Faculty research: Mobs4D project

The benefits of mobile phones for development in China, India and South Africa.

This large-scale mobile phone project involves coordinating various expertise across several research groups from faculties and disciplines within Monash University.  The Centre for Community Networking Research in the Faculty of Information Technology, the Faculty of Business & Economics, the International Development Informatics Association in Monash South Africa, and the Monash Asia Institute, are all involved.  Several academics in the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay), in Udine, Italy, and in Beijing and Hong Kong, China, are also joining the venture. 

The team will examine how mobile phones can enhance opportunities for self-employment and other social benefits, amongst the poorest households and communities in urban and rural areas in China, India and South Africa.

Exploratory research is under way in preparation for an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant application later in 2007. The researchers are investigating what technologies are used for the deployment of mobile phones in less developed regions of India, China, and South Africa. They are also examining different causes of poverty in these regions.

The aims for the project are to discover –

• the main uses for mobile phones in these countries, the comparative cultural differences, economic costs, energy efficiencies, and long-term sustainability of services,
• the overall economic and social benefits flowing from usage, and
• how mobiles facilitate learning and increase economic growth in communities

The project will make recommendations to local and national authorities, service providers, and international organisations, to assist in better deployment and use of mobile phones for the development of social capital, economic improvement, and alleviation of poverty.

The team has an enthusiastic partner in the Foundation for Development Co-operation, Brisbane (http://www.fdc.org.au/100116.php), Australia’s only development think-tank. The Executive Director, Craig Wilson, and Stuart Mathieson, Head, Technology Initiatives, have widespread knowledge of development projects around the globe.

Craig has worked as a consultant economist with numerous international organisations, including a series of projects in East Timor for the World Bank, and served as a diplomat in Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs. Craig is co-author of two books, entitled A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty, and Make Poverty Business. Stuart focuses on micro-finance and the power of Information and Communication Technologies.

Other organisations have also shown interest.

Graeme Johanson , CaSIT, 28 May 2007