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The European Space Agency ESA actively promotes the use of satellite based telecommunication infrastructures in developing countries in order to empower organizations and individuals. This is called Capacity Building through ICT. The added value of satellite communication is significant due to the lack of wired infrastructure, the extreme networking environment, and the large geography of the countries of interest.
A training center in Ivory Coast has now access to the internet
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Capacity Building projects are initiatives usually provided to developing country societies aimed at increasing competencies in ICT technology and applications in order to meet the Millennium Goals set by the United Nations. A critical success factor for capacity building initiatives via ICT is to make use of a holistic approach while introducing and setting up of the project. Technological, operational and strategic aspects must be covered and the social, cultural, financial and organizational challenges need to be tackled. To underestimate one of these non-technical factors could lead to a dramatic outcome and the failure of the project.
To crystallize this holistic approach, TNO developed together with her partners IICD from the Netherlands, ActNow from Italy and Avanti from the UK a reference model. The reference model assists in the conception, design and implementation of Capacity Building projects in order to enhance the chances of meeting their objectives.
The reference model describes the aforementioned aspects like technological, operational, strategically, social, cultural, financial and organizational aspects. The target audience of the reference model is the people who are involved in the Capacity Building projects whereby ICT and satellite communication are introduced. The reference model supports theses users during all phases of such a project in an interactive way. These users like NGO’s, the local project manager and the project initiator is able to indicate his/her required level of support. In the reference model a translation is made from typical western type of project management methodologies into an approach that fits within the African culture. The reference model is currently in use by two different projects in Mali and Ivory Coast, whereby the usability is checked which could lead to an update of the model.
X-ray pictures are now locally scanned and sent digitally to Bamako
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In the project in Mali there are 7 hospitals connected to internet via a satellite connection. This enables these hospitals to get support for the interpretation of X-ray pictures. These pictures are sent via the Internet to radiologists in the capital Bamako. In Ivory Coast there is a connection between the hospital, the training centre and the library to the internet via satellite communication. During the execution of these projects the reference model is currently in use and will be reviewed. The local users use a weblog in order to log their experience and their comments to the reference model. All these comments, along with a review from UNESCO, will lead to an updated version of the reference model embedding more specificity about the local context of developing countries.
