Information and Communication Technology for Development

The Foundation

has integrated new

visualization and

mapping tools into

its ongoing field

research efforts.

Expanded use of ICT in Asia has offered newways of addressing persistent problems ofpoverty and inequality because it helps increaseproductivity and efficiency; expand the voice,scale, and influence of civil society; andenhance transparency and accountability in thepublic sector. Recognizing the growing impactof ICT on the state, global and local economies,and civil society, The Asia Foundation hasdeveloped programs that focus on access totechnology and information sharing in crucialareas such as openness and good governance,elections, law, human rights, economic devel-opment, education, and disaster preparedness.

SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE (SMS)

AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY/

TRANSPARENCY

With nearly three billionmobile phone users acrossAsia and the increasing use of cell phones amongpoor and hard-to-reach

populations, The Asia Foundation has beenimplementing citizen-based SMS programs

to promote government accountability andtransparency on services they provide to thepublic. For example, with its partners in Asia,the Foundation is helping to empower residentsthrough SMS and crowdsourced data on localgovernment services and infrastructure issues inways that bring communities together around acommon set of concerns. In Timor-Leste, theFoundation has worked with a local technologydevelopment NGO to create an SMS pollingtool that can be used in a variety ofSMS/group-messaging outreach efforts. In SriLanka, the Foundation collaborated with theMinistry of Justice to launch the first-ever pilotproject that allows the chairs of mediationboards to use SMS technology to transmitweekly electronic reports on legal cases viamobile phones. Additionally, the Foundation isworking with the Sri Lankan police to developan SMS tool for collecting citizen complaints aspart of a community-oriented policing program.In India, the Foundation is exploring thepotential of mobile phone applications to assistcitizens in the process of collecting data on thequality of local services.

The Foundation

supports efforts to

develop fundamental

“right to information”

legal protections

which underlie many

open data initiatives

in the region.

The Asia Foundation

is helping to empower

residents through SMS

and crowdsourced

data on local

government services.

Since the 1990s, The Asia Foundation has supported programs aimed at accelerating the adoption ofinformation and communication technology (ICT) by civil society, government, and the private sector.Certain advances in ICT – such as the pervasive adoption of mobile telephones and the rapid spread ofinternet connectivity – have dramatically increased the speed of information processing, as well as theease, frequency, and quality of communications in the developing world.

ICT FOR

DEVELOPMENT

HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) 392-8863info@asiafound.org

WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) 588-9409info@asiafound-dc.org

www.asiafoundation.org

OPEN DATA

Open data refers to the ease of access to information (such as research data, censusinformation, government data, and develop-ment statistics) that can help policymakers, citizens, and civil society groups make betterdecisions and advocate for more effectivereforms. The Asia Foundation approaches theuse of open data in three distinct ways. First, inpartnership with local organizations, theFoundation supports efforts to develop funda-mental “right to information” legal protectionswhich underlie many open data initiatives inthe region. Second, the Foundation supportsinitiatives designed to make government datamore accessible to the public – including dataon local budgets, financial transactions, andprocurement. Finally, the Foundation has incorporated open data tools and web technologies into its own research initiativesmaking it possible to share, manage, and ana-lyze the findings of its numerous field researchefforts with stakeholders and the public at large.

EDUCATION AND ICT

The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia start-upfund, Access4Asia, supports promising technol-ogy projects incubated by in-country staff that further the program’s mission to improve access to information in developing Asia. Pilot projectsunderway include: increasing access to environ-mental education curricula in Sabah, Malaysia;supporting tablet training and developing ESLand climate change curricula for teachers inThailand; expanding access to legal, gender, andenvironmental information available on theinternet in Laos; and designing a locally relevantdigital library for Bangladeshi youth.

NATURAL DISASTERS AND ICT

Through its training in the PacificIslands, The Asia Foundationempowers key government offi-cials and works with them tomainstream disaster and climaterisk considerations into nationalplanning and budgeting processes.The effectiveness and credibilityof these trainings is well-known in

the region, and has contributed to the develop-ment of thousands of disaster management andresponse personnel in 14 Pacific Island nations.Many of these people have moved into leadingroles in disaster management in the region, andare making new advances in technology appli-cations for disaster preparedness and response.Programs promote people-focused, user-friendlyapproaches to early warning systems that communities can manage themselves, includingcomponents such as short message service(SMS) and mobile phone networks.

DATA VISUALIZATION AND GEOGRAPHICINFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) MAPPING

Recent advances in ICT have helped transformhow researchers, policymakers, and citizens areable to analyze and visualize vast amounts ofinformation. Innovations have enhancedresearch and analysis capabilities on a widerange of development issues. The AsiaFoundation has integrated these data visualiza-tion and mapping tools into its ongoing fieldresearch efforts in order to improve the organi-zation’s ability to share lessons learned. Recentprojects include: Visualizing Afghanistan, a project providing access to six years of publicopinion polling data collected by theFoundation and mapped by region on a year-by-year basis; and a data visualization projectpresenting the 2012 Malaysia Business

Environment Index (BEI),the only diagnostic tooldesigned to measure thebusiness-friendliness oflocal governments in the country.

06/2012Printed on mixed paper from certified, well-managed forests and/or recycled material using dry toners without petroleum distillates.

The Asia Foundation

is a nonprofit international

development organization

committed to improving

lives across a dynamic

and developing Asia.

Headquartered in San

Francisco, The Asia

Foundation works through

a network of offices in

17 Asian countries and in

Washington, DC. Working

with public and private

partners, the Foundation

receives funding from

a diverse group of

bilateral and multilateral

development agencies,

foundations, corporations,

and individuals.