Digital communication and accountability: insights from a year of discussions with CDAC Network

Through its public events in 2021, CDAC Network explored digital communication and accountability – in particular, asking how technology could offer a tipping point in shifting the power in aid.

This policy brief outlines our key takeaways from a year of thought-provoking discussions:

1. Technology and digital platforms present an important opportunity to include more people in dialogue and communicate more effectively.
2. The use of digital platforms is accompanied by risks that humanitarian actors must fully reflect in their planning.
3. People use many communication channels to learn from and participate in information and dialogue – the most trusted of these are personally or locally driven.
4. The growth of digital access is far from homogeneous – investment in sustainable solutions must build on context analysis, include infrastructure and prioritise digital literacy.
5. The humanitarian sector is behind when it comes to technology and is over-incentivised by the need to innovate. This has contributed to a mismatch between the demand and supply of humanitarian technology solutions.
6. Poor capacity, risk aversion and data colonisation act as barriers to positive advancement in power-sharing and accountability through technology.