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IT, Cross-Cultural Ministry and the Poor

IT, Cross-Cultural Ministry and the Poor. Andrew Sears. Course Goals. Understand low-cost business models and common strategies applied by businesses serving the Base of the Pyramid and poor communities and apply those into organizational strategy.

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IT, Cross-Cultural Ministry and the Poor

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  1. IT, Cross-Cultural Ministry and the Poor Andrew Sears

  2. Course Goals • Understand low-cost business models and common strategies applied by businesses serving the Base of the Pyramid and poor communities and apply those into organizational strategy. • Analyze the cultural and power implications of key trends such as social/peer production, the long tail, mobile and online education that have major implications for the poor and to create organizational strategies to respond to these trends. • Apply principles of cross-cultural ministry in developing organizational strategies and new product designs. • Understand the digital divide, knowledge divide to be able to develop strategies for Christian organizations to effectively respond. • Analyze case studies of organizations and business strategies that were successful in serving the poor and apply that toward organizational strategy.

  3. Outline • Part 1: Technology and Low-Cost Business Models • Part 2: Technology and Cross-Cultural Ministry • Part 3: Digital Divide, Knowledge Divide and the Christian Response • Part 4: Case Studies

  4. Final Project • 30-35 Pages; Work on it each week • Summary: Demonstrate achievement of course goals • Create research report and strategic plan for a new division at work using technology for the poor • Apply concepts from course across each of the 4 parts of the course • Example Projects • Adult Education Center or Youth Tech Program Plan • Technology & Missions Organization Plan • Christian Consulting Company

  5. Part 1: Technology & Low-Cost Business Models

  6. Status of Global Mission 2014, Todd Johnson http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/statusofglobalmission.pdf

  7. Status of Global Mission 2014, Todd Johnson http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/statusofglobalmission.pdf

  8. Characteristics of Low-Cost BoP Business Models • Priority is 1) Cost 2) Speed 3) Quality • High volume is needed to achieve low cost • Labor/time is cheap • Pay as you go better than high up front

  9. Project Management Triangle & the Poor Cost Scope/Quality Time Cost is the determining factor. Decrease scope/quality and time to decrease cost.

  10. Technology as Culture across Generations & Class Younger Generation Older Generation Upper/Middle Class Under-Resourced

  11. Low-Cost Project Management Approach • Highest Cost • Waterfall (highly structured and planned) • Medium Cost • Agile, Scrum • Low Cost • Lean, Worse is Better, Kanban, Lightweight, RAD, Cowboy Coding, Hack, Quick-and-dirty

  12. Effect of the Long Tail: 80/20 Rule Becomes the 60/40 Rule • Before the Internet: 80% of profit comes from 20% of products • After the Internet: 60% of profit comes from 40% of products = increased content diversity

  13. Effects of the Long Tail & Missions • Long Tail Increases Diversity of Videos • Blockbuster Video: 80% of rentals are recent “blockbusters,” only carries 75 documentaries • Netflix: 30% of rentals are “blockbusters” and carries 1,180 documentaries • Amazon: carries 17,061 documentaries (of a possible 40,000) • Long Tail of Search Terms (TechMission Websites) • Top 500 search terms provide 19.5% of visitors • 604,916 search terms provide 80.5% of visitors • Missions Implication • Non-Western culture voices are almost entirely on the long tail. • The Internet extends the long tail. It decreases the proportion controlled by big media from 80% to around 60% which gives more room for non-Western voices. • Open strategy maximizes visibility of non-Western voices.

  14. Part 1: The Main Ideas • The most aspect of tech strategies to serve the poor is understanding tech strategies of low-cost business models • The long tail, open source and zero marginal cost are reducing the costs of production, and we should use these trends to serve the poor • Reduced cost of production can both help the poor and reverse the trend of secularization and Westernization of media

  15. Part 2: Technology and Cross Cultural Ministry

  16. Cultural Distance • E0 – Renewal to Christians of same culture • E1 – Evangelism to people of same culture • E2 – Cross-Cultural missions • E3 – Cross-Cultural missions to radically different culture If there are Christians indigenous to a culture, the role of tech should be to support E1 evangelism (indigenous leaders)! Source: Ralph Winter

  17. Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions • Power distance index • Individualism (IDV) vs. collectivism • Uncertainty avoidance • Masculinity (MAS), vs. femininity • Long-term orientation (LTO), vs. short term orientation • Indulgence versus restraint • Apps • http://geert-hofstede.com/mobile-apps.html

  18. Needs of the Poor vs. Middle Class

  19. Non-Dominant Class Value Low Cost Low Cost Relational Relational Spontaneous Subjective Intense Hierarchical Trauma is Common Any Lower Class Culture/Values Dominant Class Value High Quality Speed Structured/Orderly Efficient Detached/Objective Objective Reserved Egalitarian Trauma is Avoided Any Middle/Upper Class Culture/ Values Common Class ValueTensions in Ministry

  20. Dimensions of Cross Cultural Technology • Front End • Language • Types of media (text, images, audio, video) • Graphics • Information access (open, restricted or pay) • Device • Back End & Development • Cost • Content Economics(who owns, creates, distributes & consumes) • Information Architecture (hub-spoke, distributed, open vs. closed)

  21. Forming Partnerships with Christians in Technology • 6.3 million Christians in STEM jobs in US with 71% in computing • Christian organizations spend $12.5 billion on IT each year globally • US nonprofit sector spends $40 billion on IT • 77,500 full-time IT staff in Christian organizations globally • A few thousand Christians in full-time ministry using technology & the poor

  22. Diffusion of Innovation:Ministry with the Poor Tech Ministry Secular Nonprofit Tech Ministry & Tech Justice E1-E2 Ministry with the Poor E1-E2 Tech Ministry with the Poor The Poor Ministry Nonprofit Tech Secular Tech Tech Ministry & Resources Tech Justice Justice Tech Tech Christians in Secular Tech Tech E2-E3 (rarely effective)

  23. Jesus Justice Sector (Deed) Jesus Tech Sector (Word) Tech Christian Colleges AccessED, ACU, Calvin, Taylor, Baylor Biola, Olivet, Fuller, Wheaton, Liberty Christian Funders Foundations, Individuals Christian Higher Ed for Justice Bakke U, UCC, Eastern, Fuller Azusa, Acton, NET Institute, Christian ABE Christian Technologists Christians Engineering Society, Intervarsity Faculty, Cru Faculty ISCAST, Code for the Kingdom Christians in Tech (FB & LinkedIn) Tech & Missions ICCM, Lightsys, MAF, GEM, EMI, WIN, OB VisionSynergy, AIBI Wycliffe IT, CheckItOut Christian Social Sector AGRM, CCDA, Salvation Army, Teen Challenge, UYWI, World Vision Christian Higher Ed In Developing Countries Church Tech & IT LifeChurch, Menlo Park Saddleback, Willow Creek City Vision College ChristianVolunteering City Vision Internships Churches of the Poor Tech & Ministry Internet Evangelism Day, Mobile Ministry Forum, YouVersion, ABS, Cru Jesus MSTSM Program Christian Recovery NACR, Celebrate Recovery Justice Tech Christian Recruiting MeetTheNeed, ChristianJobs ShortTermMissions, Missions Parachurch IT Cru, Intervarsity Open Source Drupal, Moodle Christian Media Christianity Today, Publishers, Radio & TV Urban Internships Mission Year Open Education Straighterline.com, MOOCs, EdX Coursera, Udacity Nonprofit Recruiting AllforGood, Idealist VolunteerMatch, Guidestar, FB Causes Low Cost Online Training Lynda.com, Skillshare, Pluralsight Tech Philanthropy Google Grants, LinkedIn Facebook, Salesforce, Microsoft Job Boards Internships.com Simply Hired Open Data/Content Wikipedia, Open Gov’t, Semantic Web Secular Funders Foundations, Individuals,Government, Corporations Tech-Justice Sector (secular)

  24. Part 2: Main Ideas • Understand the importance of using technology to either • support indigenous leaders E1 (if there are indigenous Christians) or • supporting cross-cultural missions E2-E3 (if there are not). • There are many dimensions to consider in using technology in cross-cultural settings, making it very complex. • We should form partnerships to maximize the diffusion of innovation and leverage existing cultural competencies.

  25. Part 3: Digital Divide, Knowledge Divide and the Christian Response

  26. Types of Injustice Intentional Unintentional • Bigotry • Selfishness • Bullying • Not understanding culture • Not understanding perspective • Unintended offense Individual 2 3 4 • Unjust laws • Policies creating an unequal playing field • Exploitation • Unjust War • Imperialism • Cultural encroachment & assimilation • Second-order effects (urban decay) • Natural momentum of systems Collective/ Systemic People assume injustice comes from quadrant 1, but most comes from quadrants 3 and 4.

  27. Three Waves of History • Industrial • Information Rural Urban Virtual/Digital Sunday School Primary/Secondary School Higher Education

  28. Source: (US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014)

  29. Mismatch of Jobs & Education

  30. “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” - H.G. Wells Image from Wikipedia

  31. Bachelor’s Attainment by Income 38.9 pt. growth Adequate Education:winning the race with automation 19 pt. growth Catastrophe 4.1 pt. growth 4.5 pt. growth Source: US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014

  32. Figure 12. Increasing Cost of Higher Education over Time

  33. Figure 14. Distribution of Total Student Debt by Level of Household Net Worth

  34. www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/minorities_less-educated_workers_see_staggering_rates_of_underemploymentwww.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/minorities_less-educated_workers_see_staggering_rates_of_underemployment

  35. Changing our Educational Trajectory Adequate EducationWinning the race with automation MassUnemployment (catastrophe)

  36. Part 3: Main Ideas • Most injustice is systemic requiring the systemic response of new institutions • The transition from agricultural to industrial to information economies is creating a knowledge divide • Our partnership strategy will determine whether we are a part of the problem or the solution in the knowledge divide • Decreasing costs of knowledge production is creating an opportunity for Christians to reverse the secularization trend in education

  37. Part 4: Case Studies of Technology and the Poor

  38. Open Education • Many educational materials are being commoditized or made free • Future could be an “app store” with tens of thousands of accredited courses available at almost no cost • Christian schools can build on open and low-cost educational resources to bring education to the world • Has potential to reverse secularization trend of education

  39. Christian Education Globally • Christian Colleges and Universities globally • 7,200+ Bible & Theological Schools globally • K-12 Christian Schools • About 7% of US students • Community Education Programs • Home schooling • 3.4% of US growing at 75% per decade

  40. Computer Learning Centers • 1990-2005 • Community Technology Centers Movement: CTCNet • Association of Christian Community Computer Centers (AC4) • 2005 to 2014 • Access moved to libraries and homes • Training moved to adult education and youth programs in large organizations • Lessons • Android, Crossing the Chasm

  41. Crossing the Chasm Hype Amara’s Law: We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” The Chasm: The organizational culture to meet the needs of early adopters is entirely different than the culture to meet the needs of later adopters.

  42. Best Practices of Christian Computer Centers • Operate as a part of an adult or youth program in a well-funded Christian social service organization • Consider strategies for virtualizing machine images • Use Open DNS or router-based filtering for client machine • Consider using Google Apps and/or Office 365 • Provide structured educational time using online educational tools (courses, GED, youth education)

  43. Universal Christian Wikis • UrbanMinistry.org and StrategicNetwork • Problems • Cost of Maintenance too high. Assumption: 1% of visitors would contribute, but actually < .001% contribute • Value of other networks (Wikipedia) superseded value of independent network • Conclusion • Scale needed for Christian social networks & wikis is too high to compete • For Christian organizations, wikis are just another type of content management system • Unless… you have captured a semi-closed audience

  44. Assessing Online Social Ventures • What scale of resources are needed? Is it a… • $10,000 problem • $100,000 problem • $1 million problem • $10 million problem • $100 million problem • $1 billion problem • How does it scale? • How does revenue scale? • How does in-kind resources scale? • How does social value scale? • How does earned income scale? • How do expenses scale?

  45. Examples of Resources Needed • Christian Social Network: $100 million • Christian Social Graph: $100 million • Global Church Directory: $50 million • Global Parachurch Directory: $10 million • Global Volunteer/Missions Directory: $10 million • Christian Wikipedia: $10 million • Christian YouTube: $10-50 million • Christian TED Talks: $10-50 million How do you build a $100 project when you only have a few million dollars?

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