Innovation & ICT4D

As part of the GEI Launchpad 1.0 program, The Development CAFE’s founder, Valentine Gandhi, teaches a course on using analytics and social media for growth. This 10-session intensive incubation program is designed to assist MEL and technology startups in identifying new growth opportunities. It includes introductory sessions, review sessions, and a “demo day.”

The program teaches participants how to find the right product for the right market, test their ideas, build a stronger core team, and develop ways to grow their business to capitalize on new business opportunities.
This helps gather evidence and build a new ecosystem for evaluating programs that is driven by technology. The analytics and social media for growth course focuses on using data to drive growth and engagement. Participants learn how to use analytics tools to track user behavior and measure the success of their marketing campaigns, as well as how to use social media to increase brand awareness and acquire new customers. Through this program, the Development CAFE is helping MEL and technology startups grow and scale their businesses. It is also helping to build a new evaluation ecosystem that helps people make decisions based on facts and drives technological innovation.

The Development CAFE recently held a webinar on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in international development, with a focus on using ethical approaches in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar featured expert panelists who discussed the potential applications of AI in addressing development challenges as well as the ethical considerations that must be taken into account when designing and implementing AI-based solutions.

Panelists also talked about how AI can be used to help with COVID-19 response efforts, such as tracking down contacts, keeping an eye on diseases, and distributing vaccines. Throughout the discussion, panelists emphasized the importance of ethical approaches to AI in order to ensure that these technologies are used in ways that promote equity, inclusivity, and social justice.

This webinar represents an important opportunity for the Development CAFE to facilitate dialogue and knowledge-sharing among experts in the fields of AI and international development. By highlighting the potential benefits of these technologies as well as the ethical considerations that must be taken into account, the Development CAFE aims to promote more effective and responsible use of AI in addressing development challenges.

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Development CAFE recently hosted an e-webinar that explored key topics related to monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar featured three main topics of discussion:

Blue Marble Evaluation in the context of COVID-19: Experts discussed how the Blue Marble Evaluation approach can help organizations evaluate the impact of their programs in the context of the pandemic, and how this approach can support more sustainable and equitable development outcomes.
Alternative evaluation criteria: Panelists explored alternative evaluation criteria that can be used to assess the impact of programs in the context of the pandemic, taking into account new challenges and realities facing communities and organizations.

Practical tips for conducting effective MEL when the field has become online: Experts shared practical tips and strategies for conducting MEL activities online, given the limitations and challenges posed by the pandemic.

This e-webinar represents an important opportunity for Development CAFE to facilitate discussions and knowledge-sharing among experts in the field of MEL. By talking about key issues related to how the pandemic is affecting evaluation work, the organization hopes to make development programming and evaluation more effective and responsive.

The Development CAFE recently hosted a development dialogue with Azhagu Pandia Raja MP, the Innovation Officer for the Chennai Innovation Hub. During the discussion, Mr. Raja shared insights on how Chennai, one of the top metros in India, is combating the COVID-19 pandemic using data and innovation.
Mr. Raja discussed how the Chennai Innovation Hub is leveraging data and technology to track the spread of COVID-19 in the city and how they are using this information to inform their response efforts. He also gave examples of how the Hub is using innovation to deal with other problems caused by the pandemic, like making new technologies for telemedicine and remote learning.

This development dialogue represents an important opportunity for development CAFE to highlight innovative approaches to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and to share best practices from around the world. By setting up conversations with experts like Mr. Raja, the organization hopes to encourage development professionals to work together and share their knowledge, as well as to make positive changes in communities all over the world.

The Development CAFE recently provided assistance to GIZ’s “Innovation and Investment for Inclusive Sustainable Economic Development” (ISED) project, which aimed to strengthen the capacity of private and public actors to promote inclusive and sustainable employment in the tourism and manufacturing sectors.
The Development CAFE helped the ISED project come up with evidence-based ways to promote economic development for everyone by using its skills in monitoring, evaluating, and learning. This meant doing assessments to find the biggest problems and opportunities in the tourism and manufacturing sectors, as well as coming up with and putting into action plans to help create jobs and grow the economy.

The successful implementation of the ISED project highlights the critical role that organizations like the Development CAFE play in supporting the work of development organizations like GIZ. By using their expertise and experience, the Development CAFE helps to make sure that development efforts are effective, efficient, and responsive to the needs of local communities. This, in turn, leads to more sustainable and inclusive economic development.

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Development Cafe and the European Evaluation Society (EES) are working together on a new podcast series about how cutting-edge technologies can be used in evaluation work. The first episode of the series, which can be found on the EES website, looks at how new technologies are changing evaluation and how traditional evaluation methods can be used to evaluate new ideas.

During the episode, experts in both evaluation and technology talk about how technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and big data could be used to make evaluation work more effective and have a bigger impact. They also talk about how these technologies have been used in real-world evaluation projects and what the best ways are to use technology in evaluation.

This partnership between Development Cafe and EES is a great chance to spread the use of technology in evaluation work and help evaluation professionals build their skills. The goal of the podcast series is to make more people aware of how new technologies could be used to improve evaluation practice and to encourage more research and use of these tools in the field.

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The ICT4D team from DevCAFE showed the Ministry of Villages several digital tools that can help. These tools have been specifically designed to address the unique challenges faced by rural communities in Indonesia and aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs in these areas.

During the presentation, people will learn about the available tools, such as mobile apps for collecting and analyzing data, web-based platforms for community engagement and communication, and mapping tools that can help find places where help is needed. The team will also discuss the benefits of using these digital tools, such as getting more accurate data and watching how programs are used in real time. This session is for government workers, people who work in development, and anyone who wants to learn about new development work methods in rural areas. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how digital tools can support the Ministry of Villages and the potential for technology to drive positive change in rural communities.

DevCAFE presented “Blockchain and M&E: Field Lessons” at the MERLTechDC 2018 conference. This session will look at how blockchain technology and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices in development work relate to each other. During the session, people will learn how blockchain technology can improve the accuracy and openness of M&E data. They will also hear about how blockchain is being used in the field. The presenters will also talk about the possible problems and limits of using blockchain in M&E, and they will give organizations that want to use this technology in their programs some practical advice.

This session is for people who work in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), in technology, or who want to learn more about how blockchain could be used in development work. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how blockchain can be used to improve M&E practices as well as the knowledge and tools needed to implement blockchain solutions in their own programs.

DevCAFE has been given the opportunity to provide training on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations in Indonesia. For this project, we will work closely with local groups and government agencies to give people who want to learn about UAV technology and how it could be used in development work hands-on training.
Participants will learn about the basics of UAV technology, such as how to fly, collect data, and analyze it, through this training. They will also learn about the possible benefits of using UAVs in development work, such as making data collection and monitoring more accurate and efficient.

This project is a great chance for DevCAFE to share its knowledge and help Indonesians build their own skills. By teaching people how to operate UAVs, the organization hopes to help people come up with new ways to solve difficult development problems and make positive changes in communities across the region.

This project provides DevCAFE with the opportunity to present Drones 4 Good: Applications, Challenges, and Future Prospects for the Development Sector.

Project “I AM” is a Blockchain4Refugees initiative in association with Roshan Learning Center. Training in research methodology is offered by UNIVERSITAS TRISAKTI.