countries end extreme poverty and build shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. It aims to reduce poverty by providing loans and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities, and improve people’s living conditions. Switzerland has contributed to IDA since 1967 and once again played an active role in the replenishment negotiations for the period 2017-2020, which defined five priority areas: climate change; fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV); jobs and economic transformation; governance and institutions; and gender and development. This is Switzerland’s largest financial contribution to a multilateral organization, reflecting the importance and global relevance of IDA and the WBG in helping Switzerland achieve its development goals.


Potable Water Management Programme (PWMP) in Upper Egypt

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2027

Egypt is a water scarce country and has enormous needs in better managing water resources and reducing water losses as well as water consumption, as a prerequisite for inclusive economic development. This programme contributes to improved potable water management and service provision in the targeted affiliated Water & Wastewater Companies (WWCs) and to providing equal access to a reliable potable water supply system to deprived and informal areas in the economically disadvantaged governorates of Upper Egypt.


JOR Sanitation Solutions for Underserved Communities in Jordan

01.07.2017 - 30.06.2027

In Jordan water supply from conventional water sources has come to its limits. Appropriate sanitation solutions will minimize the risks for public health and reduce the hazards of environmental pollution. Additionally these will cut the costs for sanitation operations and free resources for other purposes. Thus the project will contribute to the much needed decoupling of population and economic growth from resource consumption and pollution of the environment.


Food security in the Great Lakes Region - Nutrition

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2021

Multidisciplinary partnerships and multi-stakeholder alliances wrought by One UN agencies and the Governments of Burundi, Rwanda and DRC develop practical solutions to deliver activities in support of the institutionalization of nutrition strategies in the respective countries. The activities take place at the provincial level, in locations where food insecurity and poverty are at highest level; they feed-back to the respective coordination secretariat, thus ensuring an appropriate political steering of the strategies.


SDC Grands Lacs: Gender mainstreaming

01.07.2017 - 28.02.2022

Les inégalités de genre sont très ancrées dans les coutumes et les pratiques des populations de la région des Grands Lacs. Elles sont accentuées par le contexte en ébullition, particulièrement au Burundi et en RDC, qui contribue au taux élevé de viol et de violences basées sur le genre. La présente intervention contribuera à leur réduction en améliorant le niveau de l’expertise liée aux inégalités et à la Violence Basée sur le Genre (VBG) dans la région, en promouvant les réformes adéquates et favorisant l’empowerment des femmes avec l’implication des hommes.


Creating Job Opportunities for All in Macedonia

01.07.2017 - 31.10.2022

This project will facilitate employment for vulnerable groups, by introducing appropriate active labour market measures, improving the capacities of responsible stakeholders to coordinate employment measures, and sensitizing and incentivising the private sector. lt contributes to ease the risk of vulnerable groups to fall into poverty, and enhances their social inclusion. Roma and people with disabilities are the main target group as they are disproportionally affected by high unemployment in Macedonia.


United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2022

The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) located in Geneva is an autonomous research institute within the UN system. It undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary development challenges. Guided by its research strategy 2016-2020 entitled “Transformations to Equity and Sustainability”, UNRISD aims at contributing to the understanding of policymakers, United Nations experts, and the public at large about the social dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals.


Sanitation Solutions for Underserved Communities in Jordan

01.07.2017 - 31.05.2022

The amount of water available from conventional sources in Jordan is decreasing dangerously, the population is increasing constantly and additional sources are needed urgently. By using treated wastewater as an alternative resource Jordan could reduce its dependence on fresh water. Proven Swiss expertise in the sanitation sector aims at increasing the efficiency of wastewater treatment systems and on turning wastewater streams into physical and financial resources. This will not only provide additional water but also reduce health risks and protect groundwater.


OCHA Donor Support Group (ODSG) Vorsitz der Schweiz 2017-2018

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2018

At a challenging moment, defined by increasing humanitarian needs and constrained financial resources, OCHA has launched a Change Management Process. At the same time the Office is in the process of elaborating its new Strategic Plan for the period 2018 – 2021. It is within this context that Switzerland is taking over the Chairmanship of the ODSG from June 2017 until June 2018. The overall goal of the Swiss ODSG Chairmanship is to support and guide the organization towards a more sustainable position within the humanitarian ecosystem.


World Bank Global Program on Forced Displacement GPFD

01.07.2017 - 30.06.2020

A record 65.4 million people are displaced due to armed conflict and persecution. Many of them have been displaced for more than a decade, necessitating a development approach to make them more self-reliable. The Global Program on Forced Displacement (GPFD) has been the agenda-setter on this issue in the World Bank. Through its role as the custodian of expertise, it contributes to foster long-term development solutions for the displaced and to make this a priority issue for the Bank.


Potable Water Management Programme (PWMP) in Upper Egypt – Phase 1

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2021

Egypt is a water scarce country and has critical needs in better managing water resources and reducing water losses as well as water consumption. Switzerland can share its know-how in the water sector. This programme contributes to equitable access to safely managed water to deprived and informal settlement areas in the economically disadvantaged governorate of Aswan in Upper Egypt and to improved potable water management and service provision in Aswan Water & Sanitation Company (AWSC).


Object 613 – 624 of 971