Publications
| The Digitalisation of Social Protection in Africa: The Perspective of Marginalised Workers Faith, Becky; Roberts, Tony; Alfers, Laura; S. Adebayo, Adebukola; Ademefun, Adetunde E.; Anyigba, Hod; et al. (2024). The Digitalisation of Social Protection in Africa: The Perspective of Marginalised Workers. the Institute of Development Studies and partner organisations. Report. https://doi.org/10.19088/IDS.2024.022 The right to decent work including social protection is guaranteed to all citizens in multiple international human rights and labour rights conventions, as well as in African Union resolutions. However, many marginalised workers, including informal and rural workers, are excluded from social protection provisions. The digitalisation of social protection promised to increase the convenience and efficiency of accessing social protection entitlements (and it does for many), but millions of informal workers are being further excluded by digitalisation. This is the first study of digital social protection from the perspective of informal marginalised workers in Africa. Six studies were carried out with and by domestic workers, disabled workers, migrant workers, and home-based workers in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. This IDS Research Report synthesises their findings and recommendations to establish a clear agenda for change. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/articles/report/The_Digitalisation_of_Social_Protection_in_Africa_The_Perspective_of_Marginalised_Workers/26892829?file=48931540 Report |
| Digital Disinformation in Africa: Hashtag Politics, Power and Propaganda Roberts T and Karekwaivanane G (editors) (2024) Digital Disinformation in Africa: Hashtag Politics, Power and Propaganda, London, Zed Books https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/digital-disinformation-in-africa-9781350319202/ Book |
| Mapping the Supply of Surveillance Technology to Africa Roberts, T. et al. (2023) Mapping the Supply of Surveillance Technologies to Africa: Case Studies from Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Malawi, and Zambia, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/18120 Commissioned Report |
| Digital Citizenship in Africa: Technologies of Agency and Repression Roberts T. and Bosch T. (editors) (2023) Digital Citizenship in Africa: technologies of agency and repression, London, Zed Books. https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350324497 Book |
| Internet Shutdowns and Digital Citizenship Anthonio, F. and Roberts T. (2023) Internet Shutdowns and Digital Citizenship, in Roberts T. and Bosch T. (editors) (2023) Digital Citizenship in Africa: technologies of agency and repression, London, Zed Books. https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-detail?docid=b-9781350324497&pdfid=9781350324497.0011.pdf&tocid=b-9781350324497-chapter4 Chapter |
| Digital citizenship and political accountability in Namibia’s 2019 election Elias M. and Roberts T. (2023) Digital citizenship and political accountability in Namibia’s 2019 election, in Roberts T. and Bosch T. (eds) (2023) Digital Citizenship in Africa: technologies of agency and repression, London, Zed Books. https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-detail?docid=b-9781350324497&pdfid=9781350324497.0014.pdf&tocid=b-9781350324497-chapter7 Chapter |
| Datafication, Dehumanisation and Participatory Development Roberts, T. and Zheng, Y. (2022) Does Digitalisation Dehumanise Development? Paper presented at the IFIP 9.4 conference in 2022 on whether datafication and disintermediation is dehumanising development and how participatory development can help. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-19429-0_23 Full Conference Paper (peer reviewed) Roberts and Zheng 2022 Datafication Dehumanisation and Participation submitted 24Apr22.pdf |
| Key Issues in Digitalisation and Governance Roberts, T., Hernandez, K., Faith, B., and Prieto Martín, P. (2022) Key Issues in Digitalisation and Governance, Bern: SDC Governance Network, Swiss Development Cooperation. https://www.shareweb.ch/site/DDLGN/topics/DigitalisationAndGovernance/Si… Commissioned Report |
| Managing the Risks and Benefits of Digital Social Protection in Humanitarian Settings Faith, B. and Roberts, T. (2022) Risks, Accountability and Technology thematic working paper for Better Assistance in Crisis. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/17139/… Working Paper |
| Managing the Risks and Benefits of Digital Technologies in Social Assistance Provision Faith, B.; Roberts, T. and Hernandez, K. (2022) Risks/Accountability/Technology Thematic Working Paper, BASIC Research Working Paper 3, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/BASIC.2022.003 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/17132/… Commissioned Report |
| Digital Citizenship or Digital Authoritarianism Roberts T. and Bosch T. (2021) Digital Citizenship or Digital Authoritarianism in OECD Development Co-operation Report 2021: Shaping a Just Digital Transformation, Paris, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/ce08832f-en/1/3/2/9/index.html?itemI… Chapter (peer reviewed) |
| Digital Technologies and the Future of Poverty and Development Roberts, T. Hernandez K. and Faith B. (2021) Digital Technologies and the Future of Poverty and Development in Allen T. and Thomas A. Poverty and Development in the 21st Centrury, Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/poverty-and-development-97801995… Chapter (peer reviewed) |
| Decolonising Innovation Jimenez, A. and Roberts, T. (2021) Decolonising Innovation, in Mazzucato, M. (2021) Public Purpose: industrial policy’s comeback and government’s role in shared prosperity, Boston Review, Forum 19 (46.3). https://bostonreview.net/forum_response/decolonizing-innovation/ Chapter (peer reviewed) |
| Surveillance Law in Africa: a review of six countries Roberts, T. (editor) (2021) Surveillance Law in Africa: a Review of Six Countries, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.059 Roberts, T.; Mohamed Ali, A.; Farahat, M.; Oloyede, R. and Mutung’u, G. (2021) Surveillance Law in Africa: a Review of Six Countries, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.059 Chapter (peer reviewed) Roberts T. (ed.) 2021 Surveillance Law in Africa a review of six countries.pdf |
| Digital Affordances in Participatory Research Methods Roberts, T. (editor) Digital Technologies in Participatory Research (six chapter section) in Burns, D., Howard, J. and Ospina S. (2021) The SAGE Handbook of Participatory Research and Inquiry, London, SAGE. Roberts, T. (2021) Digital Affordances in Participatory Research Methods, in Burns, D., Howard, J. and Ospina S. (2021) The SAGE Handbook of Participatory Research and Inquiry, London, SAGE. Chapter (peer reviewed) Roberts 2021 Digital Affordances in Participatory Research Methods in Sage Handbook PREPRINT DRAFT.doc |
| Digital Rights in Closing Civic Space: Lessons From Ten African Countries Roberts, T. (editor) (2021) Digital Rights in Closing Civic Space: Lessons from Ten African Countries, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.003 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/15964/… Other |
| Opening and Closing Online Civic Space in Africa: An Introduction to the Digital Rights Landscape Roberts, T. and Mohamed Ali, A. (2021) ‘Opening and Closing Online Civic Space in Africa: An Introduction to the Ten Digital Rights Landscape Reports’, in T. Roberts (ed.), Digital Rights in Closing Civic Space: Lessons from Ten African Countries, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.005 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/15964/… Chapter (peer reviewed) |
| South Africa Digital Rights Landscape Report Bosch, T. and Roberts, T. (2021) South Africa Digital Rights Landscape Report, in T. Roberts (ed.), Digital Rights in Closing Civic Space: Lessons from Ten African Countries, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.010 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/15964/… Chapter (peer reviewed) |
| Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition: A Literature Review and Proposed Conceptual Framework Roberts, T. and Hernandez, K. (2021) Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition: A Literature Review and Proposed Conceptual Framework, IDS Working Paper 545, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.018 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/15928 Working Paper |
| Digital Aid: Understanding the Digital Challenges Facing Humanitarian Assistance Roberts, T. and Faith, B. (2021) Digital Aid: Understanding the Digital Challenges Facing Humanitarian Assistance, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2021.030 https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/16484 Commissioned Report |
| Lessons for Open Data for Development Programmes Clark, L.; Higdon, G.L.; Stanley, A. and Roberts, T. (2020) ‘Lessons for Open Data for Development Programmes’, IDS Policy Briefing 171, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies. https://www.ids.ac.uk/publications/lessons-for-open-data-for-development… Commissioned Report Clark L. Higdon G. Stanley A. Roberts T. 2020 Lessons_for_Open_Data_for_Development_Programmes Policy Brief.pdf |
| Fifty Years of Practice and Innovation in Participatory Video (PV) Roberts Tony, Muñiz Soledad (2020) Fifty Years of Practice and Innovation in Participatory Video (PV), in: Servaes J. (ed). Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change. Springer, Singapore. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-981-10-7035-8… Chapter (peer reviewed) |
| Performance Evaluation of the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition Programme Louise Clark, L., Higdon, G., Roberts, T., Barnett, I., Hernandez, K., Pietro Martín, P. (2020) Performance Evaluation of the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition Programme, Brighton, Institute for Development Studies. https://iati.fcdo.gov.uk/iati_documents/56313536.pdf Commissioned Report Clark L. Higdon G. Roberts T. Hernandez K. Barnet I. Martin P. 2020 Performance Evaluation of GODAN.pdf |
| The Future of Work: Oxfam’s ‘Empower Youth for Work’ Program Faith, B.; Flynn, J.; Hernandez, K, and Roberts, T. (2020) The Future of Work: Findings of Research Commissioned by the Oxfam ‘Empower Youth for Work’ Program, Oxfam Novib. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/15595 Commissioned Report Faith Flynn Hernandez Roberts 2020 the Future of Work 280720-en.pdf |
| Predictive Analytics in Humanitarian Action: a preliminary mapping and analysis. Hernandez, K. and Roberts, T. (2020). Predictive Analytics in Humanitarian Action: a preliminary mapping and analysis. K4D Emerging Issues Report 33. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/15455 Working Paper |
| Decolonising Innovation using the Andean philosophy of ‘Buen Vivir’ Jimenez, Andrea and Roberts, Tony (2019) Decolonising Neo-Liberal Innovation: Using the Andean Philosophy of ‘Buen Vivir’ to Reimagine Innovation Hubs. In: Nielsen P. and Kimaro H. (eds) Proceedings of the 2019 IFIP International Conference on the Social Implications of Information Technologies in Developing Countries, Vol 552, pp 180-191. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-19115-3_15?fbclid=Iw… Full Conference Paper (peer reviewed) Jimenez A and Roberts T (2019) Decolonising Neo-Liberal Innovation Hubs.pdf |
| Closing Civic Space and Inclusive Development in Ethiopia Roberts, Tony (2019) Closing Civic Space and Inclusive Development in Ethiopia, IDS Working Paper 527, Brighton: IDS. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14471 Working Paper |
| Digital Access is Not Binary: the 5 ‘A’s of Technology Access in the Philippines Roberts, Tony and Hernandez, Kevin (2019) Digital Access is not Binary: the 5 ‘A’s of Technology Access in the Philippines. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/isd2.12084 Journal Article (peer reviewed) |
| Assessing the Role of Social Media and Digital Technology in Violence Reporting Roberts, Tony and Marchais, Gauthier (2018) Assessing the Role of Social Media and Digital Technology in Violence Reporting, Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice Vol.10 (2), 2018, pp. 9–42, ISSN 1948-9137, eISSN 2162-2752. doi:10.22381/CRLSJ10220181 https://addletonacademicpublishers.com/search-in-crlsj/3343-assessing-th… Journal Article (peer reviewed) Roberts and Marchais 2018 Assessing Role of Social Media in Violence Reporting Law and Social Justice.pdf |
| Towards a More Gender-Inclusive Open Source Community Faith Becky, Roberts Tony and Berdou Evangelia. (2018) Towards a More Gender-Inclusive Open Source Community, Washington, Digital Impact Alliance. https://digitalimpactalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GenderOSS_v… Commissioned Report |
| Leaving No One Behind in a Digital World Hernandez, Kevin and Roberts, Tony (2018) Leaving No One Behind in a Digital World. K4D Emerging Issues Report, Brighton, UK, Institute of Development Studies. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/14147/Eme… Commissioned Report |
| What Does Closing Civic Space Mean for Development? Hossain Naomi, Khurana Nalini, Mohmand Shandana, Nazneen Sohela, Oosterom Marjoke, Roberts Tony, Santos, Ricardo, Shankland Alex, and Schröder Patrick (2018) What Does Closing Civic Space Mean for Development? A Literature Review and Proposed Conceptual Framework, IDS Working Paper 515, Brighton, Institute of Development Studies. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/13962/Wp5… Working Paper |
| From Simple Fixes to Systemic Enablers: The Future of Digital Development Ramalingham, Ben.; Faith, Becky.; Hernandez, Kevin.; Prieto Martin, Pedro. and Roberts, Tony (2017) From Simple Fixes to Systemic Enablers: The Future of Digital Development, Brighton: IDS. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/14296 Commissioned Report |
| The Techno-centric Gaze: incorporating citizen participation technologies into participatory governance processes Roberts, Tony and Hernandez, Kevin (2017) The techno-centric gaze: Incorporating Citizen Participation Technologies into Participatory Governance Processes in the Philippines, Making All Voices Count Research Report, Brighton: IDS. link to report here Working Paper Roberts and Hernandez 2017 TechnoCentric Gaze Philippines MAVC.pdf |
| Assessing the Role of Social Media and Digital Technology in Violence Reporting Roberts, Tony and Marchais, Gauthier (2017) Assessing the Role of Social Media and Digital Technologies in Violence Reporting, IDS Working Paper 492, Brighton, Institute of Development Studies. Publisher IDS, ISBN: 978-1-78118-385-4 https://www.ids.ac.uk/publications/assessing-the-role-of-social-media-and-digital-technology-in-violence-reporting/ Working Paper |
| Participatory Technologies: Affordances for Development Roberts, Tony (2017) Participatory Technologies: Affordances for Development. In: Choudrie J., Islam M., Wahid F., Bass J., Priyatma J. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Development. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 504. pp 194-205 Springer. link to final copy of record here Full Conference Paper (peer reviewed) Roberts Participatory Technologies Affordances DRAFT unformatted.pdf |
| Critical Agency and Development: Applying Freire and Sen to ICT4D in Zambia and Brazil Poveda, Sammia & Roberts, Tony (2017): Critical Agency and Development: applying Freire and Sen to ICT4D in Zambia and Brazil, Information Technology for Development journal, link to the official copy of record here Journal Article (peer reviewed) DRAFT Critical Agency and Development – applying Freire and Sen to ICT4D in Zambia and Brazil.pdf |
| ‘Geek Heresy: an Heretical View of Technology for Development’ Roberts, Tony (2016), Geek Heresy: an heretical view of technology for development – Book Review in The Journal Of Community Informatics, 12(2). link to the document online Review of book/film/article Roberts, Tony (2016) Book review – Geek Heresy, a heretical view of technology for development..pdf |
| Women’s Use of Participatory Video Technology to Tackle Gender Inequality in Zambia’s ICT Sector Roberts, Tony (2016), Women’s Use of Participatory Video Technology to Tackle Gender Inequality in Zambia’s ICT Sector, in: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Development, 4-6 June 2016, Ann Arbor, USA. Link to document online Full Conference Paper (peer reviewed) Draft Paper Not for Publication Zambian Women’s Use of PV to Tackle Gender Inequality.pdf |
| Critical Agency in ICT4D PhD Thesis Roberts, Tony (2015), Critical Agency in ICT4D, Unpublished PhD, Royal Holloway University of London, Copy of Record Doctoral thesis Critical Agency in ICT4D Final Thesis.pdf |
| Critical Practice and Critical Intent in ICT4D Research Roberts, Tony (2015), Critical Practice and Critical Intent in ICT4D Research, Position Paper for the Critical Alternatives Conference, 17-21 August 2015, Aarhus, Denmark. Link to document online Conference contribution/note/position paper/poster |
| Critical Intent & Interests: a Typology of ICT4D initiatives Roberts, Tony (2015), Critical Intent & Interests: a typology of ICT4D initiatives, in: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, 20-22 May 2015, Negombo, Sri Lanka. Full Conference Paper (peer reviewed) Draft Roberts 2015 Critical Intent and Interests A Typology of ICT4D initiatives ifip2015conf.pdf |
| Participatory Video Roberts, Tony and Lunch, Chris (2015), Participatory Video Encyclopaedia chapter, in: International Encyclopedia of Digital Communications and Society, London, John Wiley and Sons. Link to document online Encyclopaedia/dictionary entry Draft PV encyclopaedia chapter not for Publication or Distribution.pdf |
| ICTs in Poverty Reduction Roberts, Tony (2007) ICTs in Poverty Reduction, Commonwealth Minister’s Reference Handbook, London, Commonwealth Secretariat. Commissioned Report |
| ICTs and the Millennium Development Goals Roberts, Tony (2007) ICTs and the Millennium Development Goals, MDG Review, Corby, VRS Publishing. Commissioned Report |