Farewell to our Data Analyst Lucas Koepke

September 28, 2018

This week TASCHA says goodbye to our Data Analyst Lucas Koepke. Lucas became TASCHA’s statistical backbone 7 years ago after earning his Master of Science in Statistics from the University of Washington. Before Lucas heads out the door, we gave him the opportunity to share some of his favorite work at TASCHA. Here’s Lucas in…

New book highlights public access ICT venues across cultures

May 27, 2015

A component of the Global Impact Study was the The Amy Mahan Research Fellowship Program, led by Universitat Pompeu Fabra, which aimed to deepen the capacity of emerging scholars with the goal of increasing the quality and quantity of research on public access to ICT produced in developing countries. The findings from this work have been compiled into a new book publication, Public access ICT across cultures: Diversifying participation in the network society. The book, edited by Francisco Proenza, is co-published by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and MIT Press and is available online in PDF freely through a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) license.

Resources from the Global Impact Study

July 31, 2014

We’ve developed numerous resources to help answer the overarching question, “Why do public access ICTs matter for development? The goal of the resources listed below is to help make the study’s findings and data more accessible and relevant to the international development, public library, and public access communities. It is our hope that you’ll find these materials useful in understanding the study’s key findings and recommendations, as well as for use in your own work

Digging deeper into the phenomenon of public access

April 30, 2014

TASCHA’s Global Impact Study of Public Access ICTs wrapped up last year with the publication of the final research report, Connecting people for development: Why public access ICTs matter. In addition to the final report, we have also released research reports and summaries of the Global Impact Study’s in-depth studies, which were designed to answer more specific questions about the public access phenomenon, such as whether we even need public access ICTs anymore since everyone has a mobile phone (spoiler alert: yes, we do!).

Misconceptions and mistakes: What if our approach to technology in libraries, telecenters, and cybercafes is all wrong?

October 5, 2013

Join the Global Impact Study team at USC’s Annenberg School on Monday, October 7, for a review of what they learned, and to discuss how their findings should shape ICTD policies and programming in the years to come. If unable to attend in person, please follow along on Twitter at @TASCHAGroup.

New publication: Public libraries connecting people for development

August 13, 2013

Last month, we released the final report of the Global Impact Study of Public Access ICTs, Connecting people for development: Why public access ICTs matter. In addition to the overall analysis presented in the final report, TASCHA researchers also conducted analysis specifically related to ICT access in public libraries in Botswana, Chile, and the Philippines. The report based on this analysis, Public libraries connecting people for development: Findings from the Global Impact Study, is now available for download. Using data from Botswana, Chile, and the Philippines, the report summarizes the study’s key findings with a focus on libraries, situating these venues in the context of national development, discussing some disputed issues, and providing recommendations for policymakers, library practitioners, and researchers.

Global Impact Study: Final report & findings released

July 2, 2013

While you’re likely reading this on your personal computer, enjoying reliable and fast internet, millions of people around the world still lack private access to this increasingly necessary resource to function and prosper in today’s world. How do those people connect to digital society? For many, digital inclusion is found at a library, a telecenter, or a cybercafé – their local public access ICT venue. For over a decade, significant investments have been made in these venues. However, their ability to contribute to development agendas has come into question in recent times, spurred by the spread of mobile phones and other new technologies and applications. The Global Impact Study was designed to address this debate by generating evidence about the scale, character, and impacts of public access ICTs.
Today, TASCHA is excited to announce the release of the study’s final report, Connecting people for development: Why public access ICTs matter.

TASCHA at Spark 2013

May 23, 2013

The 4th Global Forum on Telecentres, Spark 2013, will take place in Granada, Spain May 28-29. Four TASCHA researchers are looking forward to attending the forum to participate in conversations on technology and development and present on various TASCHA research projects. Chris Coward & Maria Garrido will be presenting on TASCHA research, and Melody Clark & Chris Rothschild will attend, participating in various sessions and live Tweeting from the event.

Open research in practice: Open source, open data

April 16, 2013

TASCHA is committed to research that contributes to advancing knowledge and practice, and that can be used to make better decisions. One element of this commitment is open research — making research processes, tools, findings, and data broadly accessible and encouraging others to build on and extend our work. TASCHA implemented project, the Global Impact Study, is an excellent example of how TASCHA is striving to make research open and accessible.

Global Impact Study at World Summit of Information Society (WSIS)

February 22, 2013

TASCHA Director, Chris Coward, will be participating on a panel organized by IFLA during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) +10 review Meeting in Paris, France, February 25-27, 2013. The panel, Supporting Knowledge Societies through Public Access to the Internet, will cover various issues related to public access to technology. This is a great opportunity for Chris to present the findings of the Global Impact Study, the largest, most comprehensive study on public access centers to date.