humanitarian.info

Can I start by saying that this new version of WordPress has some serious problems, and this is the fourth time that I’ve tried to post this. Anyway, to business!

Ed Granger-Happ is a great guy who happened to have a great vision. His idea for wiring the global village isn’t in itself anything revolutionary – in some ways, it’s the foundation of ICT4Development – but the way in which he’s gone about it is definitely revolutionary. Ed is the driving force behind NetHope, with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working over the last couple of years. A consortium of NGOs, all represented by their CIOs and similar, collaborating on projects to improve the effectiveness of IT within their organisations.

Through ECB, I’ve been really pleased to provide funding to a number of projects that NetHope is managing, including the about-to-be-launched-honestly ICT4Emergencies and the ICT Skills Building program. What makes NetHope so appealling is the fact that it’s the technical staff within agencies taking things forward themselves, not waiting for programme units to work out what they want – seeding new initiatives, testing new ideas and trying to break down the barriers between IT and programme units within NGOs.

For his work with NetHope (and his role as CIO at Save the Children US) Ed has been named as one of the top 100 most influential people in IT by eWeek magazine. So congratulations to him, and for the visibility this award provides for NetHope!