2.1 Summary of Interview Responses: Kerala (India), Nepal, and Pakistan

TABLE 2.1 Summary of Interview Responses: Kerala (India), Nepal, and Pakistan

What has changed as a result of COVID-19?

What has the greatest potential for quick wins? Kerala: Long-term investment in STI, community capacity, and engagement Nepal: Many local innovations; private sector diaspora willing to engage Pakistan: Under crisis, government willing to adopt joint solutions with the private sector

• Disaster preparedness anchored over decades in science clubs in schools, universal literacy, land reforms, decentralized planning with local governments, and active citizen involvement in saving rainforests • Relevant experience in using technology during the floods of 2018 and

Nipah virus • Mass volunteerism; spontaneous demand from society for STI solutions; widespread use of open-source programming • Local resilience considered important, such as nongrid solutions for water, electricity, and waste management, especially as there is no centralized legacy system • Open-source platforms for developing innovative products; FABLABs (maker spaces) linked to enterprises • Colleges and universities operating as incubators, focusing on finding solutions to local problems • Technology adoption on user side; diverse microlevel innovations; ongoing engagement with key stakeholder groups (such as school administrators and health care workers) to address their concerns • Strong demands by private sector and diaspora to implement national digital strategy in coordination with government • Launch of educational TV with interactive SMS and private educational content • Telemedicine platforms and local production of PPE but lack of entrepreneurial drive and solutions orientation by private sector

• Use fintech and pointof-service network to improve delivery of social transfers and lay groundwork for digital

ID registration • Ramp up tech training for teachers; pilot

“roving teachers” and mobile learning centers to reach local communities • Expand Nepal’s narrative beyond tourism to demonstrate the country’s digital potential through incubation centers and support for start-ups • Build an up-to-date health profile of

Nepal’s provinces to address priority needs, including through telemedicine

• High performance of national ID system; potential for cross-platform integration of human development service delivery • Rethinking of traditional schoolhouse education delivery model • Elimination of fifthgrade examination to reduce stigma of school choice • Solutions for reaching a high level of adult illiteracy; incentives for national campaigns (such as offering smartphones as rewards upon successful completion) (Table continues on next page)

TABLE 2.1 Summary of interview responses: Kerala (India), Nepal, and Pakistan (continued)

What are the risks posed by new technologies?

What are examples of promising grassroots innovations? Kerala: Long-term investment in STI, community capacity, and engagement Nepal: Many local innovations; private sector diaspora willing to engage Pakistan: Under crisis, government willing to adopt joint solutions with the private sector

• Significant number will remain poor and gender and caste inequalities will remain strong • Big social gap in education, traditionally the equalizer, is emerging • Risk stratification approach poses complex cyber risks and raises question of data proportionality (such as what happens to data collected on children?)

• “Taking the state to the doorsteps of vulnerable” • Local science clubs linked to international networks—for example,

IEEE’s 4,000 members were able to come up with local innovations faster than major companies • Kerala’s investments in techno parks, start-ups, e-governance, and STI institutions are enabling broad-based innovation • Growing digital divide, glamorizing of online education; growing number of dropouts • Lack of legal, cyber, and privacy safeguards

• Returning migrants and diaspora with

IT/AI expertise present opportunities for digital innovation • Small-scale innovations in education, health, and e-commerce are being made, but require funding and mentorship • Education sector is highly segmented; private education sector may capture the benefits of technological progress • Poor educational performance remains a national emergency—10 years after being declared an emergency! • Government of

Pakistan is unable to coordinate and implement technology initiatives; local government capacity is nonexistent • COVID-19 may continue for five years, thereby deepening inequality • Disinformation is a

BIG challenge • Creation of STEM program for age group 13–17 years • Local accelerator programs (such as

Life Straw water purification system)

(Table continues on next page)