Saturday is a work day in Juba, but it’s also a day (the only day) when we have reliable internet because we’re not at the Ministries. Taking advantage of this improved access, I wanted to post some of the articles that I managed to read during the week and thought that other people might find interesting.
- http://lindaraftree.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/7-or-more-questions-to-ask-before-adding-icts/ Lists 7 Questions that you should ask before engaging in an ICT project. This post, which is written from the perspective of an NGO that wants to gather data to help decision-makers enact violence-reduction policy, focuses on how to collect and use information in a responsible manner. I liked: that she focused on questions that have NOTHING to do with the technology; the technology is the easy part. I also liked the list of resources for using mobile technology to gather data in developing contexts. I wished: that she had also thought about how to make the tool sustainable over time and scalable to a larger geographic area.
- http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15491703 and http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15469303. The first article describes dynamics of the upcoming Sudanese elections and the second article (from a week earlier) describes how corruption in the South has created obstacles for investors and ultimately a for building a secure and prosperous nation. I liked: the typical lucid Economist writing. This is the fastest way to understand what is going on in South Sudan. I wished: that it wasn’t so depressing.
- http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/readinglists/what-to-read-on-foreign-aid. An annotated bibliography of the current literature of foreign aid and very appropriate to review as State/USAID continues the quadrennial review. It focuses primarily on development economics. I liked: having all of these resources in one place. I wished: that they had included some of the blogs that cover the same topics. In particular, I would have added Aid Watch (www.aidwatchers.com) and Rethinking US Foreign Assistance from the Center for Global Development (http://blogs.cgdev.org/mca-monitor/).
