Jaco Renken

The University of Manchester · Global Development Institute

Given the growing salience of digital transformation within international development, this paper presents the results of a systematic literature review on “digital-transformation-for-development” (DX4D). Using a variety of different search terms, a corpus of 75 papers was analysed. This paper presents general features of the literature and the re...

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create a global need to deliver on an agenda which relies heavily on quantitative data. This creates a demand for human capital with the requisite statistical and data skills to work on the challenges represented by the SDGs. Increasingly, long-term domestic solutions to the building of statistical capaci...

Growing broadband connectivity is central to development strategies of all countries. Thus measurement of that connectivity and associated broadband divides is an essential foundation for telecommunications and digital policy. Yet traditional broadband measures face challenges of data completeness, accuracy, relevance, timeliness and accessibility....

COVID-19 accentuates the case for a global, rather than an international, development paradigm. The novel disease is a prime example of a development challenge for all countries, through the failure of public health as a global public good. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the falsity of any assumption that the global North has all the experti...

The paper seeks to identify the factors that motivate a person who champions ICT4D initiatives. Given the important contributions of ICT4D champions to initiative success, better understanding of their motivations holds the potential to identify, develop and deploy such individuals more effectively, harnessing their potential positive contributions...

Researchers have studied champions in diverse settings and kinds of initiatives; a significant body of work on champions has also steadily grown in the information systems discipline. However, we still lack clarity about the distinctiveness of IS champions. Given the poor track record of IS project success and champions’ importance to that success,...

The application of information and communication technologies to socio‐economic development (ICT4D) is a complex sociotechnical phenomenon. That complexity has led to repeated calls for diversification in the theories, methodologies, and methods used in this field. This paper investigates one potential diversification: the use of social network ana...

The proliferation of digital technologies, and the emergence of global lifelong learning has steered the transformation of education from the predominant classroom based learning to more flexible technology enhanced learning. However, realizing technology enhanced learning’s much anticipated benefits towards improving the educational potential of H...

The proliferation of digital technologies, and the emergence of global lifelong learning has steered the transformation of education from the predominant classroom based learning to more flexible technology enhanced learning. However, realizing technology enhanced learning’s much anticipated benefits towards im-proving the educational potential of...

Where do ICT4D champions come from? The paper explores this question because, as is demonstrated from literature, knowledge and understanding about the origins of champions are insufficient, yet these individuals are known for their decisive contributions to ICT4D initiatives. An empirical exploration of the origins of three ICT4D champions is repo...

This paper looks at the intersection of two growing trends in international development – use of justice in development theory, and use of data in development practice – and asks what data-justice-for-development would mean. The rationale for this can be the presence of current data injustices in developing countries, and different framings for dat...

Objective – A study on the impact of Public Access Venue (PAV) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) was conducted in Botswana libraries with Internet connections. The main objective was to determine the impact of ICTs in public libraries. Methods –Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework as a theoretical lens, the study used semi-st...

This paper presents an analytic review of literature on the role of key individuals linked to the success of IS initiatives; namely, project champions. We follow a systematic literature review approach and select papers for inclusion and then exclusion drawn from the two domains of relevance: information systems and innovation studies. Inductive ca...

In this paper attention is drawn to key actors who make a substantial difference to ICT4D projects by putting themselves on the line in order to drive projects forward. We advance the notion of 'ICT4D project champions' as a descriptive reference to these visionary individuals and provide a definition. An initial conceptualisation is offered charac...

Information Systems (IS) curriculum development in developing countries faces the challenge of balancing conformance to international trends while remaining relevant to the local context. Model curricula such as IS2010 provide a clear and up-to-date reflection of IS curricula trends. However, such curricula cannot be directly implemented especially...

The proliferation of computer technology in both our personal andprofessional lives, and particularly during the last decade, has created anenvironment in which there are varying perceptions of, and ideas about, the value ofInformation and Communication Technology (ICT) and computers. In order tobenefit from this, especially in a defence environmen...

This exploratory study examined the perceptions of employers and employees of the IS industry in Botswana regarding the role of the educational offering as it pertains to the skills demand in the local job market. Using secondary data from an IS graduate tracer study, organisational survey and literature on national and international programme offe...

This paper discusses the research approach, strategy, and research design of a novice qualitative researcher. Experiences relating to data collection, interpretation, ethical considerations and lessons learned are reported. These experiences are compared to those presented in literature on conducting field research and not only confirm, but extend...

Information systems and information communication technology (IS/ICT) have a profound impact on the modern business environment. The role of IS/ICT in organizations has changed significantly over the past forty years. Its initial data-processing support function has evolved into it functioning as a corporate resource of strategic importance and com...