Introduction
Generally, technology has been integral to the day-to-day implementation of international development programmes, it has consistently offered convenience, comfort, and solutions to human problems. Technological advancements have reshaped societies, economies, and industries throughout history, enhancing human capacity to innovate and overcome life challenges. Over the last three decades, the accelerated pace of technological changes has given rise to the concept of “Emerging Technology (EmTech)”, which is used to describe a radically novel and relatively fast-growing technology with the potential to exert significant impacts on various social domains[1]. In the context of international development, EmTech[2] is defined as a potentially disruptive technological initiative that can significantly address large-scale problems across the various domains of the international development sector including education, health, agriculture, climate change, etc. It may include artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, the Internet of Things, drones, etc.[3]
Emerging technologies in international development have significantly maximized the impacts of intervention on the targeted population. In Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), EmTechs have the immense potential to address socio-economic inequalities and expedite the achievement of sustainable development goals, however, the majority of the EmTech-based development programs have been funded and implemented by foreign partners, impeding the sustainability of such initiatives in the local communities. Likewise, the preponderance of the emTech programs and their accompanying social hazards, calls for their responsible design, implementation, and usage. To address this challenge and expand the potential of EmTech in LMICs, localisation and responsibility of EmTech programs by international development agencies are salient. This piece will highlight why it is important for international development partners to reflect the principles of localisation and responsibility in their design and implementation of EmTech programs.
What is the Localisation of EmTech Initiatives?
Localisation has been variedly defined across different settings. In international development settings, United State Agency for International Development (USAID) defines localisation as the conscious efforts by organizations to ensure their interventions and funding put local actors in the decision-making seat, strengthen local system, and is responsive to local communities[4]. Applying this to emerging technologies, localization involves adapting the EmTech programs to fit the local context[5]. It entails designing, implementing, and managing EmTech programs collaboratively with the local actors while considering the local social, cultural, economic, and infrastructural contexts, and prioritizing the interests of the locals. It also involves funding and enhancing the capacity of local actors (countries receiving technical assistance from international organizations) to finance, design, and implement EmTech initiatives[6]
What is the Responsibility of EmTech Initiatives?
Responsibility of EmTech initiatives, in simpler terms, means the responsible design, implementation, and usage of EmTech initiatives by international development organizations and the targeted local beneficiaries. According to the Internation Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA), there is no universal definition of responsible EmTech implementation and usage, nonetheless, the responsibility of EmTech initiatives entails ensuring the suitability of EmTech to a given social, economic, and legal context, and upholding the “Do no Harm” principles while implementing and using EmTech initiatives[7]. International development organizations reflecting the principles of responsibility will ensure the compliance of its EmTech program to the ethical considerations such as data protection policies in the local setting, ensuring that the design and implementation of the EmTech program does not lead to unintended consequences such as the exclusion of marginalized groups, including women, PWDs, rural populations, etc, and ensuring its accessibility, affordability, and usability by all[8].
Why international development partners should embrace the localisation and responsibility of EmTech Initiatives
The international development sector has evolved over the past decades. The deployment of EmTech initiatives by these organizations in the LMICs has been marred by the prevalence of foreign-driven design and implementation. This has resulted in poor sustainability and acceptance of these initiatives in some LMICs. Similarly, designing and implementing EmTech programs with frail attention to ethical concerns portends fears of data breaching, exclusion of marginalized groups such as People with Disabilities (PWD), etc. With the growing intensity of technological advancements and the complexity of international development problems, maximizing the impacts of EmTech initiatives in addressing social and economic development problems will require the adoption of localisation and responsibility principles. Here are the major reasons:
Enhance Cost Effectiveness: According to the localisation in practice framework, reflecting the localisation and responsibility of EmTech initiatives principles during their design and implementation will maximize cost-effectiveness[9]. This is because shifting implementation capacity to local and national actors is less cost-intensive, as local actors already reside in the LMICs and do not require traveling and accommodation costs, which are one of the major cost drivers for EmTech programs steered by international actors. In addition, empowering local actors, organizations, and communities to lead EmTech initiatives will save the international development agencies significant funds that can be repurposed to maximize the intended social and economic development impacts in LMICs.
Improve Equitable Local Participation and Acceptance: The continuous implementation of EmTech programs by international partners may inadvertently subjugate local actors, which is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)’s specification of human rights and dignity. Although the major funders of EmTech initiatives in the LMICs are foreign agencies, encouraging home-grown EmTech initiatives will promote equitable participation of local actors as they are offered the platform and dignity to participate in the conceptualization and implementation of EmTech solutions to their social development problems. Especially given that they have more understanding of their local contexts than the international partners. In addition, responsible designs and implementation of EmTech programs will ensure the contextualization of the initiatives to meet the needs of diverse groups such as the PWDs, and other marginalized individuals in the local community, ensuring that no one is left behind, and increasing local acceptance of the EmTech products or services.
Promotes Local Independence and EmTech Sustainability: Localisation of EmTech Initiatives help promote local independence and sustainability of EmTech initiatives in the LMICs. When local actors and communities are empowered by international partners, they develop the capacity to face their challenges head-on by creating local solutions to them. Likewise, in the international development sector, most project impacts are short-lived because of the exit of international partners. Reflecting the localisation and responsibilities by ensuring the inclusion of local partners, suitability of EmTech initiatives to the local social, economic, and infrastructural conditions, and funding of local partners to design and implement EmTech programs will guarantee its sustainability beyond the intervention of the international partners
Minimize Potential Risks and Hazards: Adopting the principles of responsibility in the design and implementation of EmTech programs will see that interventions are designed in alignment with the ethical considerations in LMICs, and in such a way that unintended risks such as data breaches to the local beneficiaries are mitigated.
Conclusion
The potential for EmTech initiatives to the social and economic development in LMICs is immense, given the prevalence of social development problems in the region. Adopting the localisation and responsibility principles in its design and implementation portends a significant influence on its sustainability and acceptance. International development organizations must undertake conscious efforts to reflect the localisation and responsibility principles in the EmTech works, by imitating USAID’s response to localisation through the development of individual localisation and responsibility policies, and the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation system to track and evaluate efforts toward the localisation and responsible implementation and usage of EmTech initiatives in LMICs.
References
[1] Rotolo, Daniele & Hicks, Diana & Martin, Ben. (2015). What Is an Emerging Technology?. Research Policy. 44. 1827-1843. 10.1016/j.respol.2015.06.006.
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://ocdc.coop/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Localization-at-USAID_-The-Vision-and-Approach.pdf
[5] https://vistatec.com/how-does-localization-support-sustainable-technology/
[6] https://r4d.org/localization-in-uhc/
[8] https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DC_AI_Ethics_Framework-2021.pdf
