We all know we have a problem – just look at the map above. We say our work in ICT4D, M4D, mHealth, ICT4E, etc will reach “scale” and even (financial) sustainability, yet the reality is a profusion of similar software and technology applications around the world that never leave the pilot phase. We focus on responding to RFP’s that ask for something new or innovative with limited, bespoke solutions that die the day after funding ends.
We keep reinventing the flat tire.
This problem isn’t confined to one group – funders, implementers, techies, dev experts, we are all complicit. We all have sinned in the name of scale and sustainability. It is time for us to come clean, make amends, and seek a better way forward.
Read more at: http://www.ictworks.org/news/2013/03/29/want-to-scale-ict4d-projects-stop-developing-software/
