Academy Module: Social Media for Development (New)

This module aims to strengthen capacities of policymakers and government officials to leverage the potential of Social Media for development .

Lecturer: Emmanuel C. Lallana
Length:  4.8 hours /  7 sessions

Overview

The prevalence of Social Media has grown over the past 5-7 years, and its impact has moved beyond the personal and into the professional spheres of life. There is a need to better understand Social Media as a tool for national and regional socio-economic development. 

In this context, Module 11 was developed to strengthen capacities of policymakers and government officials to leverage the potential of Social Media for development. This module will allow learners to attain thorough knowledge of social media, including: 

1. The main categories of social media and their defining characteristics
2. Possible future uses for smart mobile devices to help promote development goals in their countryDevelopment of a plan for the future that will incorporate the widespread use of smart phones, tablets and other devices by citizens
3. Methods of identifying policies to deal with the negative side effects of social media and suggesting how these policies can best be implemented in their nation.

Learning Objectives

The module aims to:

1. To introduce the concept of social media and various applications in a developmental context;
2. To raise awareness among policymakers and government officials about the application of social media for socio-economic development;
3. To provide an understanding of the implications for national policy and program formulation emerging from the role of social media in promoting development; and
4. To produce a capacity development resource that can help bridge the knowledge gap on effective use of social media in development initiatives.

Learning Outcomes

After working on this module, readers should be able to:

1. Be able to describe the main categories of social media and their defining characteristics;
2. Be familiar with ways in which social media can be used positively to help promote development goals in their country;
3. Be able to identify policies to deal with the side effects of social media and suggest how they can be implemented in their nation; 
4. Have a clear understanding of participatory decision-making through social media for development; and 
5. Be able to develop a plan to harness social media for use by the government.

About the Author

Emmanuel C. Lallana is Chief Executive of ideacorp, an independent, non-profit organization. He leads a number of ICTD training and research projects in the Philippines and across the Asia Pacific region. From 2004 to 2007, Dr. Lallana served as Commissioner in the Philippine Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). The CICT is the primary ICT policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating, and administrative entity of the executive branch of the Philippine government.

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