Technology & Industrialisation in Developing Countries Programme

The Technology and Industrialisation in Developing Countries Programme encompasses the following research projects:

The Diffusion of Innovation in Low Income Countries (DILIC)

The Diffusion of Technology in Low Income Countries (DILIC) project has been awarded funding from the ESRC and DFID and is supported by UNCTAD and the Ghanaian government. The DILIC project examines the determinants and impact of technology transfer in and to the low income countries. Our project partners are UNU-MERIT and the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana.

Read the Survey Report here

MNEmerge: MNEs and Global Development

The MNEmerge: MNEs and Global Development is a collaborative research project funded by the EU 7th Framework programme. Its aim is to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing countries using case studies, quantitative data as well as policy analysis.

Mobile Technologies and Health in India and China

The Mobile Technologies and Health in India and China project, funded by Fell Fund and hosted by the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD), brings together research and expertise from four departments and three divisions across the University. This project investigates the ways in which mobile phone utilisation can affect access to healthcare services among rural populations in Rajasthan (India) and Gansu (China). To carry out this research, a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, social network analysis, and participatory agent-based modelling will be employed.

Mobile Payment Innovations Improve Water Service Delivery in Tanzania

The Mobile Technologies on Water Governance in Tanzania project has found that mobile payments and related innovations are improving urban water service provision in East Africa by improving revenue collection and reducing corruption. Water service providers in Tanzania often struggle to provide satisfactory water supplies in its rapidly growing cities due to inadequate revenue collection and inefficient billing and payment systems. Mobile payment innovations are being used to improve public service delivery in East Africa by increasing the ease of payment for customers, expanding revenue collection for water utilities, and removing opportunities for theft, bribery, and collusion.

The project examined the use of mobile money applications and wireless pay point networks for water bill payments in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data include 1,000,000 water payments made using different payment methods, 1097 surveys of water users in the city, and over 40 interviews with water sector officials and representatives with the telecommunications industry. Personnel on the project include Aaron Krolikowski (School of Geography and the Environment), Prof Xiaolan Fu (Department of International Development), and Dr Robert Hope (School of Geography and the Environment).

Read more about the project findings here

The Role of Management Practices in Closing the Productivity Gap

The Role of Management Practices in Closing the Productivity Gap project identifies key aspects of management activity for productivity, assesses the role of management practices in the productivity gap and generates ideas for best practice in productivity improvements to be applied to developing countries. An interdisciplinary approach is adopted, with a mix of case study and survey methods. See working papers under this theme here.

Rural E-Services in India

The Rural E-Services in India project is developing new, sustainable ways to deliver e-services and develop innovation capacity in poverty-stricken communities. By developing a system whereby farmers in rural India could resolve problems with crops using mobile camera phones, the project made it possible for them to discuss their challenges and get rapid responses using modern communication technology. This is a multi-disciplinary project collaborating with computer engineers and NGOs in India.