Opening Session

First Session: Fair Mobile

Steve Song organized a session on the fair mobile project that seeks to realign the mobile phone markets to be more equitable and innovative.

• Much of the conversation centered around how to frame the project: is this the age-old question of universal access? Is this about competition? Is there something unique about mobiles?
• The psychology behind ICT user behavior seems to be important to understand. What type of pricing will lead to socially desirable usage? Are more calls or texts necessarily better?
• Telecommunications, arguably by nature, seems to be a sector that requires regulation, but many of the African regulators are ineffective and were ill-prepared for the popularity of mobile phones.
• What levers exist to produce change? Consumer pressure? Is government compelling existing firms enough? Or is the market so skewed that new entrants must be encouraged?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of different sorts of mobile usage? Is SMS “an extension of the Internet” by nature or just happenstance? Are the troubles and expense of SMS/voice so problematic that we should just try to accelerate IP use?

Second Session: Monitoring and Evaluating

Following some tech demos, Jonathan Donner hosted a session on how to measure and evaluate ICT4D projects. Some key takeaways:

• There seemed to be general dissatisfaction with the M&E experience as it is traditionally conceived. Outside audits lack appropriate context, and inside evaluations are inherently biased.
• Whose criteria for success is used? The subjects? The actors? Donors?
• Regardless, evaluation is always more work and expense than you think.
• Perception is powerful, perhaps more powerful than facts; narratives, though not rigorous measurements, help people understand the goals and (potential) outcomes. But are narratives biased towards success?
• Evaluation is a great planning tool; build it into the process and institutional mindset.
• Is openness the key? By living publicly you can attract information and insight from experts you didn’t know existed.

Over all, a very stimulating discussion, and the deeper I dive, the more questions surface.