introducing new digital toolS for Social change in PakiStan - irada

INTERNEWS CENTER FOR INNOVATION & LEARNING 

innovation.internews.org 

Seeding Innovation: 

Introducing New Digital Tools 

for Social Change in Pakistan 

A Report on the Islamabad Innovation Lab 

April 2012 

A project of Internews Network and Bytes for All 

Made possible with support from Ploughshares Fund 

Internews Center for Innovation and Learning 

Report by Muhammad Aftab Alam, ALPH consultants and 

Advocates on behalf of Internews Network

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

The Islamabad Innovation Lab was jointly organized by Internews Network and Bytes for All. 

About Bytes for All, Pakistan (B4A) 

Bytes for All (B4A), Pakistan is a human rights organization with a focus on Information and 

Communication Technologies (ICTs). It experiments with and organizes debate on the relevance of 

ICTs for sustainable development and strengthening human rights movements in the country. 

At the forefront of the Internet Rights movement and struggle for democracy, B4A focuses on 

capacity building of human rights defenders on their digital security, online safety and privacy. 

Working on various campaigns, particularly against Internet censorship and surveillance in Pakistan, 

B4A tackles cyberspace issues, awareness raising and policy advocacy from a civil liberties and 

human rights perspective. 

The flagship program of Bytes for All is the globally acclaimed Take Back The Tech Campaign, which 

fosters strategic use of ICTs by women and girls to fight violence against women in Pakistan. 

Internews would like to offer many sincere thanks to everyone who gave generously of their time to 

share insights and experiences. 

Internews Pakistan : 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the implementation of the Innovation Lab. 

Bangkok Regional Team: 

Oren Murphy – Regional Director, Asia 

Siriporn Sungkorn – Office Administrator 

Siriporn Tongborrisut – Regional Program Accountant 

Kullada Kritsanachaiwanich – Finance Manager 

Sam de Silva – Innovation Advisor, Asia 

DC Team: 

Kathleen Reen – Vice President for Asia, New Media and Environment 

Shannon York – Business Manager 

Dorothy Dai – Program Officer 

Internews Center for Innovation & Learning: 

Mark Frohardt – Executive Director 

Amanda Noonan – Director of Research 

Eva Constantaras – Program Officer 

Ericha Hager – Digital Media Coordinator 

Credits 

Photo Credits: Photography courtesy of Oren Murphy and Aftab Alam: 

Design: Kirsten Ankers, Citrine Sky Design

Contents 

Executive Summary............................................................................................. 3 

Background.......................................................................................................... 5 

Overview of the Islamabad Innovation Lab...................................................................6 

Objectives.............................................................................................................................7 

Participants..........................................................................................................................7 

Approach..............................................................................................................................8 

Pre-Lab Preparation............................................................................................. 9 

Familiarization with Technologies and Tools................................................................9 

Assessment of Key Challenges........................................................................................9 

Technology Marketplace................................................................................................ 12 

Lab Projects........................................................................................................ 13 

Project 1: RYSe: Reclaim Your Space.......................................................................... 13 

Project 2: Mother Child Health - Karak....................................................................... 15 

Project 3: Mera Vote Meri Taqat................................................................................... 15 

Project 4: Khoon Say Zindagi........................................................................................ 15 

Project 5: BussKaro......................................................................................................... 16 

Project 6: Mahafizz.......................................................................................................... 16 

Project 7: Dysaster.org................................................................................................... 17 

Research............................................................................................................. 17 

Research Objectives........................................................................................................ 17 

Research Methods and Selection Criteria.................................................................. 18 

Pre-Lab Survey................................................................................................................. 19 

Mid-Lab Semi-Structured Interviews.......................................................................... 21 

Post-Lab Research.......................................................................................................... 25 

Post-Lab Survey..................................................................................................... 25 

Post-Lab In-depth Interviews.............................................................................. 32 

Interviews with Civil Society Leaders................................................................ 35 

Recommendations............................................................................................. 36 

Conclusions........................................................................................................ 37 

Appendix 1 - Agenda.......................................................................................... 39 

Appendix 2 - Research Instruments................................................................. 41 

Seeding Innovation: Introducing New Digital Tools for Social Change in Pakistan 1

1 

Executive Summary 

Journalists and civil society organizations in Pakistan work under uniquely challenging constraints, ranging from 

limited Internet and computer access to threats to their safety and survival. Pakistan has been ranked the 

world’s most dangerous country for reporters for the past two years running. 1 A greater day-to-day challenge is 

the low pay and scarcity of training, with less than 1% having any college-level journalism education. 2 

At the same time, Pakistan’s telecoms and broadcast media 

markets are exploding and Internet access is expanding, creating 

unprecedented new avenues for sharing information and voicing 

social issues. And on a global level, digital tools and new media 

technologies that build on mapping software, cell phone capabilities 

and more are transforming the way that journalists and civil 

society organizations gather and distribute information. Tools 

and platforms such as Ushahidi and FrontlineSMS are playing an 

important role in the free flow of information, particularly in the 

developing world. 

Despite and even because of the difficulties they face, Pakistani 

journalists and civil society groups have a great opportunity to 

harness the power of these innovative digital technologies to 

strengthen their communication and advocacy. To help these 

groups explore the potential of new digital tools, the international 

media development organization Internews and the 

Pakistani NGO Bytes for All (B4A) organized an experimental 

three-day Lab in Islamabad in the fall of 2011 on the theme of 

“Innovation for Social Justice.” Funded by the Ploughshares Fund 

and the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning, this Lab was 

the first of its kind in Pakistan, and could serve as a useful model 

for future projects. 

The Islamabad Innovation Lab (IIL) included 68 participants— 

new media experts, journalists, bloggers, leaders of civil society 

organizations (CSOs), computer enthusiasts and software developers. 

The Lab, which took place October 25-27, 2011, had several 

objectives: to teach participants how to apply digital tools to 

address social injustices and other challenges; to encourage networking 

among technology experts, journalists and civil society 

leaders; to foster collaborative and multi-disciplinary approaches 

to problem solving; and to develop innovative project ideas. 

Internews found that most of the participants were reasonably 

tech-savvy, and had access to desktop computers, cell phones, 

laptops, or tablet computers. They used their cell phones for taking 

photographs, watching and shooting videos, checking email 

and Facebook, and sending SMS and instant messages. However, 

their knowledge of newer applied tools and platforms for their 

work was quite limited. 

The Lab included a “Technology Marketplace” where participants 

moved from table to table staffed by expert users, learning 

about new digital tools and how they might be applied to 

their work. Such tools included Ushahidi, FrontlineSMS, smsall. 

pk, Crowdmap, Huridocs, Mesh Potato, MapBox, FixMyStreet, and 

OpenStreetMap. 

Before and during the Lab, participants identified and discussed a 

range of pressing social issues. These included: combating sexual 

harassment of women; reporting from militancy-hit areas; promoting 

regional languages in social media; dealing with threats 

to journalists; designing online journalism trainings; disseminating 

information on health hazards and safety standards; collecting 

data to develop solid waste management systems; communicating 

with disaster-affected communities; mapping street 

crime; monitoring and controlling election rigging; exposing corruption; 

improving education; and addressing safety and security. 

A discussion of these challenges led into hands-on work in seven 

small groups to plan and develop social change projects that 

utilized the new digital technologies and tools that were introduced. 

The innovative projects that emerged included a portal for 

women to anonymously report instances of sexual harassment, 

an online registry of potential blood donors in conflict-ridden 

1 Committee to Protect Journalists, “For journalists, coverage of political 

unrest proves deadly”. http://cpj.org/reports/2011/12/journalistskilled-political-unrest-proves-deadly.php 

2 Michael Kugelman, “Pakistan’s pugnacious press,” Foreign Policy, March 

22, 2012. http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/22/pakistans_ 

pugnacious_press 


areas, and a crowdsourced map for reporting safety incidents 

during disasters in Pakistan. Despite a promising start, work on 

most of the projects has not moved forward in the five months 

since the Lab. However, two have shown some progress, from 

holding preliminary meetings with a government agency and 

a foundation to launching a website and hiring a staffer. Also, 

Lab participants have since launched at least three new projects 

based on the technologies presented. 

For future such events, participants recommended that the Lab 

last longer, particularly the Technology Marketplace. They suggested 

more discussion among the participants through email 

and Skype before the Lab, and that project groups be formed at 

least a week beforehand so members could choose the problem 

they wanted to solve. Participants also recommended organizing 

a follow-up gathering of all the groups and appointing or electing 

group leaders who could ensure the full participation of each 

of the members. They proposed that the groups present their 

projects to relevant civil society groups, donors, and other implementation 

agencies that might adopt the project. Participants 

noted that it was important to obtain buy-in of the top management 

of civil society organizations (CSOs) and to keep them 

informed on project development. Finally, survey respondents 

recommended that the organizers of the Lab or the participating 

groups explore funding for further development and implementation 

of the projects. 

Overall, the participants were quite satisfied with the Lab. Nearly 

all said they planned to apply the skills learned to their daily lives, 

and they believed that the Lab could be a catalyst for collaboration 

and adoption of a more innovative mindset throughout 

Pakistan’s media and NGO culture. 

4 

Seeding Innovation: Introducing New Digital Tools for Social Change in Pakistan

Background 2 

Starting in the early 2000s, Pakistan has witnessed huge expansion of its telecom and electronic media market. 

In a country of 187 million people, there are now over 100 

million mobile phone subscribers. 3 Pakistan has more than 80 

licensed satellite television channels, and more than 50 international 

satellite television channels. More than 74% of the 

urban population has access to these channels through cable 

television 4 , although it should be noted that the majority of the 

rural population does not receive cable television; in the countryside, 

most viewers can only access the state-run Pakistan 

Television (PTV). Besides the myriad television channels, there 

are more than 130 private FM radio stations around the country. 

5 These radio stations have played a particularly effective 

role in informing and educating disaster-affected communities 

during and since the floods of 2010. 

While media has expanded in Pakistan, media freedom has 

shrunk over the years. According to a March 22, 2012 article 

in Foreign Policy: 

Pakistan’s media may be feisty (the country’s private 

television channels are often stridently anti-government 

in tone), but feisty does not necessarily mean 

free. In its 2011-12 Press Freedom Index, Reporters 

Without Borders ranks Pakistan 151st out of 179 

nations. The country’s culture of violence toward 

the media is the main reason for this low ranking, 

but state policies threaten media freedoms as well. 

Because the rapid and relatively recent expansion 

of the Pakistani press has not been accompanied by 

checks on its excesses, media-muzzling measures 

have effectively become proxies for regulation. 6 

3 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, http://www.pta.gov.pk/index. 

php?option=com_content&view=article&id=269&Itemid=599 

4 The Annual Report 2010 of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory 

Authority (PEMRA) http://pemra.gov.pk/pemra/images/docs/pub-rep/ 

annual_report_2010.pdf 

5 http://pemra.gov.pk/pemra/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic 

le&id=5&Itemid=10 

6 Michael Kugelman, “Pakistan’s pugnacious press,” Foreign Policy, March 

22, 2012. http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/22/pakistans_ 

pugnacious_press 

Participants gather at the Islamabad Innovation Lab, held at the 

Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in October 2011 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Pakistan the 

most dangerous country in the world for journalists in 2010 

and 2011. Incidents of threat, assault, and kidnapping of journalists 

are quite common, and CPJ lists 42 journalists murdered 

in Pakistan since 1992, half of them with impunity. 7 

At present, more than 20 million Pakistanis have Internet 

access. The percentage of Internet users in Pakistan, more 

than 11% of the total population, is much higher than any other 

country in South Asia, including India, where a mere 6% have 

Internet access. 8 However, the majority of Pakistani Internet 

users still rely on a dial-up connection; only two million have 

access to broadband Internet. 

According to some estimates, more than 5.5 million Pakistanis 

have Facebook accounts, and about 1.9 million are on Twitter. 

Pakistan has a thriving blog culture: 1.7 million Pakistanis 

are registered bloggers on blogger.com, and Wordpress ranks 

Pakistan the 11th most active country in the world in terms of 

traffic to wordpress.com 9 . 

7 Committee to Protect Journalists, “Pakistan: Political unrest proves 

deadly for journalists.” http://cpj.org/asia/pakistan/ 

8 Internet World Stats, Asia: Pakistan. http://www.internetworldstats. 

com/asia.htm#pk 

2011 The Year of Social Media in Pakistan, http://asiasociety.org/blog/ 

asia/2011-year-social-media-pakistan and The Social Media Scene in 

Pakistan, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xXMW0fumuU 


Overview of the Islamabad 

3Innovation Lab 

In many parts of the world, digital tools and new media technologies such as Ushahidi, FrontlineSMS, 

CrowdMap, Huridocs, and Mapbox are transforming the ways journalists and civil society organizations do 

their work. These tools and platforms have the potential to improve the flow of information in Pakistan and 

allow journalists and NGOs to reach marginalized populations. 

This report describes the Islamabad Innovation Lab (IIL) held 

by Internews Network and Bytes for All (B4A) in October 2011 

to explore and share the benefits of these technologies among 

new media experts, journalists, bloggers, CSO leaders, technology 

enthusiasts and developers. This report also summarizes 

findings from Internews research conducted before, during, 

and after the Lab. 

The IIL was held at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on October 

25-27, 2011 with the theme of “Innovation for Social Justice”. 

Funding came from the Ploughshares Fund and Internews’ 

Center for Innovation and Learning. Appendix 1 contains the 

agenda. 

Objectives 

The Lab was designed to meet the following objectives: 

n To increase awareness of technology tools for improving 

communications 

n To enable networking among those with direct experience 

of new digital communications tools and journalists, civil 

society leaders, and “geeks” 

n To develop innovative project ideas for the Pakistani and 

Afghan context that have direct and measurable impact 

n To gather feedback and responses to new technology tools 

from participants and to document their experiences 

n To foster collaborative and multi-disciplinary approaches to 

problem-solving and concept design 

n To instill new models for organizing events and gatherings 

in Pakistan (i.e. to popularize the lab/camp model) 

Participants 

A wide range of professionals was invited to showcase and 

explore digital tools and technologies to strengthen communications 

and advocacy strategies. Participants included new 

media experts, journalists, bloggers, CSO leaders, technology 

experts and software developers. Internews identified the following 

categories for participants: 

1) Civil society leaders and managers/activists 

2) Tech experts (“geeks”)/developers 

3) Marketers 

4) Bloggers/journalists 

6 


Internews also recognized the need to include participants 

from the tribal areas, and ensure gender balance as much as 

possible. Due to time constraints, Pakistani participants were 

selected largely based on B4A’s extensive in-country network. 

Afghan participants were selected by the Internews office in 

Kabul, bringing in a combination of local technical staff, local 

partners and a couple of senior local staff. Two international 

staff from Afghanistan accompanied the mostly young group 

that came across. 

There was a reasonable balance of professionals among the 

participants, according to an online questionnaire they completed. 

Civil society leaders/managers constituted the largest 

group at 34%. “Geeks” and developers were the next largest 

group, constituting 32% of the total. An additional 27% identified 

as journalists and 27% as bloggers. There were also a 

handful of marketers, designers, and entrepreneurs. (The total 

comes to more than 100% as participants were allowed to 

check more than one category.) 

The majority of participants, 55%, fell into the 25-34 age 

group. The next largest group was in the 35-44 age group, 

at 23%. The 24-and-under set made up 18%. Participants 

were selected from four provinces of Pakistan: Balochistan, 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab, and Sindh, including 

Islamabad. There were 50 participants from Pakistan, nine from 

Afghanistan, and nine from other countries: Australia, Malaysia, 

the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. 

Even with efforts to include a representative number of 

women, out of the total of 68 participants, there were only 14 

women. This included two female Internews expatriates: one 

from Internews Network in Pakistan and one from Internews 

Network in Afghanistan. 

The working languages of the gathering were English and Urdu, 

though most participants spoke good English. 

Approach 

The Islamabad Innovation Lab was a very participatory event. 

Before the Lab began, participants were asked to complete 

a couple of assignments to prepare them to make the most 

of the experience. And once the Lab began, instead of long, 

formal speeches or lectures, participants were quickly introduced 

to the latest technologies and tools in a “Technology 

Marketplace.” 

A discussion of local issues was followed by hands-on work in 

seven small groups, where participants designed and planned 

pragmatic projects to address a specific local issue using technology. 

Small groups shared their progress with the whole 

group regularly and were able to get expert technical assistance 

with installation and configuration during an optional 

“Night Coding” session. On the final evening, groups presented 

their projects to the whole group. 

A more detailed discussion of these activities follows, along 

with the results of Internews’ research before, during and after 

the Lab. 


Pre-Lab Preparation 

4Familiarization with Technologies and 

Before attending the Lab, potential participants had to complete some preparatory activities. 

Tools 

Participants were asked to visit the website for the Islamabad 

Innovation Lab, http://innovationlabasia/islamabad. The site 

provides details of the technologies and tools that were to be 

discussed and explained during the Lab and used by the groups 

in the development of their projects. 

Assessment of Key Challenges 

Participants identified a number of problems and challenges 

prior to participation in the Lab. These issues and concerns can 

be grouped into several broad themes, as follows: 

Islamabad Innovation Lab website: 

Technologies and Tools at the Lab 

1. The Role of Women and Violence against Women 

Lab participants identified sexual harassment and inappropriate 

male behavior in the streets, in the workplace and 

in public as major issues in Pakistan. They asked whether 

communication technologies could help in addressing violence 

against women by developing reporting mechanisms. 

They also deliberated the following questions: 

n How can women report and register incidents of sexual 

harassment and get immediate assistance? 

n Could technology be made available to women for 

reporting incidents of domestic violence? 

n How to create an alert system for violence against 

women and sexual harassment? 

n How to publicize known predators and create a crowdsourced 

list to warn others? 

8 


2. Information, Media, and Journalists 

Under this overall category, the main issues and questions 

deliberated by the participants were as follows: 

n How can journalists report from militancy-hit areas such 

as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and 

send photos and videos of events from these areas to 

the rest of the world, given the increasing incidents of 

camera snatching and equipment damage by the militants 

and security agencies in these areas? 

n How can Pakistani TV channels use social media more 

effectively? Many channels have “citizen journalist” formats, 

but they use them mostly for entertainment. How 

can citizens’ concerns and voices become a part of serious 

debates on TV? 

n How can the use of Urdu and other regional languages 

be promoted in social media? How does the discourse 

in social media exclude the majority of Pakistan’s population 

and how can journalists make the media more 

inclusive? 

n How can journalists deal with the challenges and threats 

to them associated with both traditional and social 

media? 

n What are the possibilities for designing online journalism 

trainings at a university in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 

(KPK) to enable students to share online information 

with their families back in the radio-dominated rural 

areas of KPK and FATA? What information could these 

families in turn share with their students that the latter 

could disseminate online? How does information flow 

between these two generations and media audiences? 

n How can CSOs and media use technology to distribute 

reliable information to the public? How to cope with the 

challenge of balancing or overcoming the hate speech 

and conspiracy theories that are constantly being 

circulated? 

n How to counter rumors and misinformation spread 

through social media and text messages in Pakistan? 

n Few people have access to ICTs in Afghanistan, especially 

outside big cities. How to increase access to communication 

technology tools and applications to improve 

self-reporting and information sharing in Afghanistan? 

n Much of the existing information about security threats 

involves geographic locations, but it is distributed 

mostly in text form. How to design a map-based security 

information system that helps reporters and CSOs 

visualize the locations of security incidents and threats 

as well as communicate this information via cell phones 

in a timely manner? 

3. Health, Disasters and Crises 

The participants deliberated the following questions: 

n How can digital technology be used to share information 

on health hazards, safety standards, and safeguards? 

n None of Pakistan’s cities has a proper solid waste management 

system. How can the problem be addressed by 

developing new technologies that enable better quality 

data to be collected without the use of estimation or 

manual data entry? 

n In disasters, those affected need to be able to communicate 

their locations to relief agencies. They also need 

to be aware of efforts to defraud disaster survivors. How 

can ICTs be used most effectively to coordinate relief 

efforts during emergencies, and to arrange help in cases 

of rights violations? 

n What would be the ideal design for an information system 

for emergencies and disasters that caters both to 

the online and the offline user? How can the offline 

and online elements of the structure be designed in 

tandem? 

4. Governance, Crimes, Elections, and Legislation 

The participants formulated the following questions: 

n What is the best way to map mugging and street 

crimes? 

n How to monitor and control election rigging through 

social media, apps and/or SMS? Could there be a transparent 

and publicly accessible monitoring portal for the 

upcoming elections? 

n How to bring digitized Pakistani parliamentary documents 

online on a portal similar to the UK’s site, 

TheyWorkForYou: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ 

n How to eliminate middlemen in fruit and vegetable markets? 

How could digital tools help to inform the farmers 

on the market prices of their crops so they are paid 

fairly? 

5. Education 

n Pakistan seriously lacks online learning centers such as 

the Khan Academy, to bring classes to desktop computers. 

Virtual classrooms would be a great complement to 

traditional schooling. 


n Corruption is one of the biggest challenges in Pakistan. 

One aspect of this challenge is that, due to the prevalence 

of fake degrees in Pakistan, potential employers 

around the world question the authenticity of such credentials. 

ICTs could be used to verify the academic and 

professional credentials of an applicant online. 

n How to make technology accessible to teachers across 

the country, to increase their awareness of teaching 

tools? For example, few teachers use a plagiarism 

checker and many aren’t aware that anti-plagiarism 

software exists. 

n How to register complaints and address concerns of 

people who are illiterate? More generally, how can ICTs 

help villagers to improve their health and education? 

Technology Marketplace 

Once the Lab was underway, a “Technology Marketplace” 

allowed participants to move from table to 

table for ten-minute sessions, learning about digital 

tools for improving the flow of information. Representatives 

and expert users presented the following 

technologies: Ushahidi, FrontineSMS, Crowdmap, 

Huridocs, Mesh Potato, MapBox/TileMill, FixMyStreet, 

OpenStreetMap, Tor, and Safety and Security 

of Internet Browsing. 

This overview proved to be quite useful. As one civil 

society leader commented: 

“With this event I came to know about these 

amazing free available tools which can be 

used by the Pakistani development sector 

to amplify their output. I think the civil society 

organizations should be trained on these 

tools, some online available kits about these 

tools should be developed, which can be used 

by individuals and organizations.” 

Another participant said: 

“For me those new technologies were a new ‘revelation’ 

. . . and [I] intend to use those in my organizational 

work.” 

10 


Lab Projects 5 

One of the objectives of the Lab was to develop innovative project ideas that have direct and measurable 

impacts for Pakistan and Afghanistan contexts. Over three days of activities, the teams discussed social 

issues and developed seven innovative projects, which they presented on the third and final evening of the 

lab. The teams explained the tools and technologies involved and demonstrated how the projects would 

work. Here is a brief overview of the projects. 

Project 1: 

RYSe: Reclaim Your Space 

The “Reclaim Your Space” (RYSe) project has as its aim “to get 

hold of the right to live a secure and dignified life.” The group 

believes that sexual violence, primarily against women and 

transgendered people, is one of the most pressing problems in 

Pakistan. Few victims of sexual harassment and violence speak 

openly about their experiences. The project aims at breaking 

this culture of silence. The group thought that the option of 

reporting incidents anonymously on online platforms could 

encourage survivors to open up and talk about their experiences. 

Moreover, the documentation of instances of violence 

could enable other survivors to see that they are not alone, and 

to help them understand that what happened was not their 

fault. Frontline SMS and CrowdMap were selected as the primary 

technologies for this project. 

RYSe has continued to develop, hiring its first staff member 

in March 2012. That same month, RYSe launched a website, 

http://www.ryse.pk, a collective of projects and social enterprises 

to “empower women to reclaim their right to public 

space.” The site houses a blog and the following endeavors, 

several of which use the Ushahidi mapping platform for crowdsourcing 

reports: 

n Name & Shame, a project in partnership with B4A to break 

the silence around gender-based violence and map genderbased 

violence in Pakistan: http://www.nameandshame.pk 

caption 

n Kharcha Paani, a project to report and expose corruption, 

including everyday bribery: http://www.ryse.pk/ 

kharchapaani 

n Zinda Hai, which maps human rights violations in Pakistan: 

http://www.ryse.pk/zindahai 

n The BrandITs, an online & social media consultant service: 

http://www.ryse.pk/thebrandits 


RYSe - Reclaim Your Space website 

In addition, the RYSe Facebook page posts regular updates: 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/RYSe.org 

Project 2: 

Mother Child Health — Karak 

An information service on maternal health was titled “Mother 

Child Health - Karak.” It aimed to set up an SMS number for 

women of childbearing age and their children. The idea was to 

find a way for women in remote areas to access health care. 

This SMS technology was meant to help health workers keep 

track of where pregnant women were located in their region 

and to provide a way to keep track of their health. The technologies 

to be used in the project were Pringit for SMS and PHP 

and MySQL for data storage. 

Mera Vote Meri Taqat 

Project 3: Mera Vote Meri Taqat 

The project “Mera Vote Meri Taqat” (My Vote My Power) was 

designed to encourage Pakistani citizens to vote. It also 

included a research component to better understand why 

women tend not to participate in elections. The project was 

conceived as a public awareness campaign to help the public 

understand the power and value of their vote. FrontlineSMS is 

the primary technology planned for the project. 

Since the Lab, a group member has held meetings with officials 

of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the concerned 

implementing agency, to share an outline of the project. Based 

on the agency’s interest, the team was planning to develop a 

more formal presentation for the ECP. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung 

(FES), a German Foundation, has also shown interest in the project 

and asked the organizers to make a detailed presentation. 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/MeraVoteMeriTaqat  

Project 4: Khoon Say Zindagi 

Khoon Say Zindagi was designed as a local community blood 

bank system to reduce outside dependency in areas of conflict 

and violence. The main purpose of the project was to set up a 

database of blood donors for small communities. The system 

was intended to be independent initially; the database was to 

be set up to accommodate future expansion and connection 

with other systems in nearby communities. 

The main tool to be used for this project would be FrontlineSMS. 

Volunteers for the designated area would be provided with 

cell phones with FrontlineSMS forms installed, and would go 

12 


door-to-door to take pledges of blood donations and collect 

information. When blood donations were needed, text messages 

would be sent to registered volunteers with the relevant 

blood type, asking them to come in and donate blood at the 

local health center or hospital. 

Project 5: BussKaro 

BussKaro was designed as an e-inclusion portal for Pakistani 

women to report domestic violence and to connect them with 

sources of assistance such as lawyers, media outlets, medical 

services, human rights groups, and law enforcement agencies. 

To ensure that the project was accessible to illiterate women 

and to those without computer or Internet access, reports 

could be made a variety of ways: by phone, SMS, email, or 

online. Reports were to be taken and verified by volunteers, 

who would send notifications to relevant agencies and track 

the reports. 

https://www.facebook.com/BussKaro 

BussKaro 

Dysaster.org 

Project 6: Mahafizz 

Mahafizz (Guardian) aimed to map the challenges faced by 

human rights defenders in KPK, Balochistan, and FATA. Human 

rights defenders were defined as individuals, groups, or organizations 

working non-violently for the promotion and protection 

of human rights at the local, national, regional, or global level. 

The team noted that the challenges such activists face include 

but are not limited to threats, physical attacks, abduction, torture, 

and murder. An attack on a human rights defender in KPK, 

FATA or Balochistan could be registered by filling out an online 

report form on the planned Mahafizz site. The attacks could 

be reported by SMS, tweet, or email. The primary technologies 

to be utilized in the project were FrontlineSMS and CrowdMap. 

Project 7: Dysaster.org 

A project titled Social Injustice Neutralization Controls (SINC) 

was designed to gather, manage and disseminate reports of 

natural disasters in Pakistan, using various technologies such 

as Moonitin, Ushahidi, and Twitter. The first deployment of SINC 

was the Dysaster.org project, which was demonstrated on the 

last day of the Lab. 

http://dysaster.org/ushahidi/ 

Despite the creative and promising start, with a couple of 

exceptions as noted above, work on most of these projects 

has not really progressed since the Lab. Future updates may 

be posted on the web site of Internews’ Center for Innovation 

& Learning, http://www.internews.org/global-issues/ 

center-innovation-and-learning. 


Research 6Research Objectives 

Internews Network conducted an evaluation of the process and 

preliminary impacts of the Lab. The research consisted primarily 

of a pre-Lab survey, in-depth interviews during the Lab, a 

post-Lab survey conducted a week after the event, and interviews 

with selected participants about a month afterwards. The 

research surveys and the interview questions are attached in 

Appendix 2. More detailed findings of the post-Lab research are 

to be found in Appendix 3. 

The research was designed to address the following key issues: 

n Organization and process of the Lab; 

n Best conditions for innovation, including drivers and 

constraints; 

n Difference between the Lab environment and participants’ 

work environments; 

n Impact of the Lab on individuals’ ideas of what is possible; 

n Outcomes of the Lab, i.e. 

• networks/relationship building 

• collaboration 

• information/knowledge transfer 

• projects and ideas 

n Adoption of/resistance to ideas that emerged from the Lab; 

n Identification of unserved markets in Pakistan and the 

potential for ICTs to fill the gaps. 

Research Methods 

and Selection Criteria 

The research combined qualitative and quantitative research 

methods, using both in-depth interviews and questionnaires. 

The research generated data through: 

n A pre-Lab survey conducted as an online questionnaire 

filled out by participants at the time of their registration 

for the IIL. Out of the 68 participants, 51 responded to the 

questionnaire. 

n Twenty semi-structured short interviews during the Lab 

with participants selected using the simple random sample 

technique. 

n A post-Lab survey through an online questionnaire filled out 

by participants a week after the Lab. A total of 43 participants 

took part in the survey. 

n In-depth follow-up interviews with ten participants from 

Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, PKP, and Islamabad. 

n Follow-up interviews with five leaders or managers of civil 

society organizations who attended the Lab. 

14 


Pre-Lab Survey 

During online registration, 51 of the 68 participants submitted 

a pre-Lab questionnaire through surveymonkey.com. The 

purpose of the survey was for organizers to get a sense for 

participants’ familiarity with basic tools such as laptops and 

smart phones. It was also aimed at understanding the level of 

their knowledge of the technological platforms and tools to be 

discussed during the Lab. 

The survey showed that most of the participants were techsavvy 

and had access to a number of tools such as cell phones, 

laptops, or desktop or tablet computers. Aside from making 

calls and sending text messages, respondents used their cell 

phones for a variety of activities including accessing social 

media sites, checking email and watching and shooting video. 

The data also suggested that the participants used a variety of 

social networking and micro blogging sites. 

Despite their relative sophistication, a large number of respondents 

were unaware of more applied digital tools and services 

such as Ushahidi, FrontlineSMS, smsall.pk, Crowdmap, Huridocs, 

Mesh Potato, MapBox, FixMyStreet, or OpenStreetMap. 

Findings of Pre-Lab Survey 

Pre-Lab Expectations of Participants 

The respondents of the survey hoped and expected to gain the 

following: 

n Learn about new technological tools and platforms 

n Network 

n Explore opportunities for collaboration 

Familiarity with Computers and Cell phones 

The participants were quite familiar with most common ICTs. 

All had used the following: 

n Laptop computer 

n Desktop computer 

n Cell phone 

n Smart phone 

n Tablet computer or iPad 

In terms of access to these tools, 96% of the respondents 

owned laptops, 45% owned desktop computers, and 16% 

owned tablet PCs or iPads. Almost all respondents had cell 

phones. 33% of the respondents had ordinary cell phones 

and 32% had smart phones. 31% had both smart and ordinary 

cell phones. Only 4% of the participants had no phone. 

Table 1 describes those who marked ‘Yes.’ Not shown are those 

answering ‘No’ or not responding. 

Table 1: Ownership of Communication Tools 

Device 

Yes 

A laptop computer 96% 

A desktop computer 45% 

An ordinary cell phone 33% 

A smartphone (e.g. a Blackberry or iPhone) 32% 

Both ordinary cell phone and smartphone 31% 

A tablet computer such as an iPad 16% 

Familiarity with Digital Tools and Services 

The survey shows that most of the participants were pretty 

unfamiliar with many applied digital tools and services before 

the Lab. 10 Table 4 provides details of usage and familiarity with 

the listed tools. 

Table 2: Usage of Communication Technology Tools 

Technology Used it Heard about 

it/know of 

it but don’t 

use it 

Not heard 

about it 

No 

response 

Ushahidi 10% 51% 31% 8% 

FrontlineSMS 14% 55% 25% 6% 

Smsall.pk 4% 43% 45% 8% 

CrowdMap 4% 43% 41% 12% 

Huridoc 2% 31% 51% 16% 

Mesh Potato 0% 35% 60% 8% 

Mapbox 4% 33% 51% 12% 

FixMyStreet 2% 29% 60% 12% 

OpenMyStreet 10% 33% 47% 10% 

Tor 20% 25% 49% 6% 

10 In the post-Lab survey, respondents were asked to rate their prior level 

of experience in these technologies. The details are given in the section 

on Post-Lab Survey. 


community networks. What they lack is innovative 

use of technology.” 11 

Another civil society representative said, “Social media and 

bloggers should undertake research on the basis of our data 

collection and then highlight the issue to a broader audience.” 12 

Internews consultant Muhammad Aftab Alam, left, interviews a 

participant from Balochistan during the Lab 

Mid-Lab Semi-Structured 

Interviews 

As a part of the research, 20 randomly selected participants 

were interviewed during the Lab. The interviews were conducted 

to gather information on the innovative use of ICTs 

to serve information-dark areas. They were also intended to 

gather feedback about the Lab and its role in fostering collaboration 

and innovation to serve the broader public. 

Participants for these interviews were selected through a simple 

random sampling technique representing gender, geography 

and small group membership, as well as a balanced mix of 

civil society representatives/activists, geeks/developers, marketers, 

and bloggers/journalists. For the interviews, every third 

participant was selected, while ensuring representation of each 

of the categories in the group. 

Findings of Semi-Structured Interviews 

ICTs and New Media: Fulfilling Information Needs 

The majority of the interviewees favored the use of ICTs and 

new media to address the information needs of media-dark 

areas. Many mentioned the innovative use of cell phones such 

as FrontlineSMS and interactive voice response (IVR) services. 

A civil society representative from a leading national NGO said: 

“There is a need to involve social sector e.g. NGOs 

working on issues. They have data, information, and 

Unserved Markets for Information and ICT 

According to interviewees, communities impacted by disasters 

(flood/earthquake/militancy) and rural areas of Pakistan constitute 

the largest unserved markets for information. Participants 

from Baluchistan and other insurgency-hit areas such as FATA 

noted that populations specifically in their areas lacked reliable 

news and information. A few interviewees mentioned that the 

rural areas of the country are also un- or underserved markets. 

One interviewee reported that the use of IVR technology 

through cell phones could be quite helpful in keeping communities 

informed. Another mentioned that social education 

through social media and cell phones could create awareness 

about violence against women and vulnerable communities. 

Another underlined the potential of ICTs to extend education. A 

Karachi-based participant said: 

“I think the Bottom of Pyramid (BOP) economic sector 

stands to gain most from intelligent use of ICTs. 

Not everything needs to be online. The mobile phone, 

when combined with online tools, serves an immense 

niche.” 13 

An Afghan woman said: 

“Women are extremely uninformed about their legal/ 

Islamic rights and role in the Afghan society. Women 

are also victims of domestic violence due to lack 

of understanding of their legal rights. ICTs can help 

track incidents of domestic violence keeping in view 

of the privacy and sanctity of the women.” 14 

Innovation Lab Model and Pakistan’s Media and NGOs 

According to most interviewees, the Lab served as a catalyst 

for collaboration and adoption of more innovative mindset 

throughout Pakistan’s media and NGO culture. The participants 

agreed that the Lab had sparked transformation in their thinking 

about the adaptation and use of ICTs within Pakistan to 

address issues of social justice. 

11 Male, Islamabad – Pakistan-based NGO representative 

12 Male, Lahore – Pakistan-based NGO representative 

13 Male, Karachi – Pakistan-based marketing expert 

14 Female, Kabul – Afghanistan-based IT expert 

16 


Table 3: Drivers and Contraints 

One participant said: 

“The NGO sector in Pakistan needs to be chaperoned 

17 Male, Islamabad – Pakistan-based activist 18 Female, Kabul – Afghanistan-based IT expert 

to implement better technologies, not spending millions 

Drivers 

Contraints 

only for HTML websites. There needs to be a 

• Motivation 

• Time constraint during the 

consortium of techies who advise, implement and 

• Leadership 


train NGOs of the new and current tools of tomorrow 

• Environment 

• Problems with small groups 

to enable them to better deliver their services to the 

• Participatory and engaging • Limited understanding of 

people of Pakistan.” 15 

process 

technologies 

Another participant said, “In the coming elections one can 

• Language barriers 

involve national TV channels such as GEO, Express 24/7 in 

doing crowdsourcing for monitoring purposes.” 16 

Group Interactions and Innovation 

Innovation Lab and Thinking About ICTs 

The interviewees agreed that group interactions and relationships, 

including networks and collaborations, were relevant to 

All interviewees agreed that the IIL had sparked some kind of 

transformation in their thinking about how ICTs can be adapted 

the development of innovation through this process. 

and utilized within Pakistan to serve a broader range of people. 

One mentioned, “There are many sectors, particularly A senior IT consultant, based in Islamabad and working with the 

the agricultural sector, where ICTs are hardly used. There is a Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), said: 

need to adapt and utilize ICTs for improvements in the sector.” 

Interviewees agreed that the Lab had exposed them to 

new technologies and tools and provided the opportunity for 

technical experts and non-tech activists and journalists to work 

together for social change. 

“I recently came from Kabul where we were finally 

able to form a regional alliance of open source for 

Central Asian countries. This happened after an effort 

of over three years. Such collaborative efforts and 

joint ventures between community groups, intellectuals, 

students and other society members will definitely 

bridge some gaps.” 

Drivers and Constraints for Innovation 

According to the results of the semi-structured interviews, the 

driving forces for innovation and creativity during the Lab were According to those interviewed, bringing people with different 

individual motivation, effective leadership, and a conducive background and expertise together was key to the development 

of new ideas in this process. Respondents noted that 

environment. A senior civil society leader from Lahore shared 

that he was able to contribute to the work only because the many groups had already formed among the participants. One 

Lab was not structured as a “monologue.” Encouragement participant said, “I’ll make sure that the relations and friends I 

from the rest of the group members and organizers and the have made during the Lab are sustained and I’ll make use of the 

interactive structure of the Lab was a driving force for another new friends who are experts in their field to work together.” 18 

participant. One interviewee recounted that the Lab fostered 

Creating Best Conditions for Innovation 

innovation and creative thinking for him because the work was 

According to respondents, key elements for creating the best 

relevant to his personal work. 

conditions for innovation were: balanced teams; proper exercises 

A few of the interviewees mentioned that there was little explanation 

from the experts. Some also noted that the small group 

formation was suboptimal: one of the groups did not have a 

developer and had to rely on the limited technical understanding 

of its members. Many complained about time constraints 

during the Technology Marketplace. Half of the participants 

reported that language and non-availability of interpreters during 

before, during, and after the lab; the presence of experts 

and technologies; work that was relevant and need-based; and 

an open and comfortable environment. Interview subjects also 

mentioned the value of the Lab having all technological facilities 

and tools along with their experts under one roof. It was 

also energizing to be with people from different backgrounds, 

nationalities and regions, with different kinds of expertise. 

the Lab was also a constraint for them. 

15 Male, Karachi – Pakistan-based blogger and activist 

16 Female, Islamabad – Pakistan-based journalist/media expert 


Post-Lab Research 

Internews assessed the effectiveness of the Lab via a post- 

Lab questionnaire with 43 respondents and 15 follow-up 

interviews. 

Post-Lab Survey 

Experience at the Lab 

Nearly all survey respondents (94.1%) reported that they 

planned to apply what they had learned in the Lab to real life 

situations. Nearly three-fourths (73%) said that the Lab was 

better than they expected. The majority of the survey participants 

(62.2%) termed their experience at the Lab ‘highly 

positive’ and an additional 24.3% rated their experience as 

‘somewhat’ positive.’ One person found their experience very 

negative. 

Internews consultant Muhammad Aftab Alam, right, interviews Malik Safdar Dawar President 

of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) 

Difference Between the Lab and Individual’s Work 

Environments 

Interviewees noted that the IIL environment offered a number 

of advantages over their workplaces. In addition to providing all 

technological facilities and tools along with their experts under 

one roof, the Lab also brought a diversity of expertise and experience 

together. It encouraged competition among participants 

for innovative ideas and created an environment where ideas 

were discussed and projects were cooperatively conceived and 

developed. Many respondents noted that this was not the case 

at work. 

Experience at the lab 

2.7% 

5.4% 

5.4% 

62.2% 23.4% 

Very negative 

Somewhat negative 

Neither negative or positive 

Somewhat positve 

Totally positive 

Base n=43 participants in Pakistan Innovation Lab 2012 

18 


Core Objectives of the Lab 

The following table shows how survey participants rated core aspects of the Lab: 

Table 4: Rating aspects of the Lab 

Percentage of respondents who rated the aspect as: 

Core objectives of the Lab 

Neither poor 

Excellent Quite good 

nor good 

Quite poor 

Learning how to use technology 24% 62% 11% 3% 

Meeting with other people working in the same area 46% 51% 3% 0% 

New ways of working with technologies I already know 33% 42% 25% 0% 

How to work effectively on a project collaborating with others 27% 57% 16% 0% 

New ways to support a community 59% 38% 3% 0% 

Working with a multi-skilled team 51% 43% 6% 0% 

Structure of the Lab 

Most of the respondents were ‘completely satisfied’ or ‘quite satisfied’ with the elements of the Lab structure. A few were not 

satisfied with the structure: these were mostly those who identified themselves as journalists and marketers. 

Table 5: Rating the Lab structure 

About 

Completely 

satisfied 

Percentage of respondents who are 

Somewhat 

satisfied 

Neither 

unsatisfied 

nor satisfied 

Somewhat 

unsatisfied 

Unsatisfied 

Technology market 19% 50% 19% 6% 6% 

Explanation of the lab structure 24% 54% 11% 8% 3% 

Duration of the lab 19% 41% 24% 5% 11% 

Location of the lab 51% 24% 19% 3% 3% 

Pre-Lab Knowledge of Technologies 

The survey showed that participants had moderate prior knowledge of the technologies — Ushahidi, FrontineSMS, Crowdmap, 

Huridoc, Mesh Potato, MapBox/TileMill, FixMyStreet, OpenStreetMap, Tor, and Safety and Security of Internet Browsing. A majority 

— mainly geeks and journalists — knew quite a lot about technologies such as Ushahidi and FrontlineSMS; however, most of the 

respondents, other than a few bloggers and designers, knew little or nothing about Mesh Potato or Huridocs. 


Table 6: Knowledge of technologies before the Lab 

Technology 

Prior knowledge of the technologies 

Know a great deal Know quite a lot Know very little Know nothing 

Ushahidi 14% 63% 23% 0% 

FrontlineSMS 37% 51% 12% 0% 

Crowdmap 36% 46% 15% 3% 

Mesh Potato 3% 21% 50% 26% 

Huridoc 6% 15% 38% 41% 

MapBox/TileMill 9% 42% 40% 9% 

FixMyStreet 9% 44% 35% 12% 

OpenStreetMap 15% 43% 36% 6% 

Tor 29% 24% 35% 12% 

Safety and Security of Internet 

49% 43% 8% 0% 

Browsing 


The Technology Marketplace was designed to introduce communications 

tools and platforms to the participants. A survey 

respondent to the survey wrote, “all presented technologies 

were up to the mark and really fascinating.” 19 Another said, 

“This was a good introduction to how the technologies were 

being applied.” 20 

However, many of the respondents complained about time constraints 

during this session. For example, one participant said, 

“The timed 10-minute sessions introducing these technologies 

was not very productive because unless you are a technology 

expert, it takes time for this sort of knowledge transfer to 

sink in.” 21 Another participant commented, “[The presence of] 

people who have actually developed the technologies and not 

just used them would also have helped us in understanding the 

technologies better.” 22 A few respondents also asked for some 

degree of training for non-programmers as well. 

Participants are introduced to new tools at the Technology Marketplace 

19 Male, Quetta – Pakistan-based IT expert 

20 Male, Malaysian IT Expert 

21 Male, Kabul – Afghanistan-based IT expert 

22 Male, Karachi – Pakistan-based geek/developer 

20 


Drivers and Constraints for Innovation 

Post-Lab survey respondents cited the following as drivers and 

constraints for innovation. 

Plan to continue to work with the team 

Table 7: Drivers and constraints 

for Innovation Lab 

24.3% 

Drivers 

• An environment of 

need, willpower, creativity, 

and lateral thinking 

• Passion, curiosity, 

imagination, leadership 

• The need to resolve 

issues 

• Teams, linkages with 

group members 

• Introduction to new 

technologies, technical 

support, hands-on work 

on projects, applying 

ideas 

• Teaching the young generation 

the proper use of 

technology 

Contraints 

• Negative feedback from 

colleagues, lack of 

support, unimaginative 

or rule-bound bosses, 

mistrust 

• Lack of mainstream 

open-source technological 

expertise 

• Limited time, ICT skill, 

and technical guidance 

and support 

• Bureaucracy and 

improper use of 

technology 

70.3% 

Yes 

No 

Not sure 

5.4% 


Interest in Future Labs 

Two-thirds of respondents said that they would ‘definitely’ 

apply to attend another similar Lab. Another 29.7% of the 

respondents answered that they would ‘quite likely’ apply. 

Interestingly, two respondents belonging to a journalists union 

said that they had no such interest. 

Post-Lab Collaboration 

Responding a week after the Lab, 70.3% of the questionnaire 

respondents said that they planned to work with their team 

to complete their project. Only a few (5.4%) did not expect 

to continue such work. Many of the respondents reported 

that they would stay in touch with each other through Skype, 

Facebook, email, or Twitter. One of the respondents wrote, “I 

have already invited my team members to my organization to 

work with my campaign team and help them understand these 

tools and apply those in our campaigns.” 

Interest in similar lab 

5.4% 

29.7% 

64.9% 

Definitely 

Quite likely 

Not at all 



Suggestions for Future Innovation Labs 

The respondents made following suggestions for future Labs: 

• Lengthen the duration of workshop to facilitate deeper 

understanding of different technologies and allow more 

time for detailed planning; the training session should be 

longer if any web development is included. 

• While the diversity of participants was positive, Labs 

focused on just one social issue should be explored which 

bring together participants from the same field. 

• Invite participants from more countries to have more 

diverse experience and knowledge sharing. 

• If possible, each small group should be provided a separate 

work place, as it was hard to focus with other groups working 

in the same space. 

Comfort with Digital Tools 

The survey results show that the Lab enhanced participant 

knowledge and comfort level with the technologies and tools 

introduced during the event. For example, very few of the participants 

had previously used these technologies before coming 

to the Lab. Afterwards, a fair number of participants felt 

‘totally confident’ to use these technologies. Respondents 

expressed greatest confidence in using Ushahidi, FrontlineSMS, 

Crowdmap, and Tor. 

Table 8: Usage of Digital Tools 

Pre-Lab survey Post-Lab survey 

Technology 

Percentage of Percentage of participants 

who feel totally 

participants who 

have used it confident to use it 

Ushahidi 10% 29% 

FrontlineSMS 14% 37% 

Crowdmap 4% 41% 

Huridoc 4% 3% 

Mesh Potato 2% 9% 

MapBox/TileMill 0% 9% 

FixMyStreet 4% 21% 

OpenStreetMap 2% 18% 

Tor 10% 33% 

Safety and Security of 

Internet Browsing 

No information 

available 

53% 

Post-Lab In-depth Interviews 

About a month after the Lab, in-depth interviews were conducted 

with ten participants. These respondents were selected 

to represent the range of geographic regions and small groups 

as well as gender balance. Interviews were conducted with participants 

from Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 

(PKP), and Islamabad. Three of the interviewees were women 

and at least one person from each of the small groups was 

selected. In addition to these in-depth interviews, five civil 

society leaders/managers who attended the Lab were interviewed; 

these are discussed further below. 

Findings — In-Depth Interviews 

Development of Projects After the Lab 

The interviews have revealed that, one month after the Lab, 

most of the projects had not seen any progress. There were a 

few exceptions: 

n Representatives of the team working on RYSe (Reclaim your 

Space) shared that a dedicated web domain had been registered 

for the project and literature review was in process. 

The team was thoroughly studying the Ushahidi model for 

the project. (As noted earlier, this project has since made 

further progress; their website launched and a staff person 

was hired in March 2012.) 

n The team working on the BussKaro project was in the process 

of designing and developing a database for the website. 

A representative of the team said, “We are in process 

of getting a dedicated web-domain for the project and soon 

the project will be launched online.” 

n Mera Vote Meri Taqat (My Vote My Power) also saw some 

development during this period. A group member held meetings 

with officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan 

(ECP), the concerned implementing agency. An outline of 

the project was shared with the ECP, which showed interest 

in the project. The team was planning to develop a more formal 

presentation for the ECP. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), 

a German Foundation, has also shown interest in the project 

and asked the organizers to make a detailed presentation. 

Also during the first month after the Lab, at least three new 

projects based on the same technologies were launched by Lab 

participants. 

n One of the projects is called ‘Complaint Registration and 

Feedback Mechanism in Humanitarian Response.’ The project 

is based on FrontlineSMS technology and was developed 

by Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) in 

22 


collaboration with Raabta Consultants to create an effective 

record of complaints made by flood survivors who were beneficiaries 

of SPO’s relief efforts. 

n Another project was designed and launched by the 

PakReport team (www.PakReport.org). Based on MapBox 

technology, the project provides an interactive map to show 

how many Pakistani voters took part in the 2008 elections. 

The map is available at http://www.pakreport.org/ 

dowevote/ 

n A third project was developed and implemented by 

Internews Network in Pakistan. The project is a two-way 

communication platform that serves as a security alert system 

for its employees in Pakistan. The project is currently in 

the pilot phase. 

Asked why other projects did not progress, respondents identified 

‘lack of coordination and communication among the group 

members’ as a major reason of the non-development of the 

projects. A few complained about a sense of disconnection with 

the majority of their group members. 

Given that most of the participants were working professionals, 

lack of dedicated time for the projects was a limiting factor. In 

many cases, interviewees said that they were too occupied by 

their regular work to make time for a project that fell outside 

of their work priorities. 

Lack of interest of the participants in the projects was another 

reason they stalled. The interviews with participants revealed 

that a few of them were simply not serious about further development 

of their project. 

The absence of incentives or funds for development were also 

cited as reasons that projects did not progress further. A few 

interviewees cited the lack of technical support to continue on 

their own. 

Ongoing Relationships and Collaborations 

A month after the Lab, more than half of the participants interviewed 

reported that they were in touch with other participants. 

This contact was mainly through cyberspace—email, Facebook, 

Twitter, or Skype. A few had met with other Lab participants in 

person, mainly due to work-related activities. A few mentioned 

that they were in touch with some of the expats involved with 

the Lab to seek guidance on their day-to-day work. 

Models of Practice Emerging from the Lab 

The majority of participants reported that the Lab was a unique 

and new experience for them, particularly the development of 

projects using modern technological platforms. According to 

respondents, the informal nature of the working groups, the 

Technology Marketplace, and the conception, planning, and 

development of projects represented memorable new models 

for ways of working. 

In terms of projects, the interviewees named Reclaim Your 

Space (RYSe), BussKaro (the project on reporting domestic violence), 

Mera Vote Meri Taqat (My Vote My Power), and Mahafizz 

— Guardian (a project for human rights defenders) as the best 

models that emerged from the Lab. 

Impact of the Lab on Individual Participants’ Approach to 

Work 

Interviewees reported that the Lab had brought significant 

change in their approach to work. One participant said: 

“The lab was a unique and innovative platform to 

‘conceive idea, plan a project, develop a project and 

present the same … the Lab in fact produced something 

in three days.” 

Another participant said: 

“I left web development and programming before the 

Lab. Nevertheless, the ‘drag and drop’ applications 

made me rethink to restart my work on programming 

and web development. It proved to be a great 

refresher of my previous expertise and interest. As a 

result of the Lab, I have restarted the practices.” 

A number of respondents reported that the Lab had broadened 

their perspectives about the use of technologies for social 

development. Cross-cultural learning and interaction was 

another aspect that impressed a number of participants. 

Typical Profile to be Successful in the Lab 

Most respondents said that success in the Lab did not require 

a particular psychological, cultural, or demographic profile. 

Everyone could perform, given the opportunities and resources. 

“Innovation is a human quality and it can’t be restricted to any 

psychological, cultural and demographic background,” said 

one participant. Another said, “I rank the Lab at high level. The 

practice should be replicated at the provincial level to provide 

opportunity to more experts and interested persons to be part 

of innovation and creation.” 

Interviews with 

Civil Society Leaders 

As a part of the post-Lab research design, follow-up interviews 

were conducted with five leaders or managers of civil society 

groups. These were heads of NGOs and of rights-based organizations 

who participated in the Lab. As these executives carried 


a great deal of responsibility, it was quite difficult to arrange 

meetings with them. However, interviews were held with civil 

society leaders in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. 

Since no civil society leader from Quetta was available, two 

interviews were conducted in Peshawar. 

Most of these interviews echoed the views expressed by other 

participants as described above. Two new points that emerged 

from these five interviews were: 

Limited Awareness of the Projects Among Civil Society 

Groups 

The interviewees shared that their organizations were receptive 

to the projects. Nevertheless, it appeared that many of the 

collaborating organizations had so far not understood the utility 

of the project. Even during the Lab, many civil society representatives 

were not able to contribute actively to the development of 

their group’s project. This may be because they were not able to 

understand the benefits of the project or because they were not 

able to relate it to their work. These executives suggested that 

the groups hold proper consultations with stakeholders to generate 

awareness of their projects. This could also help create interest 

in collaboration and innovation within their organizations. 

These respondents also noted that the need to create awareness 

among the media and civil society through such labs 

about technological advances. The Lab could help promote the 

adoption of a more innovative mindset throughout Pakistan’s 

media and NGO culture. However, interviewees noted a serious 

trust deficit among Pakistani NGOs and media about intellectual 

property rights. People who have ideas are sometimes reluctant 

to share them, as they are concerned about possible theft. 

Models for Future Labs 

One of the civil society leaders interviewed proposed two 

models for future labs . One was for a team of volunteer tech 

experts—not more than 10 people— to form an organization 

and develop systems, platforms, or tools for a particular 

problem. They could ask the relevant NGOs to explain their key 

issues and the tech organization could then install software, 

web portals, databases, and other platforms and train NGO 

staff in updating the website(s). The group could either operate 

from their own premises or provide services at the NGO’s 

doorstep to ensure data protection. 

The second model proposed was iHub, an innovation hub for 

Nairobi’s technology community. This is an open space for 

technologists, investors, tech companies and hackers in the 

area. This tech community facility has a focus on young entrepreneurs, 

web and mobile phone programmers, designers and 

researchers. It is part open community workspace (co-working), 

part vector for investors and VCs, and part incubator. For 

details, see: http://ihub.co.ke/pages/home.php 

24 


Recommendations 

7 

From the surveys, interviews and discussions with the Lab participants, a number of suggestions emerged. 

These are the key recommendations: 

Recommendations for Future Labs 

n Increase the duration of future Labs 

n Make the session on the Technology Marketplace longer 

n Invite participants from more countries to have more 

diverse backgrounds and information-sharing 

n If possible, provide each group with a separate workplace 

n Provide seed money and technical support for implementing 

projects, with accountability, monitoring and evaluation 

n The organizers of the lab or the groups should explore funding 

for further development of the projects, pitching, and 

implementation 

n A multilingual environment and facilities would be a plus 

n Introduce a broader range of technologies in addition to 

maps and SMS-based solutions 

n There should be more discussion, interaction and deliberations 

among the participants through email or Skype before the Lab 

n Groups should be formed at least a week before the Lab so 

group members can start communicating and collaborating 

to define the problem they want to solve through technology 

n Participant expectations should be measured before coming 

to the Lab and there should be more explanation about 

planned activities before the start 

Recommendations for Future 

Lab Projects 

n Organize a follow-up gathering of all the groups. If such a 

huge gathering is not possible, then the individual groups 

should meet 

n Appoint or elect group leaders who lead their respective 

groups to ensure full participation of all group members 

n Those whose ideas were chosen and developed should lead 

their respective groups. For example, a representative of 

Khawnd-e-Kor, a women rights organization in KPK, could 

take up the project on maternal mortality and develop it 

further with the support of rest of the group 

n The groups should make presentations of their projects 

— even at a preliminary stage — to relevant civil society 

groups, donors, and other implementation agencies for possible 

adoption of the projects 

n Top leaders of civil society organizations should be brought 

on board with planned projects. Once there is buy-in, the 

organizations could adapt these projects 

n Organizers of the Lab or the groups should explore funding 

for further development and implementation of the projects 

Conclusions 

As a pioneering effort to introduce Pakistan’s journalists and 

civil society leaders to innovative digital tools to further their 

work, the Islamabad Innovation Lab was a success, and could 

serve as a model for future such efforts. Participants agreed 

that learning about and exploring new technologies was a great 

opportunity for them, and that the Lab served as a catalyst 

for collaboration and adoption of innovative ideas throughout 

Pakistan’s media and NGO culture. Some 94% said they 

planned to apply what they had learned in practice, and 95% 

reported that they would likely or definitely apply to be part of 

any future Lab. 

Participants particularly cited the informal, hands-on style of 

the Lab as key to its success. The most important elements 

for creating an environment of creative innovation and the 

conception of new projects were: balanced teams, pre-lab 

exercises, the presence of relevant experts and technologies, 

a well-designed agenda with specific timelines, work that was 

need-based, a conducive work environment, and openness and 

receptiveness to new ideas among group members. 

More broadly, participants agreed that ICTs and new media 

have great potential to address the public’s information needs, 

especially in areas suffering from “media darkness.” 


Appendix 1: Agenda 

Islamabad Innovation Lab 2011 

“Innovation for Social Justice” 

25-27 Oct. 2011 

Agenda Overview 

The Islamabad Innovation Lab 2011 started on October 25th with the registration of participants. Shahzad Ahmad, Bytes for 

All, welcomed the participants and briefly introduced his organizations and the Lab. Oren Murphy, Regional Director for Asia at 

Internews Network, explained Lab objectives and activities. The participants then formed into seven teams ensuring a balance of 

new media experts, journalists, bloggers, CSO leaders, and geeks/developers. 

After an interesting session in which participants introduced themselves within their small groups, formal sessions started with 

a Technology Marketplace. Representatives and/or expert users of Ushahidi, FrontlineSMS, Crowdmap, MapBox, FixMyStreet, 

OpenStreetMap, and other platforms presented their products to the participants. Each group spent 10 minutes with each presenter 

before rotating to the next presenter. 

Before coming to the Lab, the participants were asked to identify key social problems and issues. During the after-lunch session 

on the first day of the Lab, the teams worked to shortlist the problems. They then presented the issues and started brainstorming 

and developing project concepts. The day ended with teams presenting their project concepts. 

On the next day, the teams worked on the development of the projects and shared progress on their work after the end of each of 

the sessions. On the evening of Day 2, an optional “Night Coding Session” was arranged for the teams to meet up with presenters 

for hands-on installation, configuration, and demonstration of their tech-tools. 

At the end of Day 3, the teams finalized their projects and presented them to the participants and organizers. 

Process of the Lab 

Identity 

Problems 

Learn about 

Tech Tools 

Conceptualise 

Project Ideas 

Refine and 

Finalise Projects 

Evaluation 

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Lab Agenda 

Day 1: 

08:00 am : Registration opens 

09:00 am : Welcome and Lab overview 

09:45 am : Icebreaker exercise 

10:00 am - Team formation. Participants are broken into up to 7 teams based on their skills and experience 

10:45 am : Tea Break 

11:00 am : Technology Marketplace — technologies/tools are presented to participants. Each team spends 10 minutes with each 

presenter before rotating to the next presenter 

1:00 pm : Lunch 

2:00 pm : Key Problems and Issues — Teams work on identifying local problems that can be addressed during the Lab. The problem 

should be specific (not a generic issue like corruption), and the solution should be pragmatic, utilize technology and have the 

potential to scale. 

3:00 pm : Teams present the problems they plan to address during the Lab. 

3:30 pm : Tea Break 

4:00 pm : Teams brainstorm and develop project concepts. The projects should utilize technology (doesn’t have to be what was 

presented) as part of the project. 

5:00 pm to 5:30 pm : Teams present the project they plan to build during the rest of the Lab. 

7:30 pm to 10:00pm: Dinner — Official Dinner 

Day 2: 

09:00 am : Welcome and Goals for the second day. 

09:15 am : Teams commence working on their projects. Teams can tweet and upload photos, progress reports as they work. 

*** Tea / Coffee and snacks available. 

12:30 pm : Lunch with each team giving brief progress reports 

1:30 pm : Teams continue to work on their projects. 


4:30 pm : Team spokespeople present progress, and brief feedback is provided by presenters and participants. 

7:00 pm to 9:30 pm — Night Coding Sessions — Participants meet up with presenters who will do hands-on installation/configuration/demonstration 

of their tech-tools. This will be an optional session. 

Day 3: 

09:00 am : Welcome and goals for the final day. 

09:15a : Teams finalize their projects. Develop plan for marketing / deploying the project. 


1:00 pm : Lunch 

2:00 pm : Presentations from teams. Each presentation will be 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions from judges. 

4:00 pm : Winning team announced. 

4:30 pm : Participant debrief session — Participants give brief feedback on the Lab. 


Appendix 2: Research Instruments 

Mid-Lab Semi-Structured Interview Protocol 

Name: 

Contact details: 

Thanks for your time for the interview. By now you have got familiar with the structure and objectives of this “Innovation Lab”. The 

purpose of this interview is to understand whether the Lab design is appropriate in meeting its objectives as well as your expectations. 

I will take a few minutes of your time and explain the questions and while you will respond, I will make notes of your answers. 

I hope there is no issue for you if I quote you in the report. Otherwise, I will use broad categories such as journalist, geek/developer, 

and civil society activist/manager to identify the information source. 

About the Lab Structure 

1. How did you get introduced to this Innovation Lab? 

How did the organizers communicate about the Lab? 

What did they tell you while convincing you to participate in the Lab? (E.g. informal taping, friends/talking etc.) 

2. Were you familiar with the concept of Innovation Lab before coming to the Lab? 

Kindly share your previous knowledge about the Lab, if any? (e.g. what did you know about Lab? Did you participate in any 

other Lab?) 

3. Do you feel that the structure of the Lab has appropriately been designed? 

4. Are you satisfied with the structure and activities of the Lab? 

5. What did you learn out of the Lab structure? Share you understanding about the structure/activities of the Lab. Please 

explain. 

6. What do you suggest to improve the structure and activities in the Lab? Please explain. 

About the Lab Objectives 

7. What were your expectations for the Lab? 

For example: 

• Awareness of technology tools 

• Networking with other stakeholders/experts 

• Opportunity to develop innovative project ideas 

• Any other? 

Please explain. 

28 


8. What have you learnt, so far, about creating the best conditions for innovation and generating ideas and project concepts? 

Provide specific details. 

9. What are the constraints? Please list the drivers and constraints. 

10. Can you identify un-served markets for information in Pakistan and how ICTs could be used to help fill in the information 

gaps in these markets? Please explain. 

11. Do you think that innovative use of ICTs and new media can be used to address the information needs of “media dark” areas 

in Pakistan? How? Please explain. 

12. Do you think that this innovation lab has sparked some kind of transformation in thinking about how ICT can be adapted and 

utilized within Pakistan to serve a broader range of people? If so, how? Provide specific examples. 

13. Can the Innovation Lab model act as a catalyst for collaboration and adoption of more innovative mindset throughout 

Pakistan’s media and NGO culture? Provide specific examples. 

14. How do group networks relate to the development of an innovation out of this process? Provide details of networks already 

formed or being formed, especially cross border and those between Afghan and Pakistan participants. 


Post-Lab In-depth Interview Guide 

Name: 

Contact: 

1. Were any of the ideas developed during the Innovation Lab further developed after the Lab ended? 

Provide specific examples. 

If there were no ideas further developed, identify reasons and provide recommendations on how to maximize ideas being 

further developed in the future. 

2. Did any of the relationships and collaborations started in the Lab carry forward after the completion of the Lab? 

If so, what and how? 

3. Did new ideas emerge after the Lab’s completion, which were in some part generated or inspired during the Lab itself? If so, 

what? 

4. Did organizations adapt to or resist the innovations that come out of Lab? 

5. What strong models of practice emerged from the three days that might be more widely adopted? 

How could others use these to help introduce collaboration and innovation in to their organizations? 

6. What are the conditions that enable this type of method to scale? 

7. What impact does the Lab have on individual participants’ conception of what is possible for themselves? On their approach 

to their work? 

8. Is there a typical profile of people who are successful out of the Lab process at being drivers of innovation and change (e.g. 

psychological, cultural, demographic)? 

30 


Interview Protocol for Civil Society Heads 

Name 

Organization 

Contact 

Thanks for your time for the interview. As you have participated in the “Innovation Lab” held on October 25-27, 2011 in Islamabad, 

I would like to ask a few question s about the adoption of the Lab outcomes in your work and future project development. 

I will take a few minutes of your time and explain the questions and while you will respond, I will make notes of your answers. I 

hope there is no issue for you if I quote you in the report. Otherwise, I will use broad category of civil society leader/manager to 

identify the information source. 

Questions 

1. Did the Innovation lab serve a broader range of people? If so, how? 

2. Were there ideas which were initiated during the Innovation Lab and further developed after the Lab ended? 

If there were no ideas further developed, please identify the reasons and guide us on how to maximize ideas being further 

developed in the future. 

3. Did any of the relationships and collaborations started in the Lab carry forward after the completion of the Lab? 

If so, what and how? 

4. Did new ideas emerge after the Lab’s completion, which were in some part generated or inspired during the Lab itself? If so, 

what? 

5. Did the organizations adapt to or resist the innovations that come out of Lab? 

Why? 

6. Can you identify [strong] models of practice that emerged from the three days and might be more widely adopted? 

How could others use these models to help introduce collaboration and innovation in to their organizations? 

7. Can the Innovation Lab model act as a catalyst for collaboration and adoption of more innovative mindset throughout 

Pakistan’s media and NGO culture? 

How? 

8. What are the conditions that enable this type of method to scale? 


32 



34 



36 


About the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning 

The Internews Center for Innovation & Learning supports, captures, and shares innovative approaches to communication 

through a creative program of research and development worldwide. Founded in 2011, the Center seeks to strike a balance 

between local expertise and needs and global learning in order to develop a comprehensive approach to understanding and 

catalyzing information exchange. 

In Internews’ 30-year history of promoting independent media in more than 75 countries around the world, the last five 

years have arguably seen the most changes in the global media and journalism environment. Across all Internews programs, 

adoption of cutting-edge technology is integral to advancing the work of the journalists, bloggers, citizen reporters, 

schol¬ars and others who provide a vital interpretive role for their communities. The Internews Center for Innovation 

& Learning deepens and enhances our capacity to link existing expertise to research that helps define, understand and 

monitor the critical elements of changing information ecosystems and to pilot projects that apply and test the data, platforms 

and digital tools to meet information needs of specific communities. This is far from a solo endeavor. A network of 

partners, ranging from technologists to academics to activists is critical to creating and sustaining a dynamic and iterative 

collabora¬tive space for innovation. 

Internews Washington, DC Office 

1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW Suite 700 

Washington, DC 20036 USA 

+ 1 202 833 5740 

Internews Administrative Headquarters 

PO Box 4448 

Arcata, CA 95518 USA 

+1 707 826 2030 

www.internews.org 

E-mail: info@internews.org 

Twitter: @internews 

facebook.com/internews 

Internews is an international non-profit organization whose mission is 

to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information 

they need, the ability to connect and the means to make their 

voices heard. 

Internews provides communities the resources to produce local news 

and information with integrity and independence. With global expertise 

and reach, Internews trains both media professionals and citizen 

journalists, introduces innovative media solutions, increases coverage 

of vital issues and helps establish policies needed for open access to 

information. 

Internews programs create platforms for dialogue and enable informed 

debate, which bring about social and economic progress. 

Internews’ commitment to research and evaluation creates effective 

and sustainable programs, even in the most challenging environments. 

Formed in 1982, Internews is a 501(c)(3) organization headquartered 

in California. Internews has worked in more than 75 countries, and currently 

has offices in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America 

and North America.

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