Our mission To improve the lives of the people of the emerging Asia-Pacific by facilitating their use of ICTs and related infrastructures; by catalyzing the reform of laws, policies and regulations to enable those uses through the conduct of policy-relevant research, training and advocacy with emphasis on building in-situ expertise CEO’s message Contents CEO’s message 03 LIRNEasia and networks 11 About LIRNEasia 23 Review of activities 43 Research 45 Capacity-building 56 Advocacy and dissemination 57 Financial statements 77 © LIRNEasia Published in 2010 by LIRNEasiaL I R N E a s i a | Annual Report 2009-10 2 12 Balcombe Place Colombo 8, Sri Lanka CEO’s message CEO’s message L I R N E a s i a | Annual Report 2009-10 3 CEO’s message about L I R N E a s i a | Annual Report 2009-10 4 CEO’s message We should be happy and content. We are be. Not a simple conclusion, but still an are, for the most part, mobile, are caused happy but not content. achievement. This is cause for happiness. by multiple actors. No single actor can take full credit. But reading, for example, Happiness It is not just a story we tell ourselves. We the recent World Telecommunication/ have taken it out to all sorts of audiences, ICT Development Report 2010 of the We just finished the 2008-10 research some friendly and others not so friendly. International Telecommunication Union, we cycle where we had set ourselves a When putting new ideas into circulation, it is cannot but take satisfaction. rather daunting task, that of developing an only rarely that clear causal connections can alternative to the dominant narrative of ICT be established. In any case, large shifts in “Affordable, high-speed Internet ac- futures centered on a “fat pipe”’ (coaxial discourse such as the displacement of wired cess is central to the development of cable, fiber or even wireless) coming into desktop computers by terminal devices that an information and knowledge-based each household carrying entertainment and data (including Voice over IP). This vision 10 I haven’t heard about the Internet of a convergence of previously distinct 23 20 I have heard about the Internet analog or digital information streams over 56 57 63 but haven’t used it a single bit-stream conduit with different Less than once a month terminal equipment (home theaters for Once a month 70 57 entertainment, different devices for data 74 2-3 times a month and voice) did not seem to make much 43 41 36 Once a week sense for those at the bottom of the pyramid 2-3 times per week Daily (BOP) in Asia, our people. As Figure 1 shows, the majority of our people in South Bangladesh Pakistan India Sri Lanka Philippines Thailand Asia had barely heard of the Internet and Figure 1: Internet awareness and use among teleusers at the bottom of the pyramid (% of BOP teleusers) their first and only contact with two-way (SEC groups D and E) in selected Asian countries (2008) | Source: LIRNEasia Teleuse@BOP3 survey electronic communication was through the mobile, and, even that, recently. 7 7 3 And we did. We developed a coherent, 4 Agricultural or fisheries information 7 alternative narrative, drawing from 5 37 11 our demand-side, supply-side and 8 17 case studies that deployed multiple General information services 17 19 14 methods and approaches. We identified 9 12 Voting, competitions, reality shows, etc 7 the actions that had to be taken by 4 17 policymakers and regulators, by 6 22 16 operators, by applications providers and Health services 9 11 by manufacturers to make the narrative 2 8 8 real. The evidence (Figure 2) showed 4 Government services 8 that the narrative is emergent at the 7 23 11 BOP, and that not too many people are 12 16 Payment services 20 actually using more-than-voice services 9 15 7 over wireless platforms. It also showed 6 18 Banking and financial services 12 that the younger cohort was more 6 comfortable with going beyond voice. Thailand Philippines Sri Lanka India Pakistan Bangladesh So our narrative was not just about Figure 2: Use (regular and non-regular) of more-than-voice services among teleusers at the bottom of describing the world; it was also about the pyramid (% of BOP teleusers) (SEC groups D and E) who are aware of such services in selected addressing what the world could Asian countries (2008) | Source: LIRNEasia Teleuse@BOP3 survey L I R N E a s i a | Annual Report 2009-10 5 CEO’s message society...Internet, especially broad- wireless broadband.”(p.xxxiv) We are a project-based organization. band Internet, is increasingly accepted But we do not behave as one, thanks to as a general-purpose technology that “Anecdotal evidence suggests that the understanding and flexibility shown dramatically affects the way people access to the Internet using mobile by our principal funder. We build upon communicate, do business, interact phones is a growing trend, including and consolidate research lines. We seize with governments and educate and in many developing countries and re- opportunities to influence policy and inform themselves. This requires gov- gions such as Africa. Providing mobile strategy even if the relevant research is not ernments to pursue policies that will broadband access can be an attrac- from the current research cycle. We keep have a significant impact on Internet tive solution for rural areas since it re- our focus on the key audiences of senior usage including an enhanced effort quires less investment than installing policymakers, regulators, senior managers to deploy (fixed/wired and/or wire- fixed broadband connections. Mobile of operating companies and opinion leaders less) broadband infrastructure and to broadband coverage, or the percent- capable of influencing them. We strive include wireless in universal access age of the population within reach of a to shape their symbolic environments by plans. It might be possible to reach the 3G mobile cellular signal, will therefore obtaining extensive coverage in the media, goal of providing broadband Internet be an important indicator to measure.” as shown in Figure 3 below and in more access to at least half the population (p. 23-24) detail in Section 4 of this Report. by 2015 in view of the rapid spread of Projects or research themes Print Web/blog TV Radio Figure 3: Frequency of media coverage by research project and related themes, 2009-10. The dark grey subject nodes indicate projects or themes. Each line extending from a subject node to a numbered node indicates coverage (print, web/blog, TV or radio). Each number represents a different publication (see Table 7 for a numbered list of publishers). For a complete list of publications, see Section 4’s subsection on media coverage. For a complete list of coverage from 2004 to date, including web links where applicable, visit http://lirneasia.net/about/media-coverage/. L I R N E a s i a | Annual Report 2009-10 6 CEO’s message Figure 3 privileges frequency of coverage. are improving the quality of print coverage good feeling. This was odd because I did But obviously, that is not all that matters. (where we spend most time and money), celebrate when the Public Interest Program It is not the most important aspect either. whilst web and blog coverage appears to Unit at the Ministry for Economic Reforms Coverage in a major Indian, Pakistani or have kept to the former pattern (Figure 4). survived 548 days, recalling the Soviet Bangladeshi newspaper that is read by our revolutionaries celebrating their survival for audiences is obviously more valuable for our We celebrated our first five years in the 72 days, the duration of the Paris Commune. purposes than mention in a radio broadcast company of friends, colleagues and present The benchmark was the duration of my in the evening. In LIRNEasia’s 2004-09: and future partners from 25 countries. This first round of duty in government in 1998- Five years in review, we made our first too was a cause for happiness. 99. But LIRNEasia was unique; what was attempt to address the quality of publication, the milestone? Five was just an arbitrary going beyond the simple frequency count. I never thought about the importance number, plucked out of the air. We are not yet fully satisfied, but the results of surviving for five years, but when the of the method applied to 2009-10 show we day came and I thought about it, it was a LIRNEasia was almost an impossible dream. No endowment, no core funding, location in a war-torn, small and peripheral country that was increasingly disaffected 27 2827 27 26 26 26 42 33 33 33 33 27 61 with Western conceptions of good 43 43 43 58 58 58 governance — not the best ingredients 61 616361 for a regional think-tank that sought to reform laws, policies and regulation, the Non-leadingNon-leadingNon-leading publications publications publications LeadingLeading publicationsLeadingbuilding publications publications blocks of good governance. Yet 73 7273 73 74 74 74 we succeeded, as evidenced by policies, 58 67 67 67 6757 57 57 73 39 practices, frames and mindsets changed 42 42 42 39 37 39 39 (documented in LIRNEasia’s 2004-09: Five years in review publication issued for the Print PrintPrint April 2009April April- 2009March 2009 - March2010 - March 2010 2010 SeptemberSeptemberSeptember 2004 - 2004September 2004 - September - September 2009 2009 Web2009 WebWeb April 2009April April- 2009March 2009 - March2010 - March 2010 2010 fifth anniversary celebration) and confirmed September 2004 - April 2009 - September 2004 - April 2009 - September 2004 - April 2009 - by an external evaluation report conducted September 2009 March 2010 September 2009 March 2010 September 2009 March 2010 as part of IDRC’s evaluation of the Pan Asia Print Web Blogs Networking Program.