Call for Papers

DIRSI's partner, the International Development Research Centre -IDRC - has issued a call for papers on Open Development: Technological, organizational and social innovations transforming the developing world.

"A recent document entitled Open ICT4D, inspired by observations in the field, as well as by recent theoretical writings, set out the hypothesis that the appropriate application of "open" principles can catalyze the connecting and communicating power of ICTs to enable social, economic, and political development. Openness is understood as a range of social activities that favor more access, participation, and collaboration. These principles guide us toward more inclusive, participatory, and collaborative social relationships between actors (governments, citizens, civil society groups, businesses, etc.). The hypothesis states that these open social arrangements provide the context within which the enabling mechanisms of ICTs can be most effectively catalyzed."

This call for papers seeks to test and refine the above hypothesis by bringing together expert views and evidence concerning the following points:

How does (or might) ICT-enabled, increased access to information and communication possibilities, as well as new forms of participation and collaboration, result in social, economic, and political development?
What are the possible downsides and risks of expanding openness in the cultural, social, economic, and political spheres, and how can we mitigate them?"
Abstracts must be submitted by 20 July 2009. Successful candidates will be invited to submit a 6,000 to 8,000 word paper by November 30, as well as to present their findings at a conference to be held at the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, provisionally planned for March 2010

For details download the call for papers here (PDF) .