So I’m back again in Ethiopia to evaluate a project which has begun to integrate digital data collection into a community-based early warning system. My prior blog here, and here briefly describes the system which I helped design in 2007 .
I started out the day in Addis scribbling on a piece paper, drinking a mixed fruit juice drink which I’ve greatly missed since my last trip in 2012. The piece of paper is a brainstorm of pictures, arrows and images- rather than any “data”, “numbers”, columns or even rows of a database. I’m partial to little pieces of paper and scribbling out pictures because it helps me stay closer to the 90/10 rule. In short it’s about the people, processes, partnerships, and trust networks that really push an ICT project forward. That’s the 90%. The remaining 10% (others would say 20) is the technology itself. I know this brainstorming session will be drastically changed by the insightful and ever powerful conversations with both the local partner and community women. It’s just a start for met to catch up with them.
hmmthoughts 