December 2009 - change - Mailing Lists

Fwd: microgrants
by Yaw Anokwa 13 Dec '09

13 Dec '09

interesting idea from a colleague of mine. if you have feedback about the idea, send it on to teddy. -----Original Message----- From: Teddy Svoronos [mailto:teddy.svoronos@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 2:55 PM To: Teddy Svoronos Subject: microgrants Hi all, I'm sure you're all getting quite a few requests for donation around now, but I wanted to let you know about something that I've been working on. I'd of course appreciate donations, but I want your input as well. The idea is "microgrants," essentially microfinance but for social problems. As I'm sure most of the people on this list know, the majority of international aid funds Western organizations to plan and implement their own interventions to improve the quality of life of poor communities. Instead, the microgrant model is to hold "local innovation" contests, in which members/groups of a community submit proposals to address a problem that their community faces. After a few iterations, the best proposal is selected and the winners are given a small amount of funding to test their idea. We help with the monitoring of the project - both in terms of finances and impact - but the idea and its implementation is the winner's doing. We've already disbursed a microgrant to a clinic in Tanzania to increase the proportion of pregnant women delivering in clinics (more information in the link), and are currently looking for funds to address water and sanitation issues in Mekelle, Ethiopia. Here's the link, donations very welcome. If you have any questions or thoughts, please do send them. http://www.firstgiving.com/microgrants Thanks! Teddy

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Change Meeting Available as a UW Class
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Dec '09

10 Dec '09

Starting next quarter, you can take the weekly Change meeting as one credit seminar (CSE590C1, SLN:19923). Like other seminars, those who register for the class should attempt some contribution (presenting a paper, working on a project, leading a discussion, etc.) to the seminar. We want to keep the feel of the old Change meetings, so we remain very flexible on what those contributions will be. We encourage UW students, faculty and staff who are able to register for the class to do so at https://sdb.admin.washington.edu/timeschd/uwnetid/sln.asp?QTRYR=WIN+2010&SL…. As always, everyone is still welcome to participate in Change, regardless of registration status. Finally, as you may already know, today was the last Change meeting for this year. We will resume meetings on Jan 7th, 2010, so see you all then! Yaw

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partners in health is looking for a programmer
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Dec '09

10 Dec '09

I've worked with PIH in this capacity and it was life-changing job... Partners In Health is a non-profit corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts, whose mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. Through service delivery, training, research, and advocacy, PIH works globally to bring the benefits of modern science to those most in need, and to serve as an antidote to despair. PIH currently has programs in Haiti, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, and Boston. PIH is also one of the two founding organizations of the OpenMRS open source electronic medical record system. We are looking for a full-time Java developer to join the informatics team that builds and supports our open source Electronic Medical Record systems. You will be working in a complex and fast-paced environment with programmers, doctors, epidemiologists, and research assistants spread across countries and continents. This job combines the cutting edge of medical informatics work in developing countries with the emotional rewards of seeing your work help people in a very direct way. Travel to our project sites is expected. Find out more at http://www.pih.org/youcando/join/J2EE_Programmer_Position.pdf

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Reading List for MBA seminar on global health & economic development
by joe michiels 09 Dec '09

09 Dec '09

A peer of mine in the business school is looking for good development/global health books for a seminar/course for MBAs that's being offered in the winter. Given that the audience may or may not have a background in the field, are there particular overview/introductory texts that Change folks would recommend? A few that have come up so far: *Common Wealth - Sachs End of Poverty - Sachs Dead Aid - Moyo White Man's Burden - Easterly* *The Blue Sweater - Novogratz *I'm not sure if students outside of the business school can enroll/attend, but if anyone's interested I can definitely check. -Joe Michiels Foster School of Business - Class of 2010 jmich(a)uw.edu

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Sylvain Cibangu on Contributions of Cell Phones to Development in Africa
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Dec '09

09 Dec '09

This Thursday at Change, Sylvain Cibangu will be discussing his upcoming research on the contributions of cell phones to development in Africa. The last few decades, cell phones have been making unprecedented advances in developing countries. To this end, extensive literature has shown cell phones to enhance economic development in Africa (Touré, 2007; Jagun, 2007; Vodafone, 2005). On the one hand, the spread of cell phones clashes with increasing poverty on the African continent (ITU, 2009; World Bank, 2009; Sibanda, 2009). On the other hand, research reveals that there is little systematic evidence concerning cell phones effects on individuals in developing countries (Lee et al., 2008; Duncombe, 2009; Gao & Rafiq, 2009). This research project investigates the link between cell phones and economic development in Africa. The research question is, how can cell phones contribute to development in rural areas of Africa? For focus purposes, the project zeroes in on cell phones effects for corn production in the Congo. In fact, because of its yield efficiency, corn has proved to be not only a food commodity, but a powerful economic enabler in Africa (Mukhwana, 2009a, 2009b). The project suggests ways in which cell phones can boost corn production in the Congo. The project uses (Zhang & Benjamin, 2007; Larson, 2004, 2005) Information Model (iModel), to engage cell phones, information, and people in cell phone driven development. Cell phone and corn crop research has given little attention to iModel (Tollens, 2003, 2004; Donner, 2008). It means that iModel raises questions such as who are the users or what information do corn growers seek? More to the point, unlike the Negroponte (1991) model that advocates a computer per child, in this case, a cell phone per Congolese, the present project combines iModel with Human Capabilities framework (Sen, 1999, 1985), to provide rural users with choices and freedoms to go about the basic needs (e.g., shelter, water, food, clothing, and health). The project offers information science not only rural users’ information needs and uses, but their capabilities. The project’s thesis implies that the more cell phones, information, and users are involved in corn production, the greater people’s capabilities. What: Sylvain Cibangu on Contributions of Cell Phones to Development in Africa When: Thursday, December 10 at Noon Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 403

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CfP: Radio, Convergence and Development in Africa
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Dec '09

09 Dec '09

Radio, Convergence and Development in Africa Call for concept notes - Deadline January 8, 2010 Carleton University’s Centre for Media and Transitional Societies (CMTS), in collaboration with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is pleased to launch a call for concept notes, in French or English, outlining proposed research examining the impact of convergence between traditional radio and new information and communications technologies (ICTs) in sub-Saharan Africa. For full details on the research competition, the call for concept notes and the submission process, please visit the project website at www.cmts-cmst.org. Ultimately, the purpose of this competitive research project is both to generate important research and to support African researchers in their efforts to produce rigorous and analytical social science research findings on the ways that radio and the growth and penetration of new ICTs - such as mobile phones, the Internet and other digital technologies - have affected social, cultural, political and economic development. The call for proposals will be run in two stages. Call for concept notes (submission deadline: January 8, 2010). All interested applicants are required to submit a concept note outlining a synopsis of a proposed research idea. Call for full proposals. Based on the assessment of the concept notes, shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal in early 2010. There are three levels of targeted funding, each with different eligibility criteria: A set of small seed grants at CAD$7,500 each will be awarded to promising graduate students, small organizations and individual researchers. Grants of CAD$25,000 open to researchers affiliated with an established organization. Grants of up to CAD$100,000 open only to researchers affiliated with an established organization. Again, for full details on the research competition, the call for concept notes and the submission process, please visit the project website at www.cmts-cmst.org.

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Jubal Harpster and Todd Slind on AGCommons
by Yaw Anokwa 03 Dec '09

03 Dec '09

This Thursday at Change, Jubal Harpster and Todd Slind will be presenting their work on AGCommons (http://www.agcommons.org) I met Jubal and Todd in Uganda a month and turns out they work in Fremont. AGCommons is a great idea to empower farmers and it should be a fun talk. AGCommons is an Africa-based service bureau providing location specific (geospatial) information technology services to extend the reach and impact of existing agricultural initiatives working to improve the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. AGCommons is driven by three goals. First, to discover how geospatial technology can improve farmer productivity and market access. Second, to engage a community of interest to improve sharing and accessibility for location-specific information and finally, to deliver high impact solutions that provide value to the “last 10 kilometers. What: Jubal Harpster and Todd Slind on AGCommons When: Thursday, December 3 at Noon Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 403

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Motion Chart Visualization of Mobile Phone Penetration
by Yaw Anokwa 01 Dec '09

01 Dec '09

Richard Heeks (http://is.gd/593mM) has entered the ITU data on mobile phone penetration for all countries from 1998-2008 into a Google Docs spreadsheet, and then added the Motion Chart visualization (the same engine made famous by Hans Rosling and TED). Play with the visualization (http://is.gd/593mg) or check out other World Bank data (http://devdata.worldbank.org/DataVisualizer/)

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