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eBrain Forum - Lusaka, Zambia
Full case study report
Published August 19, 2003
By Maartje Op de Coul,
New Media Evaluation Manager, OneWorld International
Introduction
OneWorld is part of the Building Digital Opportunities programme sponsored by the British, Swiss, Dutch and Canadian governments. One of the elements in this programme is an ICT survey that aims "to give decision makers a clear understanding of how civil society is actually using ICT and its impact through a comprehensive study". It was decided that could be done best through a number of case studies on different uses of ICTs. Throughout the different studies "impact" is considered in terms of opportunity, empowerment and security(1).
The present study focuses on the use and impact of ICTs by eBrain Forum of Zambia, a Zambian platform for information sharing, networking and lobbying in the field of ICT for development. eBrain Forum has a website and a quarterly newsletter and also organizes monthly offline meetings to reach its goals.
About eBrain Forum
?To set up an organisation to promote increased use and awareness of ICTs in this country, to get it on top of the development agenda of Zambia?. That is the agenda of eBrain Forum, explains Mr Mwale, the chairperson and one of the founding members of the forum. He works for the Examination Council of Zambia, an autonomous body within the Ministry of Education. The idea to form eBrain Forum was born in 2001 at an IICD(2) workshop in Uganda on ICT policy formulation exchanges between the Ugandan and Zambian Ministries of Education. eBrain Forum was also inspired by the G8 Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) that tries to identify ways in which the digital revolution can benefit all the world?s people especially the poorest and most marginalized groups.
In the course of 2002 several preparatory meetings took place, in which IICD played a significant role. eBrain Forum started its programme of activities around August and the website was launched in December. In January 2003 a 5 year actual strategic paper came about that has been approved but still has to be finalized.
The first objective of eBrain Forum is to try to build a body of knowledge for people concerned with ICT for development, says Mr Margree Chilwesa, coordinator of eBrain Forum and member of the Management Team. The other two are to influence the national (ICT) policy formulation process and to start a national local information network.
eBrain Forum is a membership organisation with different membership options: individual, institutional and affiliate (for international and multilateral organisations). It is an amalgamation that connects private sector, government and NGOs, which is in line with IICD's multi-stakeholder approach. As of recently all new members have to pay a fee; the old ones have to renew their membership and start paying as well. Fees are ranging from 25.000 Kwacha (5 usd) a year for students to 2.000.000 Kwacha (400 usd) for affiliate members. In April 2003 eBrain Forum counted 86 members. When asked for the targetgroup of eBrain Forum Mr Chilwesa stressed that not the members are the target group, but Zambians in general. In the end their activities should lead to Zambians using ICTs effectively and efficiently.
eBrain Forum has currently one full time staff member: Ms Charity Mpundu who is the programmes officer. A technical person is expected to be hired by June 2003. The Management Team (MT) is the policy making body of eBrain Forum and counts 9 members. The MT is not just overseeing, but has implementation responsibilities as well. eBrain Forum has three chapters: one in Lusaka (in the building of the Zambia Postal Services), one in Kitwe (Copperbelt) and one in the Southern province. The 3 year budget is usd 275.000 and for 2003 it is 108.000 of which by April only 30.000 was secured (23.000 from IICD).
eBrain Forum focuses on Zambia, though they also play a role in CINSA, the Community Information
Network for Southern Africa and in fact Charity is actually hired by CINSA. But Mr Chilwesa first wants to find out what works and what not in Zambia before expanding to the region. Having said that, it is important to note that eBrain Forum is active in different African networks on ICT for development. Mr Chilwesa has attended workshops in Ghana, Tanzania and Mali.
eBrain Forum is also IICD's IN (Information Networking) partner in Zambia. It is IICD?s intention to promote the use of ICT by establishing IN networks in the different countries. Through these networks there is a wide exchange of knowledge about all kinds of issues related to ICT and the civil society.
eBrain Forum activities
To achieve its aims eBrain Forum has started a number of online and offline activities. Online there is the website (http://www.ebrain.org.zm), a quarterly newsletter and a discussion group (dgroup). Offline activities are monthly meetings and lobby and advocacy activities.
Online
The aim of the eBrain Forum website is "to promote information and knowledge sharing and networking in issues relating to ICTs for development among individuals and institutions using ICT for development." The site is maintained by one of the founding members, Patricia Lumba from OneWorld Africa, who started constructing it in June 2002. An upgrade was made in April this year with the help of an independent person for the interactive features - namely the online application form, and a database. These haven't yet been linked to the site.
The target group is individuals and organizations practicing ICT for development. It is also for those interested in ICTs, and have an influence in its implementation, and delivery, such as policy makers, ISPs, regulatory telecommunication bodies, mostly in Zambia, but also beyond. But Patricia states that "the site still needs to be promoted, and more content included. Only members know about it, but it should be non-members as well. Marketing and promotion is part of the strategy." Recently a counter has been placed on it to enable the forum to monitor how many people visit the website.
eBrain Forum members are the content providers for the site. However Patricia explains, "E Brain is in the process of drawing up a maintenance strategy where more members will be a part of it's maintenance and content building process".
Charity is responsible for maintaining the membership database (in Excel) that might be published on the website as well. The newsletter is disseminated by mail and print on a quarterly basis and has about 250 subscribers. It is also published on the site. An editorial team of two people with a journalistic background is responsible for the content.
The dgroup was only launched in April 2003 but already has 44 subscribers. In early May it was used as a discussion space after a workshop on "Education and ICTs in Zambia". The most important reason for starting it is to make eBrain Forum all inclusive of people with interest in ICTs for development. Now there are some perceptions of eBrain Forum being a "closed shop" and they want to change it.
Monthly meetings
Among the most important activities of eBrain Forum are the monthly knowledge sharing meetings where a specific theme related to ICT for development is addressed. Every month another MT member is responsible to pick a theme, do some research and invite speakers. Because of their different professional backgrounds, the topics and thus the participants differ each month. ?When I organize it, there a mostly government people; with OneWorld there are more NGOs? explains Mr Mwale. The meetings are open for members and other interested people and advertising happens through mailinglists, press and targeted house to house dissemination of leaflets. Mr Chilwesa estimates that every month about 20-30 people attend from government, NGOs and private sector.
The sessions are always very lively and Mr Mwale thinks they are successful because some people come back more than once. ?They even ask for a specific institution to present. When we had invited an ISP, they wanted them to come back another time? he says. He refers to a session where dial-up connections were the theme and eBrain Forum had invited Zamtel (Zambia?s backbone ISP operator), some users and the Zambian Communications Authority to present their case. ?The aim was to try to come up with partnership solutions? comments Mr. Chilwesa.
Another interesting example was a meeting organised by Mr Mwale in September 2002. It targeted Members of the Zambian Parliament and aimed to sensitize them on the possible uses of ICTs in their respective constituencies. He explains how ?the MP?s are very interested in the topic, especially during election time. The election results are disseminated through ICTs like radio and accompanied by graphs and maps on TV. eBrain Forum tries to convince them that even beyond elections MP?s can use ICTs to work with their constituencies in rural areas.? To specify how, Mr Mwale gave the MP's an example where the government planned for a 25% fuel tax. Farmers with access to the internet calculated fuel costs and passed on their analysis to MP?s who lobbied and in the end achieved a reduction to 15%. Another concrete example has to do with market prices. ?There is an imbalance in cost price between the rural and urban areas. Farmers sell their maize at 8.000 K whereas on the market in Lusaka it costs 38.000 K. Information centres could help, but there are not many. Community radio stations have started to disseminate prices, but that is always one-way communication?.
The meeting with the MP?s was so successful that they invited eBrain Forum to come to Parliament and explain ICT possibilities to other MP?s. When asked if that has already been realized, Mr Mwale replies ?we don't have the resources to do that. We are investigating now how to do it substantially?. One of the problems is that the MP?s were demanding to be paid allowances in accordance with their parliamentary privileges which eBrain Forum can't afford?
Lobby and advocacy
In order to get ICTs on top of the Zambian development agenda, the people involved in eBrain Forum are active networkers with different government bodies. When there is a function, government officials are invited as guests of honour. ?We have a routine to meet with government people. We start with the ones we know; quite a number already?. Main purpose is for ICTs to become part of their planning process and also to warn them for possible dangers. The main players they have to deal with are the Ministry of Transport and Communication and the Cabinet Office.
The results up to the present (April 2003) are mixed. The officials addressed are receptive for the subject matter eBrain Forum offers and they have attended the meetings they were invited for. ?Government is willing to support, there is an indication for opening? says Mr Mwale. On the other hand, there is a tendency within government bodies to only refer to equipment when talking about ICTs. When there is some equipment in the budget they are already satisfied. Also they start applying ICTs mainly in financial departments. A promising indicator is the increased number of government job advertisements for people with IT skills in the last 3 months.
Alongside sensitisation, eBrain Forum would like to be involved in policy formulation as well. But a lot more interaction, meetings and demonstrations are needed before that next step can be taken.
Another group eBrain Forum tries to influence are international donors and investors. After the strategic plan is finalized, eBrain Forum plans to organize a meeting for international donors with offices in Lusaka to have a look at their ICT programmes and offer help.
As to the private sector Mr Chilwesa is an important lobbying person since he used to work for a private company. He explains that "there is a lot of fear in the middle management for computers. A recent paper that was presented at the launch of the Copperbelt Chapter revealed that only about 28% of marketing managers were familiar with computers, 50% didn't want to use computers and the remainder had no idea. These managers are the primary vehicles through which decision making is initiated.? If they themselves can't use the tools effectively it becomes extremely difficult for eBrain Forum to influence them and win their support." But if for instance a construction company would like to start automating, eBrain Forum could link them up with the right institutions.
Impact
All people involved in eBrain Forum spoken to, stress the fact that it is too early to draw any conclusions on the impact of the platform. "For now one can't say we have broken the chains of the digital divide" says Mr Chilwesa. First they have to establish a ground; make themselves known. No monitoring and evaluation tools are in place yet, that?s the last of the seven steps planned for in the strategic paper. They do assume however that what they offer is appreciated from the fact that participants of the monthly meetings are enthusiastic and membership and newsletter subscriptions are growing. In November 2002 eBrain Forum and IICD organised a Round Table on ICTs and sustainable livelihood. All the organisations that have attended are now preparing proposals, which is considered a positive indicator.
eBrain Forum would like to do a baseline study of the ICT situation in Zambia to measure availability of different ICTs, use, awareness, main players etc. This would also enable them to better measure their own results and impact. The latter seems to be no luxury if eBrain Forum is to show that their networking with the government actually leads to more attention and funds for ICTs on Zambia's development agenda.
When we take into consideration the different ?ingredients? of impact: opportunity, empowerment and security, it is not only hard to make a statement because of the recent start of the initiative. Those elements apply mainly to the local community, the eventual but indirect target group of eBrain Forum. The government, private sector and donors are the direct target group. By influencing them eBrain Forum hopes they will put ICTs on their agendas and thus promote opportunity, facilitate empowerment and enhance security. If eBrain Forum succeeds to encourage the government to use ICTs, empowerment will take place above all, because state institutions will become more accountable, transparent and responsive.
It seems the offline activities of eBrain Forum are more successful than the online ones. In a country like Zambia where connectivity is still expensive for the average person and contacts are very important, lobby and advocacy seems most successful through face to face contacts.
Sustainability
It is early for conclusions about sustainability too. For one thing eBrain Forum seems quite aware of the risk of financial vulnerability when depending on grants. The forum prefers to have some kind of business model and they also like to see themselves as service providers. They get for instance a 10% overhead for the Information Networking services they offer to IICD. But it is doubtful whether that leads to independence, especially since IICD has been more or less the only funder. One hope is that members are going to pay for their membership which should make eBrain Forum a little more independent.
It is obviously a problem that only about 30% of the budget for 2003 is covered as yet. eBrain Forum started without human and financial resources but at the stage they are in now, eBrain Forum first wants to have enough money before implementing any extra activities. That is a pity; maybe they could start off with little or no money to get things going. It is hard to judge though, because they have to take into account existing realities. Such as members of MP wanting more information but hanging on to their parliamentary privileges?
But it is not only a ?money matter? says Tjalling Vonk of IICD. If the related organisations would be more committed and would contribute more (money and resources), chances for survival would increase. Then eBrain Forum would move towards being a real network organisation, supported by a broad group of stakeholders.
As far as human resources are concerned, eBrain Forum is small and not many salaries need to be paid. Sustainability is an issue though, because the (unpaid) MT takes up a lot of implementing responsibilities while in fact they are meant to be a policy making body. Mr Chilwesa seems quite successful in delegating tasks to the MT "volunteers" and simply has no budget for extra staff. However, since all MT members have regular jobs elsewhere, one should wonder if this model is sustainable in the long run. The combination of policy making and implementing responsibilities of the MT is an issue as well in terms of governance. So is the lack of a body overseeing the MT.
Conclusion
To have a platform like eBrain Forum in place in Zambia seems to be essential. The use of ICTs for development is still low which makes awareness building, lobby and advocacy etc important. Since the government is very controlling in Zambia, it is an obvious choice for eBrain Forum to target influencing it. One may assume that their multi-stakeholder approach enhances the chances of success.
There are some issues though in the way eBrain Forum plays this important role. One is the fact that eBrain Forum doesn't have a monitoring and evaluation system in place yet and thus can't measure if their approach is or will be successful. Another thing is the dependency on IICD and the long way to sustainability. Lastly there is the governance issue of the unpaid MT having a lot of implementing responsibilities and the absence of an overseeing body.
Footnotes
(1) According to the World Bank World Development Report 2000/2001
(2) International Institute for Communication and Development ? http://www.iicd.org
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