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The Internet, cell phones and related technologies are profoundly affecting social, economic and political institutions worldwide, particularly in new and emerging democracies. In the hands of reformers and activists, these tools can overcome resource disparities and entrenched monopolies of power and voice.
Examples abound of uses of the Internet in the democratic context, from promoting citizen advocacy to increasing government transparency and accountability. Citizens, civil and non-governmental organizations, companies, civil servants, politicians, and large state and private-sector bureaucracies are employing technologies and the Internet to enhance communication, improve access to important information, and increase their efficiency, resulting in strengthened democratic processes and more effective governance. Encouraging and improving the use of such technologies in democratic development has thus become an imperative spanning a broad range of programming areas for NDI.
Increasingly, in response to the needs and requests of our partners, NDI has implemented a diverse range of programs with critical information and communications technology (ICT) components, targeting democratic institutions and/or supporting democrats in general. Everywhere NDI works, democracy practitioners and activists are using new technologies to improve access to information across borders and issue areas, and to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness.
About ICT Programming & Democracy
Information and communication technologies present benefits and challenges to democratic development. The Internet provides a voice for all people and groups - democratic and undemocratic. Undemocratic forces are employing powerful technologies with equal, if not greater, efficiency and scope, which further highlights the importance of empowering democrats and institutions in emerging democracies to use ICTs as a tool to enhance the information sharing, efficiency and transparency that are crucial to building and sustaining democracy.
Providing access to all citizens, particularly those in less developed socioeconomic areas in developing and developed nations, presents a related developmental challenge. Lack of access to technologies such as telephones, television, radio and others have frustrated development efforts for decades. This access is currently limited to a small segment of the world's population, and the technological divide between those with access and those without is significant and growing. At first glance this appears to pose a serious challenge to exploiting the potential of the Internet for democratic development and citizen participation in democratic governance. NDI's experience suggests, however, that pragmatic strategies for using the Internet and related technologies notwithstanding the technological divide are critical in beginning to narrow the gap and enhancing participation by those currently disconnected.
The primary factors that hinder access to Internet and related technologies for the global, and especially rural, populations are: 1) level of technology and infrastructure; 2) cost; 3) cultural, linguistic or other social barriers; and/or 4) low political will to address these issues. Yet there are thousands of important organizations, and millions of people, who do not necessarily face these issues and who reside in emerging democracies. In many countries these are civil servants, members of Parliament and parliamentary staff, NGO and civil-society organization staff and members, teachers and students, leadership and staff in various institutions inside and outside the governmental sphere, political party members and/or staff, employees in all spheres of the private sector, and more. These people almost certainly come from disconnected communities, but work or are involved with organizations that could and should be connected.
Many of these organizations are disconnected not because they lack telecommunications infrastructure or providers of equipment and training, nor because they lack a recognition of the importance of getting connected and communicating or sharing information. They remain disconnected because they lack either the moderate financial resources required, or the technical and managerial expertise to adequately plan for and procure the needed equipment, systems and services. These are areas where NDI provides assistance.
As a democracy practitioner, NDI’s developmental assistance must deal with the task at hand: providing useful support to enhance democratic development through Internet and related technologies, where appropriate, within those sectors of society where such support is currently practical. In doing so, we inevitably bridge people within these societies from one side of the divide to the other.
NDI has learned to apply both an in-depth knowledge of the democratic workings of its partners gained over time, and the technical and project management expertise needed to work with information technology (IT) vendors -- providing a crucial middle layer necessary for a successful IT initiative. In addition, NDI's success is linked to that of the project and the partner, with the ultimate goal being the development of sustainable systems using local staff, equipment and service providers which support the democratic process. NDI's ICT and democracy programs are designed to support democratic principles such as good governance, accountability, transparency, efficiency, communication and outreach. ICTs are used in a crosscutting manner, strengthening initiatives in governance, political parties, election processes, citizen participation, and gender programs.
Introduction to our ICT Programs
NDI has conducted successful ICT programs for over a decade in all regions of the world. Project Vote, an NDI voter education program supporting the 1994 South African local government elections, had an early and impactful ICT component. After the elections, NDI was the only organization in the country that could gather information on elected councilors from all 768 of South Africa's newly created municipalities (then called “transitional local authorities”), and that could compile that information in a database. The database was printed in a volume, widely distributed, and then handed over to the Department of Local Government and Housing and the South African Local Government Association for ongoing maintenance. Since that time, NDI has conducted a wide variety of programs with ICT components around the world.
Over time as technological changes have accelerated and Internet use has become more prevalent, more NDI partners and program managers have asked for ICT-related assistance. Donors have also become more interested in this type of democracy programming. NDI has participated and presented its work in several international forums, such as the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Workshop on the Internet and Democracy Building in Wilton Park, U.K., in May 2001, and the International IDEA Democracy Forum in Stockholm. Since 2003, further collaboration opportunities on the World Bank's Development Gateway project, with Steven Clift of e-democracy.org, and with the National Academy of Engineering on Technology and Peacebuilding, has characterized NDI’s participation in a broad range of ICT initiatives. In 2007, NDI was recognized as one of the “Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of the Internet and Politics” by PoliticsOnline and the World E-Gov Forum.
As the field of technology and democracy becomes more visible, NDI will continue its leading work, having worked in emerging democracies for over 14 years and gained considerable experience. Throughout its experiences in ICT, NDI has also come to recognize and realize the potential that technology holds for democracy support, and continues to include technology components in its democratic development programs where beneficial, feasible and sustainable.
