Why isn’t tech for accountability working in Africa?

The document examines the gap between the high potential of 'civic tech' and its disappointing results in Africa. It identifies key failures, such as the tendency of non-technical organisations to build custom tools from scratch and a lack of understanding of the social and political contexts of users. Based on research in Kenya and South Africa, the author argues that innovation should be treated as an iterative process rather than a one-time product delivery, recommending that funders and practitioners move away from short-term pilots toward building long-term institutional capabilities and learning networks.

• Despite the growth of mobile networks and funding, technology for transparency and accountability (T4T&A) initiatives have generally failed to achieve effectiveness at scale, with global surveys showing few examples of successful impact.
• A study of 38 T4T&A initiatives in Kenya and South Africa revealed that fewer than 25% of managers were satisfied with their chosen or developed technologies, and nearly half of the target audiences did not use the tools as expected.
• Many organisations, despite lacking technical expertise, frequently build custom digital tools from scratch instead of researching existing options, leading to increased costs, delays, and failure to meet expectations.
• The failure of T4T&A initiatives is often attributed to a 'build it and they will come' approach that ignores the incentives, needs, and aptitudes of citizens and government actors, as well as untested assumptions about the link between transparency and accountability.
• Organisations often struggle with technical service providers because they lack the knowledge to provide accurate briefs or manage the technical development process effectively.
• To improve outcomes, the author recommends that funders shift from supporting short-term pilots to building long-term institutional capacity and that practitioners adopt an iterative 'beta' approach to innovation, budgeting for failure and iteration.

APA

de Lanerolle, I. (2017). Why isn’t tech for accountability working in Africa? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Briefing-161.pdf

Chicago

de Lanerolle, Indra. Why isn’t tech for accountability working in Africa? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Briefing-161.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Lanerolle |first1=Indra |title=Why isn’t tech for accountability working in Africa? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Briefing-161.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{delanerolle2017why, author = {de Lanerolle, Indra}, title = {{Why isn’t tech for accountability working in Africa?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Briefing-161.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }