Technology, Cross-Cultural

Organizations and the PoorAndrew Sears

Course Goals

1. Understand low-cost business models and common strategies

applied by businesses serving the Base of the Pyramid and poor

communities and apply those into organizational strategy.

2. Analyze the cultural and power implications of key trends such as

social/peer production, the long tail, mobile and online education

that have major implications for the poor and to create

organizational strategies to respond to these trends.

3. Apply principles of cross-cultural ministry in developing

organizational strategies and new product designs.

4. Understand the digital divide, knowledge divide to be able to

develop strategies for Christian organizations to effectively

respond.

5. Analyze case studies of organizations and business strategies

that were successful in serving the poor and apply that toward

organizational strategy.

Outline

Part 1: Technology and Low-Cost Business

Models◦ Google Hangout with Google Access

Part 2: Technology and Cross-Cultural Ministry◦ Google Hangout with Lightsys

Part 3: Digital Divide, Knowledge Divide and the

Christian Response

◦ Google Hangout with Denver Rescue Mission

Part 4: Case Studies & Final Project

Final Project

30-35 Pages; Work on it each week

Summary: Demonstrate achievement of course goals

Create research report and strategic plan for a new

division at work using technology for the poor◦ Apply concepts from course across each of the 4 parts of the

course

Example Projects◦ Adult Education Center or Youth Tech Program Plan

◦ Adult Basic Education, GED and Career Readiness System

◦ Technology & Missions Organization Plan

◦ Christian Consulting Company

Part 1: Technology & Low-Cost

Business Models

-

200,000,000

400,000,000

600,000,000

800,000,000

1,000,000,000

1,200,000,000

1,400,000,000

1,600,000,000

1,800,000,000

2,000,000,000

1800 1900 1970 2000 2007 2025

Christian Membership by Region

West South

Status of Global Mission 2014, Todd Johnson

http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/statusofglobalmission.pdf

1900 1970 2000 2007 2025

South 21% 59% 86% 91% 99%

West 79% 41% 14% 9% 1%

21%

59%

86%

91%

99%

79%

41%

14%

9%

1%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Growth of Christianity by Region

Status of Global Mission 2014, Todd Johnson

http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/statusofglobalmission.pdf

Characteristics of Low-Cost

BoP Business Models

Priority is 1) Cost 2) Speed 3) Quality

High volume is needed to achieve low cost

Labor/time is cheap

Pay as you go better than high up front

Project Management Triangle & the PoorCost

Scope/

QualityTime

Cost is the determining factor.

Decrease scope/quality and time to decrease cost.

Technology as Culture across Generations & Class

1. Record Labels/Publishing

• Closed & Majority Culture

• Priorities: 1. Quality 2. Speed 3.

Cost

• Cost Structure: $100-$1 million per

item created

• Website is interactive brochure

• Optimized to promote brand

2. Apple/iTunes

• Closed & Mono-cultural

• Priorities: 1. Quality 2. Speed 3.

Cost

• Cost Structure: $500-$1 million per

item created

• Website is an online store

• Optimized to maximize profit

3. Static Org Website

• Closed/Reflects Org Culture

• Priorities: 1. Cost 2. Speed 3.

Quality

• Cost Structure: $10-$100 per item

created

• Website is low-quality brochure

• Website optimized for low cost

4. Craigslist, Wikipedia & Android

• Open & Diverse

• Priorities: 1. Cost 2. Speed 3.

Quality

• Cost Structure: < $.50 per item

created

• Website is a sharing community• Optimized to maximize social value

Older Generation Younger Generation

Upper/

Mid

dle

Cla

ss

Under-

Resourc

ed

Low-Cost Project Management Approach

Highest Cost

◦ Waterfall (highly structured and planned)

Medium Cost◦ Agile, Scrum

Low Cost◦ Lean, Worse is Better, Kanban, Lightweight, RAD,

Cowboy Coding, Hack, Quick-and-dirty

Before the Internet: 80% of profit comes from 20% of

products

After the Internet: 60% of profit comes from 40% of

products = increased content diversity

Effect of the Long Tail: 80/20 Rule Becomes the 60/40 Rule

Effects of the Long Tail & Missions

Long Tail Increases Diversity of Videos

◦ Blockbuster Video: 80% of rentals are recent “blockbusters,” only carries

75 documentaries

◦ Netflix: 30% of rentals are “blockbusters” and carries 1,180

documentaries

◦ Amazon: carries 17,061 documentaries (of a possible 40,000)

Long Tail of Search Terms (TechMission Websites)

◦ Top 500 search terms provide 19.5% of visitors

◦ 604,916 search terms provide 80.5% of visitors

Missions Implication

◦ Non-Western culture voices are almost entirely on the long tail.

◦ The Internet extends the long tail. It decreases the proportion controlled

by big media from 80% to around 60% which gives more room for non-

Western voices.

◦ Open strategy maximizes visibility of non-Western voices.

Part 1: The Main Ideas

1. The most aspect of tech strategies to serve

the poor is understanding tech strategies of

low-cost business models

2. The long tail, open source and zero

marginal cost are reducing the costs of

production, and we should use these trends

to serve the poor

3. Reduced cost of production can both help the

poor and reverse the trend of secularization

and Westernization of media

Recap: Key Lessons from Part 1 Most Bottom of the Pyramid lessons apply to serving the poor in the

US

There are thousands of tech concepts to learn, but those selected in

Part 1 are among the most important to understand when serving

the poor

◦ We need to understand and partner with these forces

◦ Common theme: they all reduce costs of production and the price to

consumers

◦ Read the books related to these concepts to fully understand them

Three keys to success in business “Location, Location, Location” is

replaced with “Cost, Cost, Cost” in serving the poor.

World is “divided between people who have money but

no time and people who have time but no money”

◦ What opportunities are there for people with

“time but no money”

Examples of How to Apply Principles

Rescue Missions/Salvation Army◦ Time Not Money = Thrift Stores, Recycling

◦ Seek employment onramps in freelance economy

◦ What are the digital analogies of key aspects of your business

model and how do they change? Bell ringing, thrift stores

Tech Consultants◦ How to partner with tech Christians in the developing world?

◦ How to provide reduced cost consulting to ministries serving the

poor?

Education◦ Partner with open education and long tail resources

whenever possible to reduce costs and promote diversity

Part 2: Technology and

Cross Cultural Ministry

Cultural Distance

E0 – Renewal to Christians of same culture

E1 – Evangelism to people of same culture

E2 – Cross-Cultural missions

E3 – Cross-Cultural missions to radically

different culture

If there are Christians indigenous to a culture, the role of

tech should be to support E1 evangelism (indigenous leaders)!

Ralph d. Winter - The New Macedonica: A Revolutionary New Era in Mission Begins

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

Power distance index

Individualism (IDV) vs. collectivism

Uncertainty avoidance

Masculinity (MAS), vs. femininity

Long-term orientation (LTO), vs. short term

orientation

Indulgence versus restraint

Apps◦ http://geert-hofstede.com/mobile-apps.html

Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory

Needs of the Poor vs. Middle Class

Reconciliation Across Social Class by Andrew Sears

Common Class Value

Tensions in MinistryNon-Dominant Class Value

Low Cost

Low Cost

Relational

Relational

Spontaneous

Subjective

Intense

Hierarchical

Trauma is Common

Any Lower Class Culture/Values

Dominant Class Value

High Quality

Speed

Structured/Orderly

Efficient

Detached/Objective

Objective

Reserved

Egalitarian

Trauma is Avoided

Any Middle/Upper Class Culture/ Values

Reconciliation Across Social Class by Andrew Sears

Dimensions of Cross Cultural Technology

Front End◦ Language

◦ Types of media (text, images, audio, video)

◦ Graphics

◦ Information access (open, restricted or pay)

◦ Device

Back End & Development◦ Cost

◦ Content Economics (who owns, creates, distributes &

consumes)

◦ Information Architecture (hub-spoke, distributed, open vs. closed)

Ethnic Identity Development ProcessDescription Goal

Stage 1.

Unawarene

ss

Unaware of racial and

social identity.

Become aware of racial/social

identity

Stage 2.

Awareness

Growing awareness of

race, culture and racism,

but most processing is on

a head-level

Become aware of racism and

other forms of social injustice

to provide basis for entering

immersion

Stage 3.

Immersion

Immersion and

identification with

minority culture

Process on an emotional level

and heal the effects of racism

and social brokenness

through action, relationships

and forgiveness

Stage 4.

Holiness

Secure, consistent racial/

social identity while

integrating strengths

from other cultures

Continue reconciliation by

addressing social injustice,

bringing social healing and

addressing personal cultural

brokennessEthnic Identity Development

Jesus

Christian Social SectorAGRM, CCDA, Salvation Army,

Teen Challenge, UYWI, World Vision

Job BoardsInternships.com

Simply Hired

Christian Higher Ed for JusticeBakke U, UCC, Eastern, Fuller

Azusa, Acton, NET Institute, Christian ABE

Open EducationStraighterline.com,

MOOCs, EdX

Coursera, Udacity

Nonprofit RecruitingAllforGood, Idealist

VolunteerMatch,

Guidestar, FB Causes

Tech & MissionsICCM, Lightsys, MAF,

GEM, EMI, WIN, OB

VisionSynergy, AIBI

Wycliffe IT, CheckItOut

Tech & MinistryInternet Evangelism Day,

Mobile Ministry Forum,

YouVersion, ABS, Cru

MSTSM

Program

Tech-Justice Sector (secular)

Jesus Tech

Sector (Word)

Jesus Justice

Sector (Deed)

City Vision College

ChristianVolunteering

City Vision Internships

Tech Christian CollegesAccessED, ACU, Calvin, Taylor, Baylor

Biola, Olivet, Fuller, Wheaton, Liberty

Christian TechnologistsChristians Engineering Society,

Intervarsity Faculty, Cru Faculty

ISCAST, Code for the Kingdom

Christians in Tech (FB & LinkedIn)

Christian RecruitingMeetTheNeed, ChristianJobs

ShortTermMissions, Missions

Christian MediaChristianity Today,

Publishers, Radio & TV

Tech PhilanthropyGoogle Grants, LinkedIn

Facebook, Salesforce,

Microsoft

Open SourceDrupal, Moodle

Church Tech & ITLifeChurch, Menlo Park

Saddleback, Willow Creek

Christian RecoveryNACR, Celebrate Recovery

Urban InternshipsMission Year

Churches of the Poor

Christian Higher Ed

In Developing Countries

Low Cost Online TrainingLynda.com, Skillshare, Pluralsight

Parachurch ITCru, Intervarsity

Open Data/ContentWikipedia, Open Gov’t,

Semantic Web

Christian FundersFoundations, Individuals

Secular FundersFoundations, Individuals,

Government, Corporations

Ministry

with the

PoorThe Poor

Christian

s in

Secular

Tech

Tech

Ministry

Tech

Ministry

with the

Poor

Secular

Tech

Diffusion of Innovation:

Ministry with the Poor

JusticeMinistry

& Tech

Tech

Secular

Nonprofit

TechNonprofit

Tech

TechJustice

Tech

Ministry

& Resources

Ministry

TechJustice

Tech

E1-E2

E2-E3(rarely effective)

E1-E2

Part 2: Main Ideas

1. Understand the concept of cultural distance (E0-E3)and

different measures of it (culture, class, ethnicity, etc)

2. Understand the importance of using technology to eithera) support indigenous leaders E1 (if there are indigenous Christians)

or

b) supporting cross-cultural missions E2-E3 (if there are not).

3. There are many dimensions to consider in using

technology in cross-cultural settings, making it very

complex.

4. We need to find our own role as bridge builders and

form partnerships to maximize the diffusion of innovation

and leverage existing cultural competencies.

Part 2 Assignment

Cross Cultural Ministry Assignment◦ List the cultural dimensions of you and your

organization

◦ History of Ministry (E0, E1, E2 or E3)

◦ What communities do you serve as a bridge builder

between and how can you make that more effective?

Final Project◦ In the Book Review section of your final project, you

should plan to write one paragraph on each handout

or video with the key “takeaways” and lessons as they

apply to your context

Part 3: Diffusion of Innovation,

Digital Divide, Knowledge Divide

and the Christian Response

Diffusion of Innovation

Consequences of Innovation◦ Desirable vs. Undesirable

◦ Direct vs. Indirect

◦ Anticipated vs. Unanticipated

Equality & Innovation1. Level of Good

2. Equality of Distribution of Good

Types of Injustice

Individual

Collective/

Systemic

Intentional Unintentional

• Bigotry

• Selfishness

• Bullying

• Unjust laws

• Policies creating an

unequal playing field

• Exploitation

• Unjust War

• Imperialism

• Not understanding culture

• Not understanding perspective

• Unintended offense

• Cultural encroachment & assimilation

• Second-order effects (urban decay)

• Natural momentum of systems

1 2

3 4

People assume injustice comes from quadrant 1, but most comes from

quadrants 3 and 4. Often due to effects of diffusion of innovation.

Injustice

Resource Divide

Innovation Divide

Knowledge Divide

Digital Divide

Three Waves of History

Agricultural IndustrialInformatio

n

Rural Urban Virtual/Digital

Sunday School

Primary/Secondary School

Higher Education

Source: (US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014)

Mismatch of Jobs & Education

Jobs in

2018

People in

2012 Difference

Less than High

School 10% 12.42% -2.4%

High School

Degree 28% 30.72% -2.7%

Some College 12% 16.97% -5.0%

Associate’s

Degree 17% 9.45% 7.6%

Bachelor’s Degree 23% 19.49% 3.5%

Graduate Degree 10% 10.95% -0.9%

“Human history becomes more

and more a race between

education and catastrophe.”

- H.G. Wells

Image from Wikipedia

38.9 pt. growth

4.5 pt. growth

4.1 pt. growth

19 pt. growth

Bachelor’s Attainment by Income

Adequate Education:

winning the race

with automation

Catastrophe

Source: US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014

Percent of Population 25 Years and Over Who Have

Completed High School or College

www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/minorities_less-educated_workers_see_staggering_rates_of_underemployment

Changing Trends in Imprisonment

Changing Trends in Unwed Births

Figure 12. Increasing Cost of Higher

Education over Time

Figure 14. Distribution of Total Student Debt

by Level of Household Net Worth

Changing our Educational Trajectory

Adequate Education

Winning the race with automation

Mass

Unemployment

(catastrophe)

Tech Christians Globally

Tech Christians

in U.S.

Tech in Christian

Orgs

Tech Christians Serving the Poor(1,000’s)

• 77,500 full-time IT staff

• $12.5 Billion IT Budget

• 6.3 million Christians in

STEM jobs

(71% in computing)

• 50-100 million Christians

in STEM jobs

Size and Scope of Christians in Technology

Mechanisms of Diffusion of Innovation

Conferences, workshops, webinars

Formal education: degrees, courses, lectures

Media: books, videos, websites, magazines,

software, open resources

Employment: Staff training

Networks: Professional networks &

associations, informal networks of peers

Programs, products and their replication

Personal: Consulting, word of mouth

Open source software/open content

Who are the leaders in innovation?

Jesus

Christian Social SectorAGRM, CCDA, Salvation Army,

Teen Challenge, UYWI, World Vision

Job BoardsInternships.com

Simply Hired

Christian Higher Ed for JusticeBakke U, UCC, Eastern, Fuller

Azusa, Acton, NET Institute, Christian ABE

Open EducationStraighterline.com,

MOOCs, EdX

Coursera, Udacity

Nonprofit RecruitingAllforGood, Idealist

VolunteerMatch,

Guidestar, FB Causes

Tech & MissionsICCM, Lightsys, MAF,

GEM, EMI, WIN, OB

VisionSynergy, AIBI

Wycliffe IT, CheckItOut

Tech & MinistryInternet Evangelism Day,

Mobile Ministry Forum,

YouVersion, ABS, Cru

MSTSM

Program

Tech-Justice Sector (secular)

Jesus Tech

Sector (Word)

Jesus Justice

Sector (Deed)

City Vision College

ChristianVolunteering

City Vision Internships

Tech Christian CollegesAccessED, ACU, Calvin, Taylor, Baylor

Biola, Olivet, Fuller, Wheaton, Liberty

Christian TechnologistsChristians Engineering Society,

Intervarsity Faculty, Cru Faculty

ISCAST, Code for the Kingdom

Christians in Tech (FB & LinkedIn)

Christian RecruitingMeetTheNeed, ChristianJobs

ShortTermMissions, Missions

Christian MediaChristianity Today,

Publishers, Radio & TV

Tech PhilanthropyGoogle Grants, LinkedIn

Facebook, Salesforce,

Microsoft

Open SourceDrupal, Moodle

Church Tech & ITLifeChurch, Menlo Park

Saddleback, Willow Creek

Christian RecoveryNACR, Celebrate Recovery

Urban InternshipsMission Year

Churches of the Poor

Christian Higher Ed

In Developing Countries

Low Cost Online TrainingLynda.com, Skillshare, Pluralsight

Parachurch ITCru, Intervarsity

Open Data/ContentWikipedia, Open Gov’t,

Semantic Web

Christian FundersFoundations, Individuals

Secular FundersFoundations, Individuals,

Government, Corporations

Ministry

with the

PoorThe Poor

Christian

s in

Secular

Tech

Tech

Ministry

Tech

Ministry

with the

Poor

Secular

Tech

Diffusion of Innovation:

Ministry with the Poor

JusticeMinistry

& Tech

Tech

Secular

Nonprofit

TechNonprofit

Tech

TechJustice

Tech

Ministry

& Resources

Ministry

TechJustice

Tech

E1-E2

E2-E3(rarely effective)

E1-E2

Part 3: Main Ideas

1. Most injustice is systemic requiring the systemic

response of new institutions

2. The transition from agricultural to industrial to

information economies is creating a knowledge divide

3. Our partnership strategy will determine whether we are

a part of the problem or the solution in the knowledge

divide

4. Decreasing costs of knowledge production is creating

an opportunity for Christians to reverse the

secularization trend in education

Part 3 Assignments

Brain Drain: exploiting or contributing expertise

Identifying and mapping sources and clients of

innovation and knowledge◦ Create MindMap

◦ Summarize MindMap in Forum Post

◦ Write strategy for improving diffusion of innovation

Part 4: Diffusion of Innovation &

Case Studies of

Technology and the Poor

Diffusion of Innovation Case Studies

Snowmobiles & Ski-Doo

Oral Rehydration Therapy

Steel Axes for Aborigines

Irish Potato Famine

Organic Farming

Appropriate Technology Movement

Movement to prioritize technology that is small-scale,

decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient,

environmentally sound, and locally controlled

Strengths◦ Established the dominant perspective in academia on using

technology with the poor

◦ Provides many key principles useful when serving the poor

Weaknesses◦ Largely a movement of left-leaning, upper-middle class in

developed economies which can result in prioritizing the

environment and being small over practical impact on the poor

◦ Scale is needed for many technologies for the poor, so the

definition of appropriate technology overlooks most digital

technologies (like mobile phones)

Christian Education Globally

Christian Colleges and Universities globally

7,200+ Bible & Theological Schools globally

K-12 Christian Schools◦ About 7% of US students

Community Education Programs

Home schooling◦ 3.4% of US growing at 75% per decade

One Laptop Per Child

Initiative of MIT’s Media Lab to provide one

laptop to each child in the world

Strengths◦ Raised visibility of vision for technology for the global

poor

Weaknesses (reasons for failure)◦ Eclipsed by Android smartphone & tablet markets

◦ Leaders were too removed from cultural contexts they

were serving

◦ Media Lab’s core competency is creating “sexy” tech

projects not creating change in low-income

communities

◦ Prioritized technology over more basic needs

Computer Learning Centers

1990-2005◦ Community Technology Centers Movement: CTCNet

◦ Association of Christian Community Computer Centers

(AC4)

2005 to 2014◦ Access moved to libraries and homes

◦ Training moved to adult education and youth programs

in large organizations

Lessons◦ Android, Crossing the Chasm

Best Practices of Christian Computer Centers

Operate as a part of an adult or youth program

in a well-funded Christian social service

organization

Consider strategies for virtualizing machine

images

Use Open DNS or router-based filtering for

client machine

Consider using Google Apps and/or Office 365

Provide structured educational time using online

educational tools (courses, GED, youth

education)

Universal Christian Wikis

UrbanMinistry.org and StrategicNetwork

Problems◦ Cost of Maintenance too high. Assumption: 1% of visitors would

contribute, but actually < .001% contribute

◦ Value of other networks (Wikipedia) superseded value of

independent network

Conclusion◦ Scale needed for Christian social networks & wikis is too high to

compete

◦ For Christian organizations, wikis are just another type of content

management system

◦ Unless… you have captured a semi-closed audience

Crossing the Chasm

1. Amara’s Law: We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short

run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

2. The Chasm: The organizational culture to meet the needs of early adopters is

entirely different than the culture to meet the needs of later adopters.

Hype

Assessing Online Social Ventures

What scale of resources are needed? Is it a…◦ $10,000 problem

◦ $100,000 problem

◦ $1 million problem

◦ $10 million problem

◦ $100 million problem

◦ $1 billion problem

How does it scale?◦ How does revenue scale?

◦ How does in-kind resources scale?

◦ How does social value scale?

◦ How does earned income scale?

◦ How do expenses scale?

Examples of Resources Needed

Christian Social Network: $100 million

Christian Social Graph: $100 million◦ Global Church Directory: $50 million

◦ Global Parachurch Directory: $10 million

◦ Global Volunteer/Missions Directory: $10 million

Christian Wikipedia: $10 million

Christian YouTube: $10-50 million

Christian TED Talks: $10-50 million

How do you build a $100 project when you

only have a few million dollars?

Law of Network Effects

𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 =𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑥 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑥 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘2

𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑥 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠2

Value

Time

Wikipedia

Universal Christian Wiki

Open Education

Many educational materials are being

commoditized or made free

Future could be an “app store” with tens of

thousands of accredited courses available at

almost no cost

Christian schools can build on open and low-

cost educational resources to bring education to

the world

Has potential to reverse secularization trend of

education

Audio/Visual Gospel

The Problem◦ 2/3rds of the world are “oral” communicators

◦ 50% of world is illiterate

Jesus film◦ Billions have watched with 200 million+ indicated

decisions for Christ

Faith Comes by Hearing◦ Translating audio Bible of every Bible translation

Lesson◦ Technology is useful if you start with the needs of the

people you are trying to reach

Emerging Opportunities

Microfinance/Microenterprise

Clean Water

Ultra-low Cost Higher Education

Mobile Banking in Developing Countries

Solar in Developing Countries

Mobile Health

Key Principles of Case Studies

Most people underestimate the scale needed to

effectively serve the poor

Cultural Mismatch: ◦ The poor are often reached after “crossing the chasm”

◦ Many tech initiatives for the poor are lead by

innovators or early adopters

Final Project

1. Literature Review (6-8 pages, 10% of grade)

2. Project (20-25 pages, 85% of grade)

3. Self Reflection (5% of grade)