The most important transformations in international development increasingly involve digital technology. As blockchain is now widely used to track funding transmissions and ease migrant remittances, new forms of communication, identification technologies, and digital payment solutions are redefining development practice and people’s experiences of humanitarian governance and finance. Mass information collected about populations – for instance, social network and mobility data from phones – increasingly fuels the targeted development of new products and guides humanitarian assistance in crises. Online work platforms and remote learning opportunities have become ubiquitous, triggering the global spread of digital skills trainings and digital entrepreneurship programmes.
The Digital Global Development cluster focuses on the role of digital technology in the context of international development and humanitarianism. It aims to build capacity in research collaboration across disciplines at the University of Edinburgh, while generating a fruitful exchange of ideas and research insights internationally.
This cluster is led by Dr Andreas Hackl and Dr Juli Huang.
