“Expanding mobile networks and falling costs could transform communication between African citizens and
governments. So far, however, attempts to harness new technologies to improve transparency and accountability in
Africa and elsewhere have had disappointing results. What is going wrong? Research suggests that an important reason for this failure is a poor understanding of technologies and
limited skills in developing and using them. It seems that civil society organisations (CSOs) and governments often ‘re-invent the flat tyre’: experimenting
with new tools without finding out what has been tried (often unsuccessfully) before. They also do not follow best
practices in how to source, develop and test technologies to ensure these are ‘fit for purpose’. Decision makers should
focus on building an effective innovation ecosystem with better links between technologists and accountability actors
in both government and civil society to enable learning from successes – and mistakes.”
