[kictanet] How To Stop Paying Per Diems for ICT4D Project Participation?

Tue Jan 26 00:27:34 EAT 2016

Thanks Nanjira

Great piece. I think per diems for participation, not just in ICT4D
projects, but all NGO and government related projects should be highly
discouraged. It kills the real spirit of cooperation and passion. I think
only real costs should be considered eg out-of-location transport and
accomodation.

On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 9:38 PM, Nanjira Sambuli via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Ali, Walu, this reminds me of a conversation on PDPM: Per Diem Policy
> Making.
>
>
> How To Stop Paying Per Diems for ICT4D Project Participation?
> <http://ictworks.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=f9e6e2def5&e=f995a322e7> *By
> Wayan Vota on January 25, 2016*
>
> [image: ict4d-per-diem]
>
> In the research article Paying Per Diems for ICT4D Project Participation:
> A Sustainability Challenge
> <http://ictworks.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=e26f600995&e=f995a322e7>
> by Terje Aksel Sanner and Johan Ivar Sæbø of Univeristy of Oslo, Norway,
> the authors note what we all have experienced.
>
> By paying for attention, ICT4D projects obtain immediate responses from an
> understaffed government system, which sooner or later will have to retract
> its attention to cater to other equally important tasks. Yet for ICT4D
> practitioners, the number of workshops and participants are measurable
> indicators by which projects are evaluated, and are crucial to obtain,
> keep, and grow international donor funding.
> [image: per-deim-ict4d]
> <http://ictworks.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=a03ede9d36&e=f995a322e7>
> The researchers note that the use of per diems to attract project
> participation is certainly not the only obstacle to ICT4D sustainability.
> Other obstacles include:
>
>    - Underdeveloped technology and support infrastructure.
>    - Technical bias of projects to focus on the technology vs. the users.
>    - Lack of alignment of interests between projects and users.
>    - Pilot project orientation, or “pilotitis”.
>
> However, the researchers contend that per diem is a contributing factor
> that has not received its fair share of attention, and per diem is a
> complicating factor that may induce recipients to abstain from critiquing
> unsustainable interventions.
>
> But how to combat this issue when civil servants expect that their low
> salary positions will be enhanced by workshops with monetary incentives
> such as per diems, which are perceived as legitimate income? If ICT4D
> practitioners don’t pay per diems, and others do, their projects may seem
> to have less user engagement and adoption, which would directly threaten
> project sustainability in the short-term, much less the long term.
> Two Possible Ways to Stop Paying Per Diems
>
> The researchers argue that on-the-job training is a viable option,
> especially for refresher training. It allows for ICT4D practitioners to:
>
>    - Perform a reality check on the intervention.
>    - Identify the right people for training.
>    - Become sensitive to participants’ actual work practices.
>    - Learn how technology innovations may coexist with equipment and
>    routines already in place.
>
> Of course, on-site training can be more costly in time, effort, and
> funding and sometimes it is unrealistic due to the sheer number of
> potential users. However, the main barrier to adoption could be the
> perception that it’s unfair because it cheats participants out of
> “legitimate” allowances.
>
> They say that another way to strengthen the capacity of local institutions
> is for donors to establish a shared pool of financial resources and
> technical assistance that stretches beyond the lifespan of individual
> projects in close collaboration with ministerial functionaries. This
> resource pool would be utilized by ICT4D projects to cultivate public
> sector structures that can implement policies and harmonize ICT4D projects
> over time.
> What is Your Opinion?
>
> We can all agree that paying per diems creates false incentives for ICT4D
> project participation, and the practice should stop. But how to do it?
> Should we focus on on-the-job training and shared local resource pools? Or
> is that a fool’s errand and we should do something else? If so, what?
>
> What has worked for you? What hasn’t? *Please tell us in the comments
> <http://ictworks.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=ee8d54a729&e=f995a322e7>*
> .
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