In developing country contexts, handheld computer applications are starting to show their benefits across development sectors. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and other types of handheld computers offer considerable advantages over desktops or even laptops. Handheld computers represent an intermediate tool with all the portability and mobility of the mobile phone and the added functionality of a small computer without the costs, size, weight and complexity of a full size computer. Health and microfinance have been particularly keen to test handheld applications, but there are opportunities being explored in natural resources management as well.
In the health sector, SATELLIFE has developed strong expertise, with experiences in a number of Asian and African countries and recently documented these experiences in a publication titled Handhelds for Health: SATELLIFEs Experiences in Africa and Asia".
In the microfinance sector, a number of organisations, particularly in Latin America, but also in India, have started using PDAs (see Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), CGAP IT Innovation Series). Specialised applications have been developed to track wildlife, such as CyberTracker, to monitor natural resources, and to facilitate the collection of data for scientific research, social surveys, population census, and market research. PDAs can be used for a wide range of data gathering tasks that involve field workers recording information away from the office. Applications have also been developed for use in emergency relief situations, to handle surveys and refugee registration. Depending on the data collection needs, GPS capability can be added to these handheld computers, allowing for automated calculation and recording of the users precise location.
dot-ORG Projects Using Handhelds
dot-ORG has implemented three pilot projects that involve three very different applications of PDAs; 1) to enhance health monitoring in Nepal, 2) to support democracy and voter registration in Rwanda, and 3) to strengthen the sustainability and improve the environmental impact of the marine aquarium trade in the Philippines.
More
|
