How can international CSOs help – or hinder – grassroots tech innovation?

--:--
The global reach of international civil society organisations (ICSOs) allows these organisations to develop, scale-out, and tailor innovative approaches and novel use of technology across borders and in different countries and settings. They may also have sufficient resources to influence the policies and operational and resourcing environments for the development and adoption of innovation and technology in some national contexts. While pursuing their own broad digital innovation and transformation strategy, they invest in their operations and internal functions, and data management.

These organisations operate with technological partners and outsource the development and maintenance of specific digital functions. Data is often stored and processed by commercial partners. There are ICSOs investing in start-ups. At the same time, there is considerable digital innovation from grassroots groups, civic tech networks, local NGOs, and social enterprises, generating effective data and digital solutions and new ideas for using tech for social good in the areas and with the communities, they support and represent. Initiatives that demonstrate proven impact and innovation can attract interest for wider applicability and replication, beyond the operational or resourcing mandates and constraints of where they originated.

Get in touch:
Visit https://civictech.africa/
Follow @CivicTechAfrica on Twitter
Follow Civic Tech Innovation Network on Facebook
Follow Civic Tech Innovation Network on LinkedIn
Share your civic tech initiative with us
21 Jun 2022 English South Africa Tech News · Technology

Other recent episodes

Africa and the perils of electronic voting | Maxwell Maseko

In this episode, the host, Nathi Mcetywa introduces the new feature of the podcast, What in the Civic Tech?, and discusses the possibility of moving Africa's election process from a paper-based voting system to an electronic voting system. The guest, Dr. Maxwell Masago, talks about the readiness of South Africa…
2 May 29 min

Informing and Influencing Tech Policy in North Africa | Yosr Jouini

Yosr Jouini is an interdisciplinary researcher studying emerging technologies and their social implications in the global South. She is the director of Technoloxia, a technology & innovation centre based in Tunis. She is also the host of the 'Digitally Yours podcast', which specialises in digital rights. Technoloxia is a North…
27 Jul 2023 35 min

How to Grow and Sustain African Civic Tech | Gabriella Razzano and Amy Mutua

Financing and funding civic technology activities take up a significant portion of most organisations’ worry hours. Often, when there are shortages of funds, this is viewed as an organisational failure. But instead of looking at funding and financing as a reflection of innate value, it should rather be viewed as…
12 Jul 2023 27 min

Advancing Technology and Social Change through the Ushahidi Digital Tool | Daniel Odongo

The Ushahidi Platform helps communities turn information into action with an intuitive and accessible crowdsourcing and mapping tool. By enabling the rapid collection, management and analysis of crowdsourced information, Ushahidi empowers everyone—individuals, community groups, governments, activists, organizations—to create meaningful change. In this episode, we spoke to Daniel Odongo from Ushahidi…
22 Jun 2023 28 min