The United States Agency for International Development's Africa Bureau project, African Strategies for Health (ASH) and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) hosted by the United Nations Foundation, invite ICT4D Conference participants to an interactive discussion of the practical implementation of the Principles for Digital Development. Participants from all development sectors are invited to share their experiences, insights, and thoughts of how to move forward the full implementation of the Principles for Digital Development.
About the Principles: The Principles for Digital Development (digitalprinciples.org) are living guidelines that can help development practitioners integrate established best practices into technology-enabled programs. They are written by and for international development donors, multilateral organizations, and implementing partners, and they are freely available for use by all. The Principles are intended to serve as guidance rather than edict, and to be updated and refined over time. The Principles find their roots in the efforts of individuals, development organizations, and donors alike who have called for a more concerted effort by donors and implementing partners to institutionalize the many hard lessons learned in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in development projects.
The Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) was asked to take over stewardship and operationalization of the Principles for Digital Development (Principles) in February 2016. As such, DIAL will work with partners and the development community to gather, curate, and create (where needed) guidance for implementers, countries, and donors on how to implement and institutionalize the Principles in their digital development efforts.
ICT4D Conference participants from across sectors are invited to participate in a discussion around the implementation of the Principles for Digital Development. Topics for discussion include:
- The current status of knowledge about the Principles in various sectors,
- Current implementation of the Principles, how does it differ by sector or by Principle
- Which tools or implementation guides on best practices are in use?
- What additional information or steps are needed to more fully adhere to Principles?
- Are these processes being documented and shared
- How can the community encourage broader sharing and learning on implementing best practices in digital development within and across sectors?
Participants are welcome to first join a broader introduction to the Principles and DIAL's role in operationalizing them in the ICT4D cross-sectoral breakout session: The Principles of Digital Development in Action on Tuesday, May 17th from 16:00-16:45 or 16:45-17:30.
Formerly known as the Mobile Hub, DIAL is a global alliance to harness the power of the digital revolution to transform the lives of poor and vulnerable men, women and children throughout the developing world. DIAL's founding partners include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), USAID and the United Nations Foundation. DIAL's vision is to realize a more inclusive digital economy for the underserved in emerging markets, whereby all women, men and children benefit from life-enabling, mobile-based digital services. DIAL's mission is to accelerate the collective efforts of government, industry and development organizations to realize this vision.
African Strategies for Health (ASH) is a five-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Bureau for Africa and implemented by Management Sciences for Health. ASH improves the health status of populations across Africa through identifying and advocating for best practices, enhancing technical capacity, and engaging African regional institutions to address health issues in a sustainable manner.
