EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGIES

Chapter 8: DEVELOPING ICT PROJECT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

EXPLORE

ICT AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Social Change (sometimes

termed as Social Development) refers to
any significant alteration over time in
behavior patterns and cultural values
and norms. The concept also applies to
change in the nature, the social
institutions, the social behavior or the
social relations of the society, community
of people, or other social structures; any
event or action that affects a group of
individuals that have shared values or
characteristics; acts of advocacy for the cause of changing society in a normative way.

Social change is a topic of interest in the field of sociology but involves other fields
such as political science, history, economics and other social sciences. ICT, although a
completely different field, is now believed to be a major contributing force in advocacies
on social change. Information Technology is said to be fueling trivial ideas brought about by
social interactions, transforming them into significant concepts, by harnessing the power of
social networking and other technology-based platforms. In the Philippine setting, numerous
social development activities would not have been realized if not for the influence of IT and
the Internet. EDSA DOS, for instance, had not have been happened if not for the power of
text messaging. Disaster relief operations would not have been successful if not for Internet,
of things and text brigades.

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EXPLAIN

1. What is an ICT Project?

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2. What is a Concept Paper?

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3. What is Audience Profiling?

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What is an ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Project?

Around the world, ICT projects are either initiated or completed almost every
single day. This fact can be justified by how well the Information Technology is shaping the
world we are living in and changing our lives for the better. ICT projects aim to utilize IT
concepts and applications to help solve a problem. Large scale IT projects is in the works to
support something as significant as a country’s economy. Entrepreneurs are constantly
laying IT-based ground works for their companies to edge out competition. And yet there
are small-scale ICT projects just aiming to change a community for the better and letting
faint voices of advocacy be heard.

What Is A Concept Paper?

Concept papers are summaries of projects or issues that reflect the interests,
experience and expertise of the writer or organization. Concept papers generally serve the
purpose of providing in-depth discussion of a topic that the writer has a strong position on,
usually with the intent of obtaining funding for that project from donors. The terms "concept
paper" and "proposal" are often used interchangeably as they can be used for the same
function.

How to Write A Concept Paper?

Just like any other projects, an ICT project starts with a proposal. In real world, a
proposal helps advocates of a project to secure support or funding from a group of people
or a company. Since you will be performing Skills Test A later, you will utilize a document
called a Concept paper to convince possible stakeholders (in classroom situation, your
teacher) to support your project.

There are five major components that is part and parcel to a concept paper:

1. Introduction. This part is very vital as aims to capture the interest of the stakeholder for them
to continue reading the rest of your proposal. The group’s mission and vision should be clearly
stated here alongside a brief introduction to the project.
2. Purpose. This part of the concept paper specifies the problem/s your project will provide
solutions to. It is here where your group will justify that your project is worth the time and
funding of the stakeholder.
3. Project Description. All important information about the project will be discussed here. The
project goals, or overall aims, are included in this part. Here is also where the group
discusses the proposed solution to the problems specified earlier. The project description
also includes an overview of the project's Methodology (also called Project Activities or
Action Plan)
4. Evaluation. Briefly stated in this part is your intended outcomes and how you will measure
success.
5. Budget. Specifies all resources needed to execute the project.

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Making ICT Projects Work

Before immersing to the actual process of jumpstarting an ICT project, this part of the
discussion will first give some insights to students on factors that can help in making their
projects successful. As students will be tasked to create an ICT Project later, keep in mind to
review this part of the book as you perform those activities later.

Key Considerations in Creating an ICT Project

Know why ICT is being used

• A clear understanding on why ICT is used a means to help solve a problem
motivates a team more and makes doing a project worthwhile

Incorporate specific tools to meet specific needs

• Understand that every technology enables specific actions and incurs
limitations. Technology-based tools must comply to or match the requirements
of project objectives.

Match ICT to infrastructure

• Always choose ICT tools that are supported by the organizational infrastructure to
avoid complexities and incompatibilities in the long run

Match ICT to human resources and learning resources

• If necessary, enlist the aid of experts to analyze requirements in advance. This will
lessen the chances of shifting to another platform in the middle of project
development.

Combine different tools for enhanced impact

• Use familiar and proven tools whenever possible, but always think creatively about
technology problems and about combinations of tools that can solve them.

Commit enough time, resources and budget to allow ICT to realize its potential
• Plan accordingly and allocate much needed resources to fuel you ICT project to
succeed

Keep in mind that ICT supports solutions; it is not the solution

• On top of it all, always keep in mind that the ICT project is not the actual solution,
but a significant part of the solution. Other outside factor may contribute to the
success or failure of a project.

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AUDIENCE PROFILING

Audience profiling is the process of

defining exactly who your target
customer is by unifying and analyzing
consumer buying behaviors across
multiple platforms and touchpoints.
Audience profiling doesn’t limit your
audience, it simply helps you choose
where to spend your time and money
for your project to be realized.
Audience profiling gives you the
opportunity to make more targeted
marketing choices and ensures that
you focus your advocacies on proper
groups of persons.

Two effective methods of profiling can be used: demographic and psychographic

profiling. Demographics and psychographics are both critical aspects of consumer
research and are used by marketers to understand their ideal customers better.

Demographic information includes the basics: age, gender, race, location,

and profession. While demographics are still valuable and can be used as a starting
point, they don’t shed light on the passion points and interests of an audience.

Psychographics, however, focus on the interests, affinities, and emotions of a

group of people – exactly the things marketers need to understand to best position
their product. When creating a campaign or any form of communications to your
audience, it is critical to connect with the audience on a cultural and emotional level
to ensure that the look, feel, and tone of your content fits.

DESIGNING AND COPYWRITING FOR ICT PROJECTS

Copywriting is the process of writing advertising promotional materials.

Copywriters are the people responsible for the text on brochures, billboards, websites,
emails, advertisements, catalogs, and more. Unlike news writing, copywriting is all
about getting the reader to take action. That action might be to convince, purchase,
opt-in, or engage with a product, service, or company. This is the reason why a
copywriter is often referred to as “a salesman in print.”

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Copywriting should not be confused with “copyright.” Copyright means an

individual or company has the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or
distribute someone’s work (such as books, music, artistic items). The purpose of a
copyright is to protect that material and prevent illegal use of it by unauthorized
agents. The owner designates the material is copyrighted with the symbol ©.

3 C’S OF HOW TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A COPYWRITER AND

DESIGNER

Concept
Here, the designer and the copywriter must get on the same page about what
the client’s end goal is. Having a mutual understanding of the main objective of the
client will enable their works to instantly be cohesive.

Collaboration
Every individual has their own preferred way of working – but to do a good job
for the client, designers and copywriters must collaborate. That means willingly
cooperating to produce an end product that meets the client’s goals. For this to work,
it is ideal that both parties agree on who to finish their work first, as the other can base
his/her work from the finished one.

Communication
Designers and copywriters have a tendency to isolate themselves once the
work on a project has begun. They should do the opposite and communicate as
often as possible, to have a clear and concise ideas about the project.

ICT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

According to PMI (Project Management Institute) Project Management, is the

application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the
project requirements. It has always been practiced informally, but began to emerge as a
distinct profession in the mid-20th century. PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) identifies its recurring elements.

Project management processes fall into five groups:

Initiating – the project goal, need or problem is identified. Here, a project manager is
assigned to the project and the project charter is created

Planning – the project manager and the project team work together to plan all of the
needed steps to reach a successful project conclusion. The project planning
processes are iterative in nature and it’s expected that planning will happen often
throughout the project.

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Executing – once the project plan has been created, the project team goes about
executing the project plan to create the deliverables of the project. The project can
shift to project planning as needed throughout project execution

Monitoring and Controlling – as the project is being executed by the project team,
the project manager monitors and controls the work for time, cost, scope, quality, risk,
and other factors of the project. Monitoring and controlling is also an ongoing process
to ensure that the project addresses its targets for each project objective

Closing – at the end of each phase and at the end of the entire project, project
closure happens to ensure that all of the work has been completed, is approved, and
ultimately transferred ownership from the project team to operations.

THE SIMPLIFIED ICT PROJECT PROCESS APPROACH

Since you are preparing for a simple ICT project, a modified approach to IT Project
Management called the Simplified ICT Project Process will be used. It spans all vital IT Project
management steps while assuring that the project is finished in ample time. The diagram
below depicts the process flow:

Planning Development Release Maintenance

and
Promotion

Planning
The Planning phase involves numerous things. It starts with project conceptualization.
Brainstorming sessions will have to commence so as to get the group’s collective idea
on project context. Intensive research will also help the group gather ideas. The
concept paper developed by the group will greatly help the group in this phase.
Designation of tasks will also be a highlight of this phase as key members will be
tapped to accomplish vital parts of the project. The project timetable will also be a
major output here, helping the group identify milestones to be achieved.

Development

This phase will involve actual development of online platforms and application the
ICT project will be utilizing. Decisions about pictures to use and sites to link will be
incorporated in the actual website design. Campaign paraphernalia will be
produced like posters or infographics. Social media sites/pages supporting the
campaign will be put up as contents are generated.

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Release and Promotion

Promotion will be the voice of your advocacy. Your project will be useless if nobody
knows it even exists. Be sure to plan ahead on how to make some noise and let your
advocacy be heard. Promotions may include flyer distribution, use of posters, ads on
school or local publications and more. When the actual launching of on-line
application happens, be sure to employ social media and ask your friends to share
your posts concerning the ICT project.

Maintenance

The content of your platforms and applications used must be periodically updated.
People who will be supporting your advocacy would love to hear updates and would
want to know what your current plans are. Be sure to designate a group member who
will collate comments and suggestions from your website and even answer queries
posted. Pictures and write-ups about current undertakings must also be posted as it
could inspire more followers of your advocacy.