Digital for Development
In January 2012 we laid out our strategy for using digital technology to help us reach our development goals. We're ensuring digital processes pervade all our work, from communications to policy making and programmes; increasing our transparency, efficiency and accessibility. In these blogs we discuss how we're meeting our digital development objectives.
Last month I attended e-Learning Africa in Kampala, where I presented the emerging findings from DFID's forthcoming Educational Technology Topic Guide. Now in its 9th year, the conference brought together 1,500 participants from 69 countries - African ministers sat alongside …
Earlier this month I went to Oslo - Norway's scenic capital - to visit the education team at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). It was to discuss what I've learned about the use (and misuse) of edtech since …
One of the main reasons that the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) was established was to provide better quality data for the governments of countries in which we work (known as "partner countries" in international development language). If ministers and …
It's no coincidence that promoting research in educational technology was the subject of our last blog post. In June 2014, DFID will publish a new evidence paper (or Topic Guide) exploring how Edtech can be used to improve teaching and …
Question: What word inspires fear in companies that sell educational technology? Answer: Research. Why? Because snazzy as edtech 'solutions' may seem, research to prove a positive relationship between edtech initiatives and improved learning in the developing world is limited, inconsistent …
BBC6 Music DJ and broadcaster Lauren Laverne joined thousands in DFID's successful social media "Thunderclap" earlier this month, culminating in a message of zero tolerance to female genital mutilation (FGM) message being sent out to millions of accounts. Around 1200 people …
The panel met for the second time in January. It was a slightly smaller group, perhaps due to the perils of a winter meeting and last minute illnesses. However, 2 detailed presentations helped share more information with panel members about …
It's been an interesting year working on digital in DFID. Writing our 'Digital Strategy – 12 months on report' gave us a good opportunity to look around the organisation and see what progress has been made since December 2012. Our …
Love it or loathe it, 1 of the grand challenges for education in developing countries is how to integrate technology in a cost effective way that has impact. In a paper released this month, McKinsey report that over 67 million …
Any regular reader of the Economist will have read the hype about "edtech". It is a well worn tale. Converts believe edtech has potential to transform the lives of millions of poor children. By contrast, sceptics think edtech is not …
Recent Comments