We are currently focusing on:

• Establishing CIPESA as a free-standing entity in Uganda and helping it to achieve sustainability and make an impact in the policy world
• Field-testing the use of maps and mapping technologies for socio-economic development and contributing to the Map Library initiative
• Producing innovative tools for basic e-literacy training and publishing them as open content so they can be used widely by others in the field
• Demonstrating our ideas by implementing projects based on our philosophies and using our tools, and looking at how models can scale
• Investing in our team

Implementing projects to demonstrate and scale

The key to driving systemic change in the way ICT is used in development projects is better project planning, effective evaluation of projects to understand what works and what does not, and sharing best practices to avoid the repetition of simple mistakes over and over. Bridges.org's Real Access/Real Impact framework is emerging as one of the most effective methodologies for ICT project planning and evaluation, because it illustrates what is needed for technology use to be successful in addressing local needs.

With the Real Access/Real Impact framework, we have created some intellectual property, but its value lies in its use, which we need to capitalize on a broader scale. We want to help like-minded efforts around the world to increase the value ICT has on the way they do what they do. The framework serves as a model — with concrete examples of success — for others to emulate. It has been used by computer science students who are framing research objectives, as well as development aid organizations that are implementing multi-million dollar initiatives.

To scale, we will apply the Real Access approach in new ways, explain the framework to others and encourage them to use it, measure its concrete impact, and raise awareness about the points it deals with. We will specifically target donor organizations, to show them how the framework can support their activities, and provide support when they start using it. We believe that by exploring new methods and constituencies using the framework, we will expand the foundation for our core work and at the same time build capacity to help in places that we would never otherwise reach. We also seek to increase awareness about Real Access/Real Impact globally, by using the media more effectively to reach more people, conducting more speaking engagements, and writing about the framework.

Investing in our team

Our new management team will work to leverage our US and international relationships to conduct fundraising, draw on the expertise of our contacts, and attract other kinds of resources to strengthen our ground-level work in Africa — and ultimately to broaden its impact. Our small but strong team of project staff in Africa will continue to carry out program implementation. We will build internal capacity by investing in training for core staff, to improve skills in writing, public presentations, media relations, and project management. We will also take time to capture organizational knowledge and document our processes, creating tools that project staff at bridges.org and other organizations around the world can use to guide their work.