Leland Initiative End-User Applications

Table of Contents

Background
Implementation
Internet for Development: Applications and Training Workshop
Resulting Activities

 

Background

The African Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Gateway Project, also known as the Leland Initiative, is a five-year, $15 million project, designed to extend full Internet connectivity to up to 20 African nations. The project facilitates and encourages Internet use by Africans and their development partners to meet the challenges of achieving sustainable development. Approved by the U.S. Congress in l995, the initiative is named in honor of U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland who was killed in a plane accident in Ethiopia in 1989. Mr. Leland had worked extensively in African affairs and was a strong advocate of U.S. support to Africa.

The Africa GII Gateway Project is an interagency effort coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Project activities fall under three strategic objectives:

• Strategic Objective 1: Create an enabling policy environment in project countries to facilitate electronic networking and access to GII technologies.

• Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen the local telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate Internet access and support a local Internet Service Provider industry to ensure the local availability of reliable, accessible, and cost-effective Internet access.

• Strategic Objective 3: Achieve broad-based utilization of information and global information technologies among USAID's development partners to promote sustainable development.

In each country where the Leland Initiative is active, Strategic Objective 3 (SO3) activities begin with a series of country assessments that address 1) national and regional policies and regulations concerning telecommunications and information access and use; 2) the present condition of the national telecommunications infrastructure; and 3) the current condition of and potential demand for Internet access in the public and private sectors. Data gathered from these assessments form the foundation for individualized country reports and action plans for SO3 activities.

 

Implementation

The following Leland Initiative SO3 activities are implemented through the Academy for Educational Development's Research and Reference Services Project, funded through USAID's Center for Development Information and Evaluation.

End-User Assessments: Methodology and Findings

The objectives of the SO3 assessment are to measure and promote awareness about the Internet and its uses for development among USAID's partners, and to appraise Internet service provision to gain an accurate picture of the availability of the Internet in the country. Assessment reports recommend next steps for USAID and the Leland Initiative to support the introduction or heightened use of the Internet in African institutions.

By focusing on current USAID partners for this assessment, the recommendations made fit well within each USAID mission's current Country Strategy Plan and established priorities. The Leland team relies on the mission's SO teams to identify their partners, and provides the following six criteria as guidelines to select organizations and individuals to be interviewed during the assessment process:

• Partner organizations that are key implementing institutions within each SO
• Organizations that would benefit from effective use of information on a local, regional, and international level
• Organizations or individuals that could share information, ideas, and collaborative working methods
• Donors committing resources in the telecommunication and electronic networking arena
• Major collectors or producers of information in-country, such as libraries or research centers
• Private sector organizations making effective use of modern communication technologies, such as satellites, electronic networks, or the Internet

Initial Indicators of Readiness for Effective Use of the Internet

Once the assessment interviews are completed, each organization is ranked according to the following indicators, designed to measure an institution's readiness for effective use of the Internet.

Institutional Information and Communication Strategy: This indicator evaluates an institution's ability to report its mission and main objectives. The institution is measured on its ability to articulate what role communication and information play in the organization.

Institutional Information Use: This indicator examines what information sources are produced and used. The institution is measured against the types of material and publications routinely produced and collected, such as newsletters, research reports, and raw data, in combination with the amount of data used from outside sources to accomplish its goals and make decisions. The institution is measured on the amount of communication and information sources used as an integral part of the institution's operations.

Recognition of the Potential Contribution of the Internet to its Institutional Mission: This indicator measures an institution's ability to recognize the need for and the ability to articulate the potential use of information from outside its usual resources. The institution is measured on its basic understanding of the Internet and its ability to articulate the potential contribution of Internet applications to its operations.

Champion: This indicator identifies one or more individuals within the organization who promote Internet use, articulate the importance of Internet use, and set an example of effective Internet use in the workplace. In essence, the institution is measured by its ability to identify an internal spokesperson(s) who can successfully encourage integration of new technologies or ideas.

Telecommunication and Computer Infrastructure: This indicator records an institution's existing telecommunications facility and the number and types of computers, modems, and printers already in use. This indicator takes into account the required investment necessary to upgrade the existing telecommunication and computer infrastructure to effectively integrate the new communication and information technology into an existing mode of operations.

Potential for Sustainability: This indicator measures the technology against an institution's existing operational budget to calculate whether incorporating the new technology is affordable. An institution is measured for its ability to maintain the technology on a month-to-month basis.

At the end of the interview process a summary of findings is prepared for the USAID Mission. This summary evaluates the institutions’ readiness for effective Internet use and indicates which are "fast-track" organizations (see Resulting Activities section below for more details on fast-track activities).

Barriers to Internet Access and Effective Use

When considering the availability of the Internet in a country, the SO3 assessments appraise the barriers to Internet access and use on two levels. First-level barriers, some of which are also being examined by other U.S. government agencies, are issues at a national level that effectively block Internet access for end-users. These national-level barriers need to be eliminated before institutions can confidently rely on equitably sustained Internet access and use. These barriers include:

• National telecommunications policies (i.e., costs of telecommunications services, particularly local metered telephone charges);
• Quality and service of the national telecommunications infrastructure;
• Lack of computer technology or outdated computer and computer-related technologies;
• Lack of adequately trained technicians and insufficient facilities to produce quality trained technicians;
• Absence of a competitive Internet Service Provider industry; and
• Cost and quality of current Internet Service Provider services.

The second-level barriers confronted by institutions center around internal Internet and communication policies. Strategies need to be developed both within an organization and among Internet Service Providers to overcome these issues. These barriers include:

• Lack of awareness or real understanding of the Internet and its potential uses;
• Lack of institutional information and communication strategies, which the Internet, as a global information and communication resource, is especially designed to support; and
• Lack of adequate training on the strategic use of the Internet.

 

Internet for Development: Applications and Training Workshop

To help realize Leland's objectives, the SO3 team facilitates on-site trainings to assist USAID missions and their development partners in harnessing the potential of currently available information technologies to further their development objectives.

The training, primarily for USAID mission staff and their fast-track development partners, will introduce participants to the Internet and to Internet resources relevant to their specific areas of expertise. It focuses on raising awareness and incorporating Internet applications into development activities. The training is tailored to meet each mission's needs, and pays particular attention to applying Internet uses to the participants' institutional settings.

The purpose of this training is three-fold: to bring USAID staff to a level of knowledge to be able to use the Internet as a resource in their work; to advance the understanding of the capabilities of the Internet on the part of USAID staff in order to promote its use among their partners, and to be able to assist those partners in the development of a strategy for Internet use; and, to introduce partner institutions to the Internet and discuss applications, encouraging them to pursue connectivity and serve as an awareness builder/resource in other similar institutions.

Prior to the training, the Leland team makes recommendations regarding the training environment and composition of the group(s) of participants to maximize the benefit of the training and to ensure the Leland objective is achieved. Details of the training are worked out in advance between Leland staff and the mission. Possibilities for the training structure include:

• Two-day programs focusing on an introduction to the Internet and building awareness about the Internet's applications and resources.
• Longer programs with greater focus on both technical and project development aspects of the Leland Initiative.
• Executive sessions for upper-level decision makers, usually three hours of an introduction to the Internet and applications relevant to their organizations' goals, aimed to facilitate the process of adapting the Internet as a new information and communication tool.
• Training of Trainers sessions introduces Leland training content and techniques to in-country trainers, for their future use.

 

Resulting Activities

Once national and institutional constraints (first and second level barriers) are eliminated and affordable Internet access can be made available to the public, the following activities can be undertaken to develop the Internet industry and end-user capabilities. These activities, and others, are often supported by bilateral USAID missions, with the assistance of Leland team members from Washington. Selected activities may receive funding from USAID's Africa Bureau or other sources, depending on the nature of the activity.

Fast-Track Activities

Important practical experience can be gained through the implementation of selected pilot activities. Through the interview process, SO3 assessment teams choose a group of institutions based on their ranking from the previously mentioned indicators and their ability to enforce USAID SO activities and show the greatest impact with minimal USAID assistance. After having participated in the Internet for Development: Applications and Training Workshop, these development institutions will act as models and catalysts of effective Internet use. To promote greater cooperation and information exchange among African countries, special focus should be given to regional institutions and projects. Strategies for encouraging Internet use in rural areas, perhaps initially through institutions with headquarters in urban areas, should be developed to improve intra-national communications systems and enhance the availability of information.

Internet Society Chapters

It is recommended that USAID help to create and operate an Internet end-users forum that could eventually become a national chapter of the Internet Society. This type of organization brings Internet users and service providers together in a productive forum where issued can be addressed, and where strategies can be developed for improving and increasing Internet use and access in that country.

Demonstration and Training Centers

USAID encourage the development of affordable, public Internet awareness and access centers to promote Internet use. This type of center could provide the following types of services: free, public demonstrations; fee-based Internet accounts and Internet workstations for those without access to computers at home or in the office; fee-based end-user training; fee-based web page development and training; free institutional information and communication strategy consulting; fee-based Internet publishing consulting services and training; and free proposal development consulting for Internet-related activities.

School-to-School Partnerships

The Leland Initiative’s School-to-School Partnership Program aims to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and joint projects between African primary and secondary schools in countries where this initiative is active, and where similar goals are adopted in schools in the United States. In African countries, this initiative, in conjunction with the USAID mission's bilateral funds, may assist schools in becoming aware of the academic uses of the Internet, and in acquiring the hardware and training needed to participate in this program.

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