Around the world, private sector actors, civil society organizations, and governments are engaged in numerous initiatives that are bringing the benefits of Internet access to rural communities. However, an analysis of these initiatives and their success or lack thereof is quite limited, which stymies information flow, cross learning, and collaborations. This workshop looks at ways in which that data gap can be bridged by bringing together a roundtable of various stakeholders from civil society, business, technical community, and governments. Some key questions that will orient the discussion are: What are the key knowledge gaps in this area and how should they be addressed? Are the information needs of governments, the technical community and civil society being appropriately addressed by current research efforts? What are some good (and possibly bad) examples that address these needs? How can further collaboration be fostered between data producers and users? Are current research methods and standards appropriate? How can data collected at various national, sub-national, and community levels be brought to the forefront of cross-sector and cross-country collaborations? Is crowdsourcing a viable option for the collection of such data? What other outreach initiatives can best bring together data on such endeavors? Are there barriers to divulging data on private sector initiatives, and if so, what are the ways in which these can be addressed?
Speakers:
Estavillo Flores, María Elena
Galpaya , Helani
Galperin, Hernan
Mathews, Rajan
Gillwald, Alison
Barbosa, Alexandre
Yedaly, Moctar
