Technology Salon

One thread in this year’s excellent MERL Tech conference was the critical questions on data use: How do we balance project needs with policy requirements? How does that affect data collection, structure, and cleaning? Can we still incentivize both at an organizational level? Ultimately: are we able to generate results data that is usable and…

  In October 2017, the President of Ghana launched the National Digital Property Addressing System (NDPAS) also known as the Ghana Post GPS  with the aim of providing every location in Ghana with a unique digital address. It is hoped that the Ghana Post GPS will achieve a nationwide use for spatial database information for…

At the Technology Salon San Francisco on Data-Infused Impact Storytelling, a vibrant group of technologists and development experts gathered at the Vodafone Americas Foundation in Redwood City to explore how to be better storytellers in our efforts to change the world. The discussion featured a curated group of participants, and discussion leads including: Chantal Buard…

Blockchain is at the peak of inflated expectations. Since last year’s Tech Salon on Bitcoin, the hype cycle has eclipsed cryptocurrencies to focus the underlying distributed ledger technology. Just look at who is putting blockchain front and center: World Bank launched a Blockchain Lab and a blockchain RFP. The Rockefeller Foundation invested in New America’s…

For our Technology Salon on How Can Partnerships Improve the Digital Health Ecosystem?, we discussed partnerships and interoperability in global health systems. The room housed a wide range of perspectives, from small to large non-governmental organizations to donors and funders to software developers to designers to healthcare professionals to students. Our lead discussants were: Josh…

Last Thursday, we had the honor of getting together with many of our peers and partners in New York City to discuss How Can Partnerships Improve the Digital Health Ecosystem? The discussion was moderated by Linda Raftree of Tech Salon, sponsored by Medic Mobile and Praekelt, and hosted by Thoughtworks. The main discussants were: Josh…

The title of this post is the most memorable quote from our May 2017 Technology Salon, asking the question “Are We Really Closing the Gender Gap in ICT4D?“, a discussion led by: Catherine Highet, Technical Advisor, mStar at FHI360 Revi Sterling, USAID-GBI Chief of Party Melissa Persaud, VOTO Mobile We’ve talked about gender and ICT4D…

Artificial intelligence used as chatbots made headlines in 2016 with 34,000 bots added to Facebook Messenger alone. Facebook’s F8 conference put artificial intelligence in center stage, as chatbots are now smart enough to fool students at a Georgia Tech CompSci course who didn’t realize their TA “Jill Watson” was only virtual until finals. But Facebook…

Big Data for Development. You’ve heard that sentence/question/presentation title before. We’ve talked about it at length and the conversation continues in earnest in a time where more quantitative analysis is needed and increasingly expected. Thankfully, excellent progress is being made. The World Bank’s 2017 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals was very well received during this…

  User Experience (UX) Design is, for many companies, a mainstream part of product or project development.  There are employees whose entire job is UX, or at least is spelled out as a specific step in meeting goals, whether it’s building an app or deciding the appropriate technology of how to engage with a community….

Our Technology Salon on Thursday March 9th focused on the potential of Microwork to support youth economic empowerment. Joining us as lead discussants were: Lis Meyers, Banyan Global Saul Miller, Samasource Elena Matsui, The Rockefeller Foundation Banyan Global recently completed a report on “The Nexus of Microwork and Impact Sourcing: Implications for Youth Employment,” supported…

Born from the widest ever public consultation by the UN, the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a chance to ‘press the reset button on development’. Critically, the SDGs encourage countries to improve data analysis and to track progress with common indicators. Many of the goals are inter-related and influence each other. But with such…

Recently, 35 leaders in tech, international development, philanthropy and venture capital gathered at frog design in San Francisco for a Technology Salon debating the question, “Is Virtual Reality a New Paradigm for Humanitarianism or is it more Augmented Hype?” Participants experienced virtual reality with several HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and frog design headsets. Coined by…

On December 7, 2016, Ghana passed yet another democratic test when it conducted what has been described as the best organized general elections in the country’s history. The elections was to choose a new President and 275 members of parliament. From the tech-based systems deployed by some media houses that enabled their collation and projections…

    The third Technology Salon event hosted in Helsinki, Finland, brought together a room full of representatives from private sector, public sector, governments, startups, NGOs and universities from countries like Lebanon, Tanzania, Mozambique, Denmark, Finland, India, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Iran, United States, Belgium, France, South Africa, Egypt and Zambia – to name a few! This…

An estimated 1.5 billion people do not have a government issued and recognized proof of their legal identity. Over 10 million people in the world, with millions of children, are stateless. Migrants are expected to increase significantly in the next 5 years, due to civil strife, climate change, and changing economic landscapes. To prepare for…

Given the scale and profile of the current global refugee crisis, it’s no surprise that the technology community is increasingly exploring how technology can solve challenges faced by refugees and those involved in refugee response. Refugee and humanitarian communities should welcome the enthusiasm of the tech community alike, as it is clear that new ideas…