Development and Democracy/Research

In this policy brief, the authors examine the challenges that currently prevent Least Developed Countries (LDCs) from harnessing a capabilities-based approach to leveraging digital transformation for development.

The Asian region is in the eye of a perfect storm for a wholesale digital transformation, one that has been accelerated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The region is home to two-thirds of the world’s population and a significant market base for dominant Chinese and US tech interests today…

This article was written by Anita Gurumurthy and Amay Korjan for the German NGO Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung (Forum on Environment and Development), which is a civil-society network that coordinates the activities of German NGOs in international political processes on sustainable development and…

The U.S.-driven Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity would result in a complete stranglehold over the economic systems of the participating countries.

In November 2019, India walked out from the trade pact called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) involving…

Shifting macro-level trends are restructuring the conditions under which platforms have operated for long, and are redetermining their actions and choices. Furthermore, a shrinking financial and tightening legislative landscape has created significant roadblocks for the growth-first model that…

Over the past two years, there have been concerning instances of excess and malpractice by Big Tech, leading to serious social, political, and economic consequences. These include data extractivism, increased worker precarity, setbacks in gender justice, the domination of developing countries'…

The entry of generative AI applications in the digital marketplace has intensified recent public debates about AI. Silicon Valley’s ‘move fast’ techno-optimism is now under the scanner. A humane and just AI system requires a radical restructuring of the global political-economic regime of…

Tech titans are fostering new forms of digital colonialism, both within wealthy countries and on the global stage. But it’s not too late to build a digital economy that works for everyone.

The digital economy is not working.

Democracy, freedom, and prosperity were the original…

Over the past two years, there have been concerning instances of excess and malpractice by Big Tech, leading to serious social, political, and economic consequences. These include data extractivism, increased worker precarity, setbacks in gender justice, the domination of developing countries'…

DataSyn is a free monthly newsletter from IT for Change providing concise and relevant analysis on all matters concerning Big Tech. Building on our strong tradition of deep research and policy engagement on the digital economy with a focus on the Global South, DataSyn delivers quality analysis…

Through this policy brief, our colleagues ask us to think beyond the current exploitative digital paradigm & re-imagine the rules of development, distribution, & use of tech, based on a feminist social contract grounded in human rights, social justice, & gender equality.

We're…

In this project, IT for Change, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), and country partners will unpack how micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) participation in the global economy is increasingly shaped by the rapid deployment of digital technologies (e.g. ERP, RPA, platformized models),…

The context of society- and economy-wide platformization and an expanding spectrum of platform workplaces necessitates a re-think of labor rights at the intersection of data, data-enabled algorithms, and work process reorganization. This working paper takes stock of emerging debates in this…

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Tenure Guidelines on sustainable governance adopted by the Committee on World Food Security, FIAN International and the Working Group on Land and Territories of the IPC – a coalition of social movements working on food sovereignty and the Right to Food…

IT for Change has undertaken a project to frame gender-just design principles for the various components of information systems being used to implement public welfare schemes. This includes the design of citizen-facing applications, data sharing guidelines, and overall database design, among…