Notes on Discussion, Exercises and Examples

Notes on discussion, exercises and examples

Exercise 1: Access vs. Control

Get into groups and take one card from each of the packs i.e. gender, age, location, education, and job.

Using the 5 cards, draw a picture of a person with the information that you have and give them a name.

Discuss and then write a list on the one side of the page of the possible barriers to that person using the Internet on a daily basis.

Exercise 2: Gender Evaluation Methodology for Internet and ICTs (GEM)

Below is a sample of a GEM workshop to develop a gendered approach to the evaluation of ICT projects.

Worksheet: Understanding your approach to evaluation

Expected Outputs

. List of Evaluation Values and Principles . List of General Evaluation Goals

1 Before you begin the process of planning your evaluation spend some time reflecting and defining your approach to evaluation.

Understanding your approach means understanding your purpose and your values. It is important to be clear about both these things as they will guide you through your evaluation.

The Purpose of Evaluation

Often the concept of evaluation is linked to a donor requirement, an externally imposed system of checking that project objectives have been met and that resources have been wisely utilized. However there are many more reasons why evaluations are conducted, for example: . To identify areas for improvement in a project or programme . To surface and resolve disagreements . To set priorities and goals · To clarifying and tackle problems . To decide new strategic directions . To get feedback, appraisal and recognition . To celebrate achievements . To attract resources

Remember that an evaluation is an on-going process and not an activity that is done only at the end of a project. As such, an evaluation plan should be part of any project plan from the beginning.

An effective evaluation plan also has to consider how evaluation results will be used and disseminated. Will the evaluation results be incorporated into internal organisational learning? Will the results be published publicly?

Taking these matters in account in the early stages of the evaluation process will be important in determining and clarifying your approach to evaluation.

Learning for Change

The APC WNSP understands the broad purpose of evaluation to be “learning for change”. We conduct evaluations:

. To learn about the impact of our work on the people and communities we are working with; ourselves and our organisation(s); the broader environment (national, regional, social or political)

. To change our approach, maybe our beliefs and our practices, based on what we learn

. To share this information within our own organisation; the community we are working with; members of our network and sector; academics and the media by publishing; and members of donor and development agencies

. To advocate for policy and legislative changes based on our findings.

2 Values and Evaluation

There are different ways of doing evaluation for different purposes. Certain underlying assumptions and values, however, shape the way we conduct these evaluations.

What motivates us to evaluate ICT initiatives? For the APC WNSP the answer to this question is twofold: to learn about how ICTs impact on women’s empowerment, gender equality and broader social change, and to use this knowledge to make changes that will expand women’s empowerment, gender equality and social change focused on justice and development. The APC WNSP has developed an evaluation model based on the principle of learning for change. This model details the core emphasis, values and practices associated with learning for change.

For the APC WNSP the following values reflect our commitment to gender equality, social justice and learning for change:

· Learning by doing · Linked to action · Participatory · Context sensitive · Bias aware

Exercise

Brainstorm a list on flipchart paper to use as reference and answer the following questions:

What is the purpose of your evaluation? What values and principles do you want to incorporate in the way you conduct your evaluation? How do you plan to use and or disseminate the results of your evaluation?

Exercise 3: A Gendered Analysis of ICT policy

Look at the policy statements below and critically assess where there is a need to adapt them to take into account women’s needs and their particular barriers to the use and ownership of ICTs as discussed in previous exercises.

3.1 NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development)

B1. BRIDGING THE INFRASTRUCTURE GAP

(ii) Bridging the Digital Divide: Investing in Information and Communication Technologies Source: http://www.avmedia.at/cgi- script/csNews/news_upload/NEPAD_2dINFRASTRUCTURE_2edb.AA0402301.pdf

3 107. Objectives

– To double teledensity to two lines per 100 people by 2005, with an adequate level of access for households; – To lower the cost and improve reliability of service; – To achieve e-readiness for all countries in Africa; – To develop and produce a pool of ICT-proficient youth and students from which Africa can draw trainee ICT engineers, programmers and software developers; – To develop local-content software, based especially on Africa’s cultural legacy.

108. Actions

– Work with regional agencies such as the African Telecommunications Union and Africa – Connection to design model policy and legislation for telecommunications reform, and – Protocols and templates for e-readiness assessments; – Work with the regional agencies to build regulatory capacity; – Establish a network of training and research institutions to build high-level manpower; – Promote and accelerate existing projects to connect schools and youth centres; – Work with development finance institutions in Africa, multilateral initiatives (G-8 – DotForce, UN Task Force) and bilateral donors to establish financial mechanisms for – Mitigating and reducing sector risks.

3.2 South African National Electronic Commerce and Transactions Act Act No. 25, 2002

CHAPTER II, Part 1:

National e-Strategy

5(c) The national e-strategy must, amongst others, set outlining the electronic transactions strategy of the Republic, distinguishing between regional, national, continental and international strategies; ii. programmes and means to achieve universal access, human resource development and development of SMMEs as provided for in this Part; iii. programmes and means to promote the overall readiness of the Republic in respect of electronic transactions; iv. ways to promote the Republic as a preferred provider and user of electronic transactions in the international market; v. existing government initiatives directly or indirectly relevant to or impacting on the national e-strategy and, if applicable, how such initiatives are to be utilised in attaining the objectives of the national e-strategy;

4 vi. the role expected to be performed by the private sector in the implementation of the national e-strategy and how government can solicit the participation of the private sector to perform such role; vii. the defined objectives, including time frames within which the objectives are to be achieved; and viii. the resources required to achieve the objectives provided for in the national e- strategy.

Universal access

6. In respect of universal access, the national e-strategy must outline strategies and programmes to – a. provide Internet connectivity to disadvantaged communities; b. encourage the private sector to initiate schemes to provide universal access; c. foster the adoption and use of new technologies for attaining universal access; and d. stimulate public awareness, understanding and acceptance of the benefits of Internet connectivity and electronic transacting.

5 Case Studies:

Taken from http://www.fao.org/sd/2001/KN0602a_en.htm Discovering the "Magic Box": Local appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICTs), Developed by: Sabine Isabel Michiels and L. Van Crowder, Food and Argiculture Organisation

These case studies show that women who are involved in meaningful ICT projects achieve results for improved economic or social well being in the community. Several projects combined empowerment through ICT skills training, access to relevant and timely information with e-commerce, such as the Centre for Mayan Women Communicators in Guatemala. In this project, women use a variety of communication tools to promote Mayan culture but also to sell locally made handicrafts on-line, thus providing additional income for their families.

ZaWoN was created in September 1999 during a workshop organized and sponsored by Women on the Net and Sustainable Advancement of Zanzibar. Twenty-six women attended the workshop from all walks of life, including housewives and media professionals from both rural and urban areas. ZaWon's major objective is to have a strong network of women and women groups so that they can be empowered through the use of information technology.

ASAFE (Association pour le Soutien et l'Appui à la Femme Entrepreneur) was created in 1989 and has a strategic alliance with Networked Intelligence for Development (NID). The organisation is based in Douala, Cameroon and offers women entrepreneurs who live and trade in Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Guinea and Benin various business services and support for their businesses. It has focused its attention on the needs of women entrepreneurs, through awareness raising, counselling and the provision of specific business training programmes. Over the last few years, ASAFE has been consistently applying ICTs to all its functions and activities. The organisation is a one-stop information location accessible to the public for general inquiries and information, a "cyber-hub" with its own web site www.networkedintelligence.com , access to 30 computers and training rooms. ASAFE focuses on assimilating and adapting technology to meet community needs and give women ownership of both content and methodology. By offering e-commerce and technology training to women entrepreneurs the users have saved time and money in selling their products, invoicing and communicating with suppliers and customers. ASAFE women have benefited from having reduced service and administrative costs, better service quality (marketing, sales, support and procurement processes), increased revenue by being able to reach a wider market share and get business transactions done faster.

6 Facilitators’ notes:

If you do not have enough time to go through all these exercises in the session, rather focus on exercise 1 and 3.

Exercise 1: Access vs. Control You will need:

Cards (see below) Large sheets of paper or white boards (one for each group) Coloured markers Prestik (to stick the cards on the paper)

Gender Age Location Profession Education e d g e e a y t e l l l o a i l a r 5 v p e

1 m l t i m e a l l e F r I n u U R r e e t k a r r o e e t y l w i 8 t

2 y y C r M l o e t r c a a B F

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Male Female

Refugee camp Small town

Farm labourer Home worker

8 illiterate literate Exercise 2: Gender Evaluation Methodology for Internet and ICTs (GEM)

Exercise 3: A Gendered Analysis of ICT policy

The facilitator may want to use different policies according to the geographical location of the project. The most useful policies to look at here are access policies.