1. SAFIPA
South Africa – Finland Knowledge
Partnership on ICT
Presentation to ICT4RD hosted by SANGONET
2 November 2011
Wanderers Club
http://safipa.com
Presenter Contributor
Thiru Naidoo-Swettenham Kristiina Lahde
National Programme Coordinator Former Chief Technical Advisor
tswettenham@csir.co.za klahde@csir.co.za

2. Overview
1. Key issues in Information Society
2. Overview of South Africa – Finland Bilateral Partnerships
3. Implementation of SAFIPA programme
4. Component 1 – Capacity Building
5. Component 2- Project Portfolio -Innovative IS applications and
New Solutions for End Users
6. Component 3- Networking and Dissemination
7. Sustainability of SAFIPA Portfolio
8. Lessons learnt in ICT4D -SAFIPA Experience
9. Recommendations for other ICT4D initiatives

3. 1. Key Issues in Information
Society
Diagram of problems
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Skills capacity Lack of innovations that ICT services not well ICT industry mainly
constraints significantly impact the developed – lack of based on imported
digital divide services to marginalized technology
community
Lack of
Low ICT-deployment interaction
Competition for
talents between
industry &
science
Low R&D expenditure
on ICT
Mobility of
researchers
Lack of capacity building from
school level to research level

4. 2. SA-Finland Bilateral Partnerships
COFISA –
Regional
innovation •In country technical
systems(20 assistance
•Local Programme
07-2010) Management office
•Encourage diverse
participation and
BIOFISA - SAFIPA – previously excluded
Regional SA – Innovative •Capacity building
Programme in ICT for integral to all projects
Finland •Replication and
Biotechnology Development
Bilateral (2008-2011)
sustainability
(2008-2011) •Encourage networks
and collaborative sharing
•Support local expertise
•Facilitate international
expertise in development
INSPIRE- areas
Regional ICT •Fixed term duration – 3
programme years
(DoC) (2008-
2011)

5. 3. 1. Implementation of SAFIPA
Programme
• Key elements of SAFIPA Programme:
In country technical assistance – Chief Technical Advisor and National
Programme Coordinator, Project officer and Project manager
Diverse project portfolio management (spanning 25 projects supported
externally and 76 implementation partners) - deployment in nine provinces
in SA (high representation in Gauteng and Western Cape)
• Programme design:
Based on National ICT R&D Policy - Focus on building the information
society in a systemic way and not only project grant support
• Investment: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland provided funding of
€3 million and the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa
provided ZAR 9 million for the three year programme.
• Governance: SVB oversight and SC management of programme

6. 3.2 Key elements of SAFIPA
implementation
Technical assistance
by CTA/NPC and other
specific advisors
3.5 %
Component 3:
SAFIPA programme Networking and
Component1: management office Dissemination
Capacity Building @ CSIR Meraka Institute 8.8 %
5.6 %
Component 2: Innovative
IS Solutions
65.1 %

7. 4.1 Institutional Capacity Building
Key objective: Strengthened institutional capacity
• to enable the South African information society and generation of new knowledge,
to perform applied research and to make information more accessible to the
primary beneficiaries of SAFIPA, especially marginalized groups.
Implementation activities
• Mentoring
• Meraka Institutional Capacity Building
• Academic Knowledge Exchange
• Foresight in ICT sector (ICT in Health and ICT in Education)
• Leading Research and Innovation in Expert Organisations
• Strategy support for Meraka Restructuring
• Treasure Map Training – empowerment of Community ICT practitioners
• ICT & Mobile Business Building programme

8. 4.2 SAFIPA Capacity Building and Training
Participants and trainers at
SAFIPA hosted training
events (left and above) and
participants on KEF (right)

9. 5.1 Innovative IS
Applications & New Solutions for End Users
Key objective: The identification and successful implementation of projects
which result in innovations for the benefit of the marginalized groups
and poor rural communities.
• SAFIPA provided funds for domestic innovations and the development of
innovative information society applications which will serve the end users.
• The funding is channelled via a number of sub-projects that include the
participation of local and international institutions engaged in applied
research and development.
Implementation mechanisms
• Grant making process and evaluation of proposals at PMO and SC.
• Roadshows in inception phase, open calls for proposals, calls left open for
a year. Collaboration encouraged but not forced. TA provided to
strengthen proposals.
• Restricted second round of funding to strengthen 12 projects in second
phase.

10. 5.2 Innovative IS
Applications & New Solutions for End Users
Implementation mechanisms
• Projects grouped under themes and a Portfolio of projects supported in:
eHealth, eLearning, Rural development, Accessiblity, Innovation &
Entrepreneurship
• Project support range from ZAR 125,000 to ZAR3,500 000
• Stage gate review.
• Mixed beneficiary base – schools, universities, CBOs, academic related
NGOs, SMMEs, public and private funded research institutes, corporate
sector, local public sector
• Support at different stages of ICT Innovation Pipeline –from proof of
concept, technology demonstrator, pilots for replication and scaling up to
commercialisation locally and internationally
• Participating organisations nationally 36, Estimated over 5000 individuals
impacted by programme outputs

11. 5.3 SAFIPA Projects and Partners
REEDHOUSESYSTEMS
XtownX®

12. 5.4. SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D
ICT and Education
• Nokia Math – Large scale pilot for maths on mobile via Mxit, Positive results
of 14 % improvement in Phase 1& 2 independent evaluation , proposed
delivery to 10 000 learners in Dinaledi schools for mass replication in 2011,
Eastern and Western Cape and North West Province
• FOSS- FET – train the trainers program in Open Source at targeted FETs via
workshops in nine provinces, proposed linkages with Knowledge Centre
Creation Hubs (5) and E Skills Institute of DOC, strong linkage with
Municipalities in KZN for ICT Entrepreneur program
• YESA- mobile platform to encourage and track extramural maths and science
participation – monitor pipeline of SET for tertiary education and for
scholarships and bursaries, national and regional
• Mathsportal.org – an open source collaborative maths teaching portal to
support maths educators to create open source curriculum, support with
instructional DVD and national training workshops

13. 5.5 SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D
ICT and Health
• Sociotech -Development of curriculum to support E-Health, Establishment of
ICT incubation hub in CPUT, Understanding ICT needs from user interface of
home based health care worker, interactive website and design for mobile
platform for health care workers in rural communities, precursor to Ehealth
living lab, User experience skills and support
• Nompilo –e health management application – administration tool for health
care management – precursor to Customer Health Management Platform,
training of health care practitioners and deployment of solution in Tshwane
(Eesterust)
Supporting mechanisms for ICT for Development
LliSA – network of living labs in SA
Infropreneurs – network of ICT entrepreneurs in rural communities –catalysts and
implementers of ICT for Development

14. 5.6 SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D
Rural Development and Accessibility
• Moveecom – Mobile Internet Café -Portable Internet solution to service
underserviced urban and rural communities- potential for community based
entrepreneurs to offer e-government and ICT services
• ESTIMA –establishment of local software factory, production of Teleweaver
middleware product -open source platform for community e services from
Reed House systems (RHS)
• Lift Club- web based and mobi site for matching lift clubbers nationally
• Cybersecurity training for all members of community in Vhembe, as part of
ICT awareness building in Communities
• Municipality in a Box – free open source platform for under capacitated
municipalities which complies with transparency, PFMA and information
sharing with civil society
• Localisation of SIM – Interactive 3D learning object design for training
municipal managers, pilot of I3DO water management tool

15. 5.7 SAFIPA portfolio support in ICT4D
ICT and Entrepreneurship
• JamiiX – commercialisation of software to manage multiple social media
conversations –international launch in Europe (Portugal, Finland, UK), Asia
(Malaysia), incubated within R-Labs a social enterprise which supports and
empowers local grassroots ICT innovation, training and incubation
• Meraka Low cost Visualisation tool for researchers in ICT to communicate
research outputs and objectives – particular focus on National Recordal
system – focussing on digitising indigenous knowledge
• FBSA –iSpaza - Integrated ICT services and training for informal traders –
formalise into mainstream economic activity
• Xtown X-Mobile web pages for promoting small businesses in rural
communities, training of local champions and focusing on LED
• Where is my transport – Commercialisation of localised transport
management system, spun out of Student project at UCT, tracking application
for public transport via SMS – integrated transport tracking solution – aimed
at improving efficiency

16. 5.8 SAFIPA projects in action

17. 6.1 Network Creation and
Dissemination
Key objective:
•To share and increase knowledge for developing new
projects, applications or R&D initiatives and to effectively disseminate
the new knowledge.
•The aim is to strengthen cooperation between research institutions
both locally and globally as well as to support Public-Private
partnership in the service delivery process.
Implementation Mechanisms
•Knowledge Exchange visits 2009-2010
•Thematic workshops – ICT and Education, Mobility Futures, Disruptive
Innovation, Open Innovation -2008-2011
•SAFIPA Annual Conference 2009 , 2010 (with IST Africa), 2011
•Project partner meetings and outreach 2009-2011
•Communications – blogging website, Finnish journalists, projects on the web
•Quarterly Newsletter 2010-2011
•SAFIPA Case study publication – Practical Approach to ICT for Development

18. 6.2 Fostering Collaboration
Knowledge Exchange Visit
SAFIPA networking & dissemination
events, SAFIPA.com home page, e-media and print
media

19. 7.1 Metrics and Indicators for SAFIPA
COMPONENT 1
• Number of training initiatives hosted by SAFIPA = 7
• Number of beneficiaries accessing training delivered by SAFIPA and partners > 400
• Number of Finnish partners and technical assistance providers = 15
• Number of individual courses/ workshops and training events hosted by SAFIPA: 12
• Number of South African based trainers/facilitators/course presenters= 28
COMPONENT 2
• Number of projects supported for grant support = 25
• Number of key implementing organisations =36
• Number of partners and beneficiary organisations = 75
• Number of South Africans engaged in project implementation = 106
• Number of beneficiaries accessing mobile and web based applications = 5580
• Number of beneficiaries who accessed face to face training delivered by projects > 1000

20. 7.2 Metrics and Indicators for SAFIPA
COMPONENT 2 (contd.)
• Number of community based organisations, universities, colleges& schools engaged with
during implementation = 76
• Number of postgraduates engaged in research and training = 12
• Number of undergraduates engaged in research and training = 48
• Number of new courses developed by project partners = 5
• Number of unique workshops and training events delivered by project partners= 13
• Number of technical innovations supported = 15
• Number of projects delivering capacity building = 12
COMPONENT 3
• Attendance at the first SAFIPA Conference in 2009 =200, 2011 = 240
• SAFIPA Supported partners at the IST Africa Conference in 2010 = 40
• SAFIPA Projects awarded at the IST Africa Conference = 3
• Newsletter distribution > 500
• Site views and active engagement on discussions on SAFIPA.com > 70
• Participants on the Knowledge Exchange to Finland= 24
• Participants in networking events > 250

21. 7.3 Sustainability of SAFIPA
Programme and Portfolio
Sustainability and way forward for SAFIPA programme
• Meetings with potential funding partners, public and private sector agencies and
organisations for possible further engagement underway since November 2011-
these include DST and DoC , NACI, regional programmes and other donors and
funding agencies
• Sustainability review of projects initiated July 2010- and in depth external review
in November 2010
• As projects reach final implementation stage and are more mature, they have been
afforded technical assistance to strengthen projects for replicability, document and
license IP, improve market validation and market readiness, refine and improve
business models, prepare themselves for venture capital financing
• Regional collaboration already initiated with Finnish funded programmes- SAIS and
TANZICT, STIFIMO

22. 8.1 Lessons learnt in ICT for
Development Implementation
Some challenges experienced by projects
Organisational structure, consortia , roles and responsibilities
Critical mass within some project teams especially from marginalised communities is
limited, therefore inability to deliver on large projects
Need incentives to keep developers engaged in ICT for Development without being
snapped up by private sector
Limited human resources to drive projects 100 %, and breakdown in relationships
between key partners contributing to delays in progress
Establishment of trust is critical in multi partner projects for development, project
delivery & rollout and monitoring & evaluation
Nurture networks and institutional relationships at all stages of project design and
implementation
Project design, monitoring and evaluation and sustainability
Lack of integral planning and monitoring of stage gate process leads to scope creep
and poor implementation
Project leaders have limited understanding of monitoring and evaluation framework or
defining M&E parameters and metrics in planning of project
Projects to define their metrics and assessment parameters at planning stage
Future programmes should focus on marketing and monitoring and evaluation
Get buy in from community based partner at the outset – more long term sustainable
intervention

23. 8.2 Lessons learnt in ICT for
Development Implementation
Development, testing and market validation and external factors
Difficulty in developing business models for IT based enterprises, focus on basket of
offerings as opposed to working on one activity and building core competency
which can be commoditised
Difficulty in securing agreements with municipalities and other partners for pilot
implementation
Delays in implementation due to strikes and circumstances beyond their control limits
reach and impedes progress – results in lost opportunities
Future recommendation – contingency planning essential
Business models and taking innovation to market
Licensing of open source applications- ‘fuzzy’ area open to interpretation by different
players in this space
Difficulty in accessing market demand for their technological innovation/s and
conducting market validation – how do you commoditize service, assessing who
will pay for a service
Inability to identify other potential partners for technical and advisory services
Difficulty in moving from funder dependency mode to sustainable revenue generation
mode
Individual organisations and small SMMEs lack influence in entering new markets and
exploiting existing markets, current procurement policy hinders SMMEs in ICT
innovation space to access potential service provision to public sector

24. 9.1 Recommendations
Selection of projects, building a portfolio and prioritisation
•Projects and inititiatives should have some baseline study to
document key initiatives and outcomes either by workshop sessions or
commissioning desktop of current innovation
•The funder should be open to new ideas, but not all over the
place, define categories for support quite early on in planning of
programme
•With limited resources, would be best to focus on areas where
critical mass exists and where there opportunities for replication –e.g.
amongst provinces or accross different regions
•When the scope and the goals are wide, a dose of realism is healthy
in defining what actually can be achieved with the resources available
•Be realistic on what can be achieved in a short time frame, often
impact is only evident post implementation (after 2-3 years)
•Capacity building should focus on supporting and enhancing
programmes that currently exist rather than starting from scratch

25. 9.2 Recommendations
Selection of projects, building a portfolio and prioritisation
•A high level of innovative activity is present in SMMEs and NGOs and
CBOs and academic institutions where community engagement is a
key activity, there is a need to nurture and foster networks and
support for soft skills and networking on a larger scale
•IPR issues and goals are perceived differently in different
organisations – IP-FRD Act does offer clarity but needs to be fully
adopted and implemented
•Need consensus on how much of the programme content and
activities should be planned in advance, and how much should be
defined by the programme once it is started
•Allocations of budget should be agreed to by consortium partners
well in advance- this impacts on implementation

26. 9.3 Recommendations
Implementation lessons for management of programme and managing
stakeholders
• Provide implementing partners with expectations that have to be manged,
expectation management with local implementation partners is important
– to both sides (especially for host insititute or insitution driving the
programme)
• Role definition in core team is critical and role of key implementation
partners needs to be defined early in the project or programme
• Qualitative goals and definitions can be difficult to fulfil simultaneously.
Prioritising can be difficult, but it helps to avoid conflicting expectations
from different partners. (new innovation vs. geographical spread)
• Cultural differences can make simple things difficult. (what does ”ready”
mean?)
• Networking and information sharing is not natural to many South African
institutional actors – but can be learned and facilitated within the
innovation ecosystem

27. 9.4 Recommendations
Monitoring, Impact Evaluation and Sustainability
• Need to establish key metrics and indicators and exit strategies for the
funders early in the inception phase, open ended agreements do not
clarify the expectations and outcomes for partners
• Need for continual assessment: It is possible to re-plan and re-budget if
things change
• Encourage projects to look at opportunities outside immediate network
and engage with prospective partners
• Encourage projects to define value and business model of their
innovations (especially coming out of academia and research and
community based innovations)
• Grant management office
• Defined roles and responsibilities
• Quality management framework for contracts, IP management, procurement,
project evaluation guidelines, metrics, monitoring and evaluation, management of
implementation partners, reporting framework and knowledge management

28. 9.5 Possible activities for replication
Knowledge exchange visits, both academic and networks - helped in developing local
collaboration, sharing of local and international expertise and provided new
opportunities
Networking and collaboration and communication
Facilitate collaboration and networking via face to face and virtual networks –
engage frequently with supportive information and opportunities for collaboration
Multipronged communications strategy is important in reaching different
stakeholders and audiences - use of social media, website and newsletter
feedback and print and e-media
ICT Innovation Training -Replicable training course is available to be implemented in a
sponsored programme
Accredited Treasure Map community empowerment trainers available in four
provinces and willing to be deployed
ICT4D forum and network
Network that is multifocussed and multisectoral focussing on ICT for Development-
champion Keith Maree kmaree@email.com