I’m Tony Roberts, Digital Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies since 2016.

My first engagement with ICT4D was as a volunteer teaching personal computing in the Nicaraguan Parliament in 1988. I lectured for four years in New Technology & Education in the Innovations Studies Unit of the University of East London before founding and leading two small international development organisations. I was Executive Director of CODA International for ten years before serving as CEO of Computer Aid International for twelve years. Computer Aid International provided a quarter of a million computers to non-profit organisations in over one hundered countries. I was also a founding Director & Trustee of the British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND) and The Restart Project. I’m currently on the international Board of Computers for Schools Kenya, Asikana Network, BongoHive and NewZambian.

I am passionate about understanding why some people feel powerless and alienated whilst others feel able to transform their personal life and to transform society. I want to know where this sense of ‘agency’ comes from and whether it is something that we can actively develop in ourselves and others. I am particularly interested in whether digital technologies can play a role in increasing individual or collective agency for transformational change.

Because there are so many people called Tony Roberts I use the name phat_controller on Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. You can view my Google Scholar or Orchid-ID online or download my CV below.