Android - SmartPhones + Social media for Bottom of the Pyramid

Can smart devices be introduced as community owned shared devices?
How would different age groups respond to smart phones?
How would they trigger rural community participation with social media?
Can they scale up the rural micro-enterprises?

A ground breaking SmartVillage project of Sarvodaya-Fusion has started providing encouraging answers to these questions. Started in early 2011, project has pilot tested introducing Android SmartPhones to seven rural communities in Sri Lanka. Among the highlights:

• Verity of shared ownership models are emerging, among them random ownership by youth circles stands out.
• Android apps are being picked up by school children to supplement their educational activities
• Youth circles started using Local language Blogging as a new mode of expression of their views
• Facebook pages generated via Smartphones could scale up micro-enterprises, that have been starving to connect with up-markets. 

For more details of the project - visit the SmartVillage blog.

SmartVillage project is implimented by Sarvodaya-Fusion with sponsorship from Tag-ID, UK and Google. 

eNovation4D provides expert contributions in the areas of social media and social innovation. 

Innovation for sustainability (Telecentres and mobile phones 4D)

Date - 11 Dec, 2011 (a chilly bright wintry day)
Venue - University of Cambridge
I was excited and honored to be invited to the Cambridge Hub. And that provided the platform to present our working hypothesis:
Innovation for Sustainable Development = Product + Social Impact + Community Acceptance

We (together with Sarvodaya-Fusion team) have spent a substantial time period to define this hypothesis. Reflecting from Fusion experience, the journey had started with the burning desire to become independent of philanthropic donor funding. As noted with many charities in the world, continuous over dependence on donor funding distracts the activist from core social mission, hence challenge the sustainability of the development engagement.

Fusion Education: ICT education service offered via rural telecentres has been the Social innovation of this effort.  'When 100s of rural students started to sign up for Fusion Education via  over 50 rural telecentres, thank god we have reached the community acceptance': that is how Fusion team reflect on it.

Yet, how do you know you are making the right kind of Social impact? The Social impact assessment framework helped to answer the question. Presentation has captured the evidence of this journey, and the subsequent efforts to replicate the lessons in mobile for development sector.

Innovation & sustainability

View more presentations from Harsha Liyanage.

Telecenters - in search of economic sustainability

Are telecentres economically sustainable? The five telecentre networks of Brazil, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have seen great vibrancy and maturity over the last five years and were the subject of a two year long examination to answer the two core questions posed:

• What are the constraints for their sustainability?
• How do champions overcome these constraints?

The book - 'Sustainability First' illustrates the answers to the above two questions in detail.

Sustainability First – is a FREE online book for people interested in the economic sustainability of telecentres. (Download or Read online)

Research was sponsored by telecentre.org of IDRC.