Technology Salon: A Community of Practice

In April of 2008, I started the Technology Salon as a forum where technology and development professionals could share there opinions on emerging trends in information and communication technologies and international development in an intimate and informal discussion around:

• technology’s impact on donor-sponsored technical assistance delivery, and
• private enterprise driven economic development, facilitated by technology.

Now, almost a year later, the Technology Salon is developing into a real community of practice – a network of development and technology professionals who share a common passion for ICT4D, and through regular interaction and communication, are improving their knowledge and implementation expertise in empowering development with technology.

From its inception and reinforced through feedback from its participants, I’ve found there are three attributes keys to the Technology Salon success and growth:

1. Conversation, not presentation
   The Technology Salon is primarily a forum for discussion, so presentations are discouraged and Power Point is generally banned. Speakers have only 10-15 minutes at the beginning to present their activity, before participants are free to ask questions, share their own experiences, and drive the conversation in a direction that interests them. This both brings forth the group’s knowledge and keeps participants engaged for the full meeting.
2. Intimacy of participants:
   The Technology Salon attendance is capped at 15 people to make sure each participant has the opportunity to speak and share their experience. This cap also encourages pre-registration and subsequent attendance. Last but not least, it allows for quality pre-and post-event networking by participants.
3. Confidentiality of opinions:
   The Technology Salon employs the Chatham House Rule – what is said in its discussions can only be attributed to the Salon itself, not to any specific participant. At the same time, the Salon is not recorded nor the discussion transmitted outside its meeting place. These precautions allow participants to speak their opinions freely, thoughts that would not be shared if participants worried about attribution or out-of-context quoting.

In 2009, I look to improve on the Technology Salon’s success while maintaining its three key attributes – conversation, intimacy, privacy. Its goal is to evolve beyond its current exclusive nature into a standard of discourse between technology and development professionals.

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Calming Grant Circle Car Crashes

As drivers speed along New Hampshire Avenue in Petworth, they come to Grant Circle – which is often a surprise by the number of cars that crash through the park. Almost on a weekly basis, each weekend morning shows us that driving fast at night through our neighbourhood will get you a parking space in Grant Circle.

I wonder: what can we do to slow drivers down, to stop the madness before we loose more than a fire hydrant or a tree.

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mHealth in Development: March Technology Salon

Epidemics and a shortage of healthcare workers continue to present grave challenges for governments and health providers in the developing world. Yet in these same places, the explosive growth of mobile communications over the past decade offers a new hope for the promotion of quality healthcare – billions now have access to reliable technology that can also support healthcare delivery.

How can this access to mobile technology, radically improve healthcare services – even in some of the most remote and resource-poor environments?

Please join Inveneo’s Eric Blantz and Vital Wave Consulting’s Dr. Karen Coppock in a discussion around mHealth – how technology can empower better and more efficient healthcare services throughout the developing world, with an emphasis on mobile and cellular technologies.

Opportunities for mHealth in Development
March Technology Salon in San Francisco
March 3rd, 8:30-10am
@ Inveneo
972 Mission Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco

Of special focus is the recent United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership report, mHealth for Development, authored by Vital Wave Consulting.

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Poop Patrol in Pethworth

Grant Circle is one of the reasons that I moved to Petworth. Its a beautiful park that calms me after a long day at work. That is until I walk Dog Taxi in Grant Circle and we both have to navigate the dog poop minefield.

It seems that some of my pet-owning neighbours are not so good about scooping their pet’s poop and frozen dog feces build up quick in the winter. Mad at yet another pile of poo, I decided to measure the laziness of my neighbours, and bagged and weighed the canine excrement:

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Cell Phones vs Computers: February Technology Salon

With the explosion of mobile handsets and the faltering of the “$100 laptop” idea, the international development community is focusing on the mobile phone as an empowerment tool, while questioning investments in computers. Is this wise? Is there a data continuum that includes both? Or should development dollars really shift to one platform at a loss to the other?

Please join us for a spirited debate where Troy Etulain of USAID will push us to envision a future where development objectives are achieved on mobile phones, while Wayan Vota will back computers, desktops even, as the true tool of choice to accelerate development with technology.

Katherine Townsend of State will moderate the discussion with an eye to finding realistic recommendations for the development community.

Our gracious host is the UN Foundation and I’ll have coffee and donuts for a good morning sugar rush to wake everyone up.

Mobile Phones vs. Computers: a False ICT4D Choice?
February Technology Salon
Thursday, February 12th, 8:30-10am
UN Foundation Conference Room
1800 Mass Avenue, NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20036 (map)

Do note that seating is limited and the UN Foundation is in a secure building. So the first dozen (12) to RSVP will be confirmed attendance and then there will be a waitlist.

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