SAFIPA South Africa – Finland Knowledge

Partnership on ICTPresentation to ICT4RD hosted by SANGONET

2 November 2011Wanderers Club

http://safipa.com

Presenter Contributor Thiru Naidoo-Swettenham Kristiina Lahde National Programme Coordinator Former Chief Technical Advisor tswettenham@csir.co.za klahde@csir.co.za

1. Key issues in Information Society 2. Overview of South Africa – Finland Bilateral Partnerships3. Implementation of SAFIPA programme4. Component 1 – Capacity Building5. Component 2- Project Portfolio -Innovative IS applications

and New Solutions for End Users 6. Component 3- Networking and Dissemination 7. Sustainability of SAFIPA Portfolio8. Lessons learnt in ICT4D -SAFIPA Experience9. Recommendations for other ICT4D initiatives

Overview

1. Key Issues in Information Society

DIGITAL DIVIDE

ICT industry mainly based on imported technology

ICT services not well developed – lack of services to marginalized community

Low R&D expenditure on ICT

Lack of innovations that significantly impact the digital divide

Skills capacity constraints

Lack of capacity building from school level to research level

Mobility of researchers

Competition for talents

Lack of interaction between industry & science

Diagram of problems

Low ICT-deployment

DIGITAL DIVIDE

ICT industry mainly based on imported technology

ICT services not well developed – lack of services to marginalized community

Low R&D expenditure on ICT

Lack of innovations that significantly impact the digital divide

Skills capacity constraints

Lack of capacity building from school level to research level

Mobility of researchers

Competition for talents

Lack of interaction between industry & science

Diagram of problems

Low ICT-deployment

2. SA-Finland Bilateral Partnerships

SA –FinlandBilateral

COFISA –Regional

innovation systems(200

7-2010)

SAFIPA – Innovative

ICT for Development (2008-2011)

INSPIRE- Regional ICT programme

(DoC) (2008-2011)

BIOFISA -Regional

Programme in

Biotechnology (2008-2011)

• In country technical assistance

• Local Programme Management office

• Encourage diverse participation and previously excluded

• Capacity building integral to all projects

• Replication and sustainability

• Encourage networks and collaborative sharing

• Support local expertise

• Facilitate international expertise in development areas

• Fixed term duration – 3 years

3. 1. Implementation of SAFIPA Programme

• Key elements of SAFIPA Programme:

In country technical assistance – Chief Technical Advisor and National Programme Coordinator, Project officer and Project manager

Diverse project portfolio management (spanning 25 projects supported externally and 76 implementation partners) - deployment in nine provinces in SA (high representation in Gauteng and Western Cape)

• Programme design:

Based on National ICT R&D Policy - Focus on building the information society in a systemic way and not only project grant support

• Investment: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland provided funding of €3 million and the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa provided ZAR 9 million for the three year programme.

• Governance: SVB oversight and SC management of programme

3.2 Key elements of SAFIPA implementation

SAFIPA programme management office

@ CSIR Meraka

Institute

Technical assistance by

CTA/NPC and other specific advisors

3.5 %

Component 3: Networking and Dissemination

8.8 %

Component 2: Innovative IS

Solutions 65.1 %

Component1: Capacity Building

5.6 %

4.1 Institutional Capacity Building

Key objective: Strengthened institutional capacity • to enable the South African information society and generation of new knowledge,

to perform applied research and to make information more accessible to the primary beneficiaries of SAFIPA, especially marginalized groups.

Implementation activities • Mentoring • Meraka Institutional Capacity Building• Academic Knowledge Exchange • Foresight in ICT sector (ICT in Health and ICT in Education)• Leading Research and Innovation in Expert Organisations• Strategy support for Meraka Restructuring• Treasure Map Training – empowerment of Community ICT practitioners • ICT & Mobile Business Building programme

4.2 SAFIPA Capacity Building and Training

Participants and trainers at SAFIPA hosted training

events (left and above) and participants on KEF (right)

5.1 Innovative IS Applications & New Solutions for End Users

Key objective: The identification and successful implementation of projects which result in innovations for the benefit of the marginalized groups and poor rural communities.

• SAFIPA provided funds for domestic innovations and the development of innovative information society applications which will serve the end users.

• The funding is channelled via a number of sub-projects that include the participation of local and international institutions engaged in applied research and development.

Implementation mechanisms • Grant making process and evaluation of proposals at PMO and SC.• Roadshows in inception phase, open calls for proposals, calls left open for

a year. Collaboration encouraged but not forced. TA provided to strengthen proposals.

• Restricted second round of funding to strengthen 12 projects in second phase.

5.2 Innovative IS Applications & New Solutions for End Users

Implementation mechanisms • Projects grouped under themes and a Portfolio of projects supported in:

eHealth, eLearning, Rural development, Accessiblity, Innovation & Entrepreneurship

• Project support range from ZAR 125,000 to ZAR3,500 000• Stage gate review.• Mixed beneficiary base – schools, universities, CBOs, academic related

NGOs, SMMEs, public and private funded research institutes, corporate sector, local public sector

• Support at different stages of ICT Innovation Pipeline –from proof of concept, technology demonstrator, pilots for replication and scaling up to commercialisation locally and internationally

• Participating organisations nationally 36, Estimated over 5000 individuals impacted by programme outputs

5.3 SAFIPA Projects and Partners

XtownX®

REEDHOUSESYSTEMS

5.4. SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D

ICT and Education • Nokia Math – Large scale pilot for maths on mobile via Mxit, Positive results

of 14 % improvement in Phase 1& 2 independent evaluation , proposed delivery to 10 000 learners in Dinaledi schools for mass replication in 2011, Eastern and Western Cape and North West Province

• FOSS- FET – train the trainers program in Open Source at targeted FETs via workshops in nine provinces, proposed linkages with Knowledge Centre Creation Hubs (5) and E Skills Institute of DOC, strong linkage with Municipalities in KZN for ICT Entrepreneur program

• YESA- mobile platform to encourage and track extramural maths and science participation – monitor pipeline of SET for tertiary education and for scholarships and bursaries, national and regional

• Mathsportal.org – an open source collaborative maths teaching portal to support maths educators to create open source curriculum, support with instructional DVD and national training workshops

5.5 SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D

ICT and Health • Sociotech -Development of curriculum to support E-Health, Establishment of

ICT incubation hub in CPUT, Understanding ICT needs from user interface of home based health care worker, interactive website and design for mobile platform for health care workers in rural communities, precursor to Ehealth living lab, User experience skills and support

• Nompilo –e health management application – administration tool for health care management – precursor to Customer Health Management Platform, training of health care practitioners and deployment of solution in Tshwane (Eesterust)

Supporting mechanisms for ICT for Development LliSA – network of living labs in SA Infropreneurs – network of ICT entrepreneurs in rural communities –catalysts and

implementers of ICT for Development

5.6 SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D

Rural Development and Accessibility • Moveecom – Mobile Internet Café -Portable Internet solution to service

underserviced urban and rural communities- potential for community based entrepreneurs to offer e-government and ICT services

• ESTIMA –establishment of local software factory, production of Teleweaver middleware product -open source platform for community e services from Reed House systems (RHS)

• Lift Club- web based and mobi site for matching lift clubbers nationally• Cybersecurity training for all members of community in Vhembe, as part of

ICT awareness building in Communities • Municipality in a Box – free open source platform for under capacitated

municipalities which complies with transparency, PFMA and information sharing with civil society

• Localisation of SIM – Interactive 3D learning object design for training municipal managers, pilot of I3DO water management tool

5.7 SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D

ICT and Entrepreneurship • JamiiX – commercialisation of software to manage multiple social media

conversations –international launch in Europe (Portugal, Finland, UK), Asia (Malaysia), incubated within R-Labs a social enterprise which supports and empowers local grassroots ICT innovation, training and incubation

• Meraka Low cost Visualisation tool for researchers in ICT to communicate research outputs and objectives – particular focus on National Recordal system – focussing on digitising indigenous knowledge

• FBSA –iSpaza - Integrated ICT services and training for informal traders – formalise into mainstream economic activity

• Xtown X-Mobile web pages for promoting small businesses in rural communities, training of local champions and focusing on LED

• Where is my transport – Commercialisation of localised transport management system, spun out of Student project at UCT, tracking application for public transport via SMS – integrated transport tracking solution – aimed at improving efficiency

5.8 SAFIPA projects in action

6.1 Network Creation and Dissemination

Key objective:• To share and increase knowledge for developing new projects,

applications or R&D initiatives and to effectively disseminate the new knowledge.

• The aim is to strengthen cooperation between research institutions both locally and globally as well as to support Public-Private partnership in the service delivery process.

Implementation Mechanisms• Knowledge Exchange visits 2009-2010 • Thematic workshops – ICT and Education, Mobility Futures, Disruptive Innovation,

Open Innovation -2008-2011• SAFIPA Annual Conference 2009 , 2010 (with IST Africa), 2011• Project partner meetings and outreach 2009-2011• Communications – blogging website, Finnish journalists, projects on the web• Quarterly Newsletter 2010-2011• SAFIPA Case study publication – Practical Approach to ICT for Development

6.2 Fostering Collaboration

Knowledge Exchange Visit

SAFIPA networking & dissemination events, SAFIPA.com home page, e-media and print media

7.1 Metrics and Indicators for SAFIPA

COMPONENT 1 • Number of training initiatives hosted by SAFIPA = 7 • Number of beneficiaries accessing training delivered by SAFIPA and partners > 400• Number of Finnish partners and technical assistance providers = 15 • Number of individual courses/ workshops and training events hosted by SAFIPA: 12• Number of South African based trainers/facilitators/course presenters= 28COMPONENT 2• Number of projects supported for grant support = 25 • Number of key implementing organisations =36 • Number of partners and beneficiary organisations = 75 • Number of South Africans engaged in project implementation = 106 • Number of beneficiaries accessing mobile and web based applications = 5580 • Number of beneficiaries who accessed face to face training delivered by projects > 1000

7.2 Metrics and Indicators for SAFIPA

COMPONENT 2 (contd.)• Number of community based organisations, universities, colleges& schools engaged with

during implementation = 76• Number of postgraduates engaged in research and training = 12• Number of undergraduates engaged in research and training = 48• Number of new courses developed by project partners = 5 • Number of unique workshops and training events delivered by project partners= 13 • Number of technical innovations supported = 15 • Number of projects delivering capacity building = 12 COMPONENT 3 • Attendance at the first SAFIPA Conference in 2009 =200, 2011 = 240• SAFIPA Supported partners at the IST Africa Conference in 2010 = 40• SAFIPA Projects awarded at the IST Africa Conference = 3 • Newsletter distribution > 500 • Site views and active engagement on discussions on SAFIPA.com > 70 • Participants on the Knowledge Exchange to Finland= 24 • Participants in networking events > 250

7.3 Sustainability of SAFIPA Programme and Portfolio

Sustainability and way forward for SAFIPA programme• Meetings with potential funding partners, public and private sector agencies and

organisations for possible further engagement underway since November 2011- these include DST and DoC , NACI, regional programmes and other donors and funding agencies

• Sustainability review of projects initiated July 2010- and in depth external review in November 2010

• As projects reach final implementation stage and are more mature, they have been afforded technical assistance to strengthen projects for replicability, document and license IP, improve market validation and market readiness, refine and improve business models, prepare themselves for venture capital financing

• Regional collaboration already initiated with Finnish funded programmes- SAIS and TANZICT, STIFIMO

8.1 Lessons learnt in ICT for Development Implementation

Some challenges experienced by projects Organisational structure, consortia , roles and responsibilities Critical mass within some project teams especially from marginalised communities is

limited, therefore inability to deliver on large projects Need incentives to keep developers engaged in ICT for Development without being

snapped up by private sector Limited human resources to drive projects 100 %, and breakdown in relationships

between key partners contributing to delays in progressEstablishment of trust is critical in multi partner projects for development, project

delivery & rollout and monitoring & evaluation Nurture networks and institutional relationships at all stages of project design and

implementation Project design, monitoring and evaluation and sustainability Lack of integral planning and monitoring of stage gate process leads to scope creep

and poor implementationProject leaders have limited understanding of monitoring and evaluation framework or

defining M&E parameters and metrics in planning of project Projects to define their metrics and assessment parameters at planning stage Future programmes should focus on marketing and monitoring and evaluationGet buy in from community based partner at the outset – more long term sustainable

intervention

8.2 Lessons learnt in ICT for Development Implementation

Development, testing and market validation and external factors Difficulty in developing business models for IT based enterprises, focus on basket of

offerings as opposed to working on one activity and building core competency which can be commoditised

Difficulty in securing agreements with municipalities and other partners for pilot implementation

Delays in implementation due to strikes and circumstances beyond their control limits reach and impedes progress – results in lost opportunities

Future recommendation – contingency planning essentialBusiness models and taking innovation to market Licensing of open source applications- ‘fuzzy’ area open to interpretation by different

players in this space Difficulty in accessing market demand for their technological innovation/s and

conducting market validation – how do you commoditize service, assessing who will pay for a service

Inability to identify other potential partners for technical and advisory services Difficulty in moving from funder dependency mode to sustainable revenue generation

mode Individual organisations and small SMMEs lack influence in entering new markets and

exploiting existing markets, current procurement policy hinders SMMEs in ICT innovation space to access potential service provision to public sector

9.1 Recommendations

Selection of projects, building a portfolio and prioritisation • Projects and inititiatives should have some baseline study to

document key initiatives and outcomes either by workshop sessions or commissioning desktop of current innovation

• The funder should be open to new ideas, but not all over the place, define categories for support quite early on in planning of programme

• With limited resources, would be best to focus on areas where critical mass exists and where there opportunities for replication –e.g. amongst provinces or accross different regions

• When the scope and the goals are wide, a dose of realism is healthy in defining what actually can be achieved with the resources available

• Be realistic on what can be achieved in a short time frame, often impact is only evident post implementation (after 2-3 years)

• Capacity building should focus on supporting and enhancing programmes that currently exist rather than starting from scratch

9.2 Recommendations

Selection of projects, building a portfolio and prioritisation • A high level of innovative activity is present in SMMEs and NGOs and

CBOs and academic institutions where community engagement is a key activity, there is a need to nurture and foster networks and support for soft skills and networking on a larger scale

• IPR issues and goals are perceived differently in different organisations – IP-FRD Act does offer clarity but needs to be fully adopted and implemented

• Need consensus on how much of the programme content and activities should be planned in advance, and how much should be defined by the programme once it is started

• Allocations of budget should be agreed to by consortium partners well in advance- this impacts on implementation

9.3 Recommendations

Implementation lessons for management of programme and managing stakeholders

• Provide implementing partners with expectations that have to be manged, expectation management with local implementation partners is important – to both sides (especially for host insititute or insitution driving the programme)

• Role definition in core team is critical and role of key implementation partners needs to be defined early in the project or programme

• Qualitative goals and definitions can be difficult to fulfil simultaneously. Prioritising can be difficult, but it helps to avoid conflicting expectations from different partners. (new innovation vs. geographical spread)

• Cultural differences can make simple things difficult. (what does ”ready” mean?)

• Networking and information sharing is not natural to many South African institutional actors – but can be learned and facilitated within the innovation ecosystem

9.4 Recommendations

Monitoring, Impact Evaluation and Sustainability • Need to establish key metrics and indicators and exit strategies for the

funders early in the inception phase, open ended agreements do not clarify the expectations and outcomes for partners

• Need for continual assessment: It is possible to re-plan and re-budget if things change

• Encourage projects to look at opportunities outside immediate network and engage with prospective partners

• Encourage projects to define value and business model of their innovations (especially coming out of academia and research and community based innovations)

• Grant management office • Defined roles and responsibilities • Quality management framework for contracts, IP management, procurement,

project evaluation guidelines, metrics, monitoring and evaluation, management of implementation partners, reporting framework and knowledge management

9.5 Possible activities for replication

Knowledge exchange visits, both academic and networks - helped in developing local collaboration, sharing of local and international expertise and provided new opportunities

Networking and collaboration and communication Facilitate collaboration and networking via face to face and virtual networks – engage frequently with supportive information and opportunities for collaboration

Multipronged communications strategy is important in reaching different stakeholders and audiences - use of social media, website and newsletter feedback and print and e-media

ICT Innovation Training -Replicable training course is available to be implemented in a sponsored programme Accredited Treasure Map community empowerment trainers available in four provinces and willing to be deployed

ICT4D forum and network Network that is multifocussed and multisectoral focussing on ICT for Development-champion Keith Maree kmaree@email.com