Caroline Khene: ‘Social impact does not only depend on the existence of a ‘beautiful’ technology solution’
We spoke with Caroline Khene, Associate Professor of Information Systems at Rhodes University in South Africa. She is also the Co-Director of the MobiSAM project, a digital citizen engagement initiative. Caroline has a research and teaching background in the field of Information and Communication Technology for development (ICT4D), with a particular interest in how information systems may be contextualised for addressing societal issues in Africa. Her other fields of interest include project management, evaluation, and knowledge management for the effective implementation of technology projects.
How are you involved in the tech & social impact space?
I am a researcher in the field of ICT4D, and currently co-direct a project on digital citizen engagement called MobiSAM (Mobile Social Accountability Monitoring). My main areas of interest are in project management, strategy formulation, evaluation and knowledge transfer in ICT projects within resource constrained contexts of developing countries.
How would you personally define social impact?
The long-term effects of a project on addressing a social issue. These are often confused with the outputs or outcomes of a project, which are more short-term in nature, and are only observable over a short period of time. Social impact is associated with effects that are only observable in the long-term, when the outcomes of a project build capacities, local partnerships, and willingness to address a social challenge.
Which projects have you seen harnessing technology that have been particularly impactful?
Not many. This still remains a challenge in Africa, and many developing countries. The successful projects I have seen are always linked to existing social or economic development activities that have good local institutional support. Some good examples include M-pesa, E-wallet, etc. They have transformed banking in local communities that can not easily access a bank or ATM. Other projects have been implemented in education, health, and local government. However, these projects struggle to be sustainable, as social impact does not only depend on the existence of a ‘beautiful’ technology solution, but also on understanding and managing the contextual dynamics in the project’s environment.
How could the social impact of technology be measured better?
Achieving positive social impact is often uncertain when addressing complex social challenges. Therefore, an evaluation of the social impact of technology needs to be comprehensive, in the sense that evaluation should be seen as a learning process that takes place throughout the life of a project. Typically measurement of impact has relied on a comparison of results from an assessment at the beginning of a project before implementation, and an assessment at the end of a projects. However, assessment is lacking during project implementation, to learn from operational/contextual constraints that influence the success of a project. Examples of key domains that need to be applied throughout a project include a Baseline Study, Needs Assessment, Programme Theory Assessment, Process Assessment, Outcome and Impact Assessment, and Scalability Assessment.
Do you believe tech has the power to positively transform the world?
Yes it does — but not alone. Technology is not a panacea for social challenges. It is actually just a piece of a bigger puzzle. Skeptics have argued whether technology really does transform the world positively. Technology is just a tool, among many other tools. One can think of tech as existing in an ecology among other factors that have to interact and account for effective transformation to occur. On the other hand, technology can also negatively transform the world, and if left unaccountable, it can actually increase rather than decrease inequalities.
What is the main challenge you think technology presents to society?
If implemented wrongly, it results in increasing inequalities (rather than addressing them) between those who can and those who cannot effectively harness technology for strategic value, livelihoods, empowerment, and sustainability. The very challenges technology initiatives wish to address, may actually have a counter effect and result in more societal challenges. Examples include, dumping old computers in developing countries that pose an environmental threat, access that is only limited to the few who have the educational capacity and necessary infrastructure, privacy and security injustices, etc.
What is your advice for someone hoping to start a venture tackling a social issue using technology?
There are four key aspects I would recommend, based on my experience and that of fellow researchers and practitioners:
- Build foundations before you introduce the technology — one needs to understand the domain area or local context, and build partnerships with local institutions. For example, if tackling an education issue, understand the existing contexts and constraints of the education system. Subsequently, build partnerships or relationships with local institutions to support the development of access, capacity and motivation to use the technology.
- Evaluation and Learning — technology innovations are often implemented in complex environments. Evaluation and learning should be embedded in all project activities.
- Knowledge Transfer — as part of building foundations and local partnerships, knowledge transfer between implementers and beneficiaries of a project is essential to enable the continuous operation of the project. Knowledge transfer is not one-way, but rather two-way, where beneficiaries also teach implementers how to best implement in their context.
- Flexibility and incremental development — based on the iterative application of evaluation, learning, and knowledge transfers, a project needs to be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the project context as it is implemented. Coupled with this, implementing the project incrementally over time allows project implementers to learn what works well or does not, and hence implement changes to support the integration of the project in the beneficiaries’ context.
