Understanding PIT in the Context of Global Development

Workshop organized by USAID and RTAC (Research Technical Assistance Center)

On PIT and Global Development in Day 1, Session 1 at 7 AM MST

Audience: Development practitioners in Africa, Asia, and South America

Public Interest Technology in the Context of Global Development

Public Interest Technology (PIT) can be defined as an ideological approach to design that stresses the needs of the end-user during a process of consultation. PIT engages individuals and groups in a given socio-technical ecosystem through inclusive and participatory practices, building with stakeholders, not for them toward the ultimate goal of community empowerment. In the context of global development, public interest technologies take on an infrastructural emphasis preoccupied by the creation of shared and open “rights-of-ways”, ensuring that the basic needs of the community are met such as clean drinking water, better sanitation, more advanced communication services before more advanced technologies are introduced.

Citation: Katina Michael, 24 March 2021, “Understanding PIT in the Context of Global Development?”, in Faheem Hussain and Mary Jane Parmentier, USAID and RTAC Workshop, ASU, ZOOM, 7AM-9AM MST. https://www.katinamichael.com/seminars/2021/3/24/pit-and-global-development