1
Welcome to
TIS Talks
We believe that today’s ICT4D (information
and community technology for development)
environment presents us with trends and
opportunities with great potential to generate
game changing innovations to telecentres and
their growing number of users.
Join us and learn how!

2
Host and Moderator
Jimena Betancourt
TIS TALKS COORDINATOR
jbetancourt@telecentre.org
@jimebeta

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Successful
sustainability
models at
telecentre
netwokrs
Product
Development
oriented:
*Syrian Telecentre
Project
*BIID Network
Partnership
oriented :
*ATN
*Colnodo
TIS TALKS PHASE 1
1 2
Social
Innovation
Social
Enterprise
Business
Models
leveraging
ICT for the
BoP
Trends and
opportunities
for
Sustainability

6/08/12
Julián Casasbuenas
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Colnodo
julian@colnodo.apc.org
@jcasasbuenas

Olga Paz M.
Julián Casasbuenas G.
www.colnodo.apc.org
Webinars
August 10 2012

Mission and objectives of Colnodo
Sustainability
Strategic axes
Elements of Sustainability of the Colnodo Model
The National Network of Telecentres in Colombia
Lessons learned
Challenges
Recommendations

Founded in 1993, Colnodo www.colnodo.apc.org is
a Colombian Internet and Information Service
Provider and a non for profit organization whose
mission is to facilitate the
communication, exchange of information and know-
how between Colombian organizations at a
local, national and international level through low
cost communications.

Colnodo’s main objective is to contribute to the reduction of the digital
divide, the democratization of information, sustainable development
and poverty reduction through the usage of Information and
Communication Technologies - ICTs and free and open source software.
Colnodo has prioritized, through its strategic programs issues like human
rights, the improvement of women conditions, governance, democracy
and citizen participation, sustainable development, the
democratization of knowledge, digital inclusion and
strategic uses of information and communication
technologies for the development of the country.

Sustainability is based on fulfilling the mission
and objectives of Colnodo: achieving positive
social impact, coverage, partnerships and
advocacy.
Development initiatives within the mission and
strategic goals of the organization; training new
human resources in the subject and other
partner organizations in capacity building.

e-government and e-democracy
ICTs Policies
Promoting citizen participation in the use
and appropriation of ICT
Research, development and management of
knowledge in ICT
Free Software
Gender and
Sustainable Development

Initially the focus was in services like
webhosting, email services, web
design, development of web based
information systems. In recent years, it
has been mainly working with larger
projects in terms of impact, time of
execution, coverage and resources
involved.
As for the funding, it has shifted from
cooperation from the United Nations
agencies or international organizations
funding to local sources of funding such
as the national government, local
government, company
foundations, among others.
The target population has expanded
from nonprofit organizations, to
networks, communities, public
officials, telecentres, ICT
managers, among others.

Innovation
Advocacy in ICTs policies
Networking with multistakeholders groups
Skilled personnel, committed and passionate
Alliances with new strategic partners
Focus work with priority communities

• Issues
• Applications
• Content
• Knowledge
• Proposals
• Professionals who believe in ICT, which use them, advocate and promote them.
Building capacity for the use and appropriation of ICTs among
groups of the population who usually do not get the benefits of
innovations in ICTs such as people with disabilities, senior
citizens, ethnic groups, people in rural areas, women with low
income, among others.
• Involves and important level of activism, to be informed, to research, to
read, to belong to networks, to build critical mass in the topic.

• Networking with multiple stakeholders groups:
• It is a challenge to find different partners with whom we share similar goals.
• Allows greater coverage and social impact.
• In the case of national partners allows advocacy at different levels.
• For local partners, it allows capacity building to design new strategies in local
advocacy.
Management of new partnerships.
Proposing projects with partners from
different sectors that share the same
goals. Adding possibilities, resources and
needs.
• Between actors from the government, businesses
and donors.
• On issues such as ownership, e-
governance, telecentres and free software.

The network is a local integrator of different
initiatives and organizations that seek social and
economic development of their communities
through ICTs. It promotes digital inclusion
strategies of different actors in Colombia who are
sharing experiences that allow the strengthening
of each initiative and the Network.
www.telecentros.org.co

Objective:
Consolidate an efficient and sustainable model of collaborative
work among participants of the Network, in order to have a
positive impact on the dynamics of community development
programs, the beneficiaries of public access centers and the ICT
Telecentres in different regions.
www.telecentros.org.co

Hundreds of Telecentres and
member organizations nationwide
that share its principles.
It works under a broad notion of
public access center to ICTs:
Telecentres, digital community
centers, information
centers, educational
institutions, libraries, among others.
Collaborative network that allows
broad coverage and impact.
Addition of
ideas, knowledge, learning, products
and resources to strengthen ICT
centers in Colombia.
Platform that supply services
(Presently only ICT training, but
others possibilities can be explored).
www.telecentros.org.co

Social sustainability has been achieved
by targeting and reaching the
population to be benefited, but also by
putting in place a communication
strategy to disseminate the results and
achievements of the projects.
A key factor is raising in the political
discussion, issues related to ICT and
development.
Although difficult to achieve, it is
important to manage and setup
effective forums for dialogue with
policy-making actors in the national
government.
It is essential to use models of project
management, quality
management, evaluation and monitoring
to allow the measurement and evidence
of progress and achievements of a
project.

Continue to fulfill the mission and
goals of the organization in a
changing environment, and
competitive and growing social
demands.
Making an impact on the thematic
agenda of decision
makers, agencies, business
foundations, etc..
To continue working in a network.
Being visionary in identifying new
opportunities.
Continue training new
professionals in the field and have
a stable team
Implementing mechanisms of
quality management.
To reach financial sustainability in
processes in a short-term basis.

Although it is demanding, working within a network of organizations not only strengthens
it, but also helps to compete better and makes the process more interesting.
Search for alliances with the responsible of national government for ICT policies to
advocate in policies, programs and budgets.
Search for allies at different local levels, which implies understand their needs, speeches
and the way they do things. The idea is to keep a productive dialog without losing our
principles.
Include models of planning, quality, follow up, evaluation and control of the projects, this
is to build productive models more business oriented.

www.colnodo.apc.org
Julián Casasbuenas G.
julian@colnodo.apc.org
Olga Paz M.
olga@colnodo.apc.org

Next steps:
1. Complete survey
3. Join us on Thursday, August the
16 at 08:00am GMT
Social Innovation: A trend for
sustainability
The Australian Centre for Social
Innovation