Hari Harindranath and Tim Unwin receive “Best Collaborative and Innovation Research Project” award

We are delighted to share the news that Profs G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath and Tim Unwin have received the award for “Best Collaborative and Innovation Research Project” from Royal Holloway, University of London for 2025 at their annual Festival of Research on 19th June for their ongoing research-practice with many other organisations across four continents on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech in marginalised/peripheral communities, working especially with migrants and refugees. [The background to the image on the right is from one of their visits to the UNESCO offices in Nepal in 2023]

Their ‘project project was informed by social science research and resulted in the generation of interventions and training resources that were adopted by community groups and NGOs’ … To deliver outputs at scale, they have ‘engaged innovatively with international stakeholders, including third sector organisations (NGOs), international bodies (UNESCO, IOM, ILO) and key industry partners (community tech organisations). The sheer size, scale and duration of project activities are testament to the hard work’ they have invested. ‘Generating partnerships on such a global scale will not have come without its challenges, so [they] should be incredibly proud of [their] achievements in undertaking such a huge project’

Awards citation for research collaboration and innovation, Royal Holloway, University of London

More details of their work can be seen as follows:

Many organisations are contributing to this ongoing research, and full acknowledgement to them all is given in the links above.

A list of selected academic publications relating to this research:

  • Lorini, M.R., Harindranath, G. and Unwin, T. (2025) Responsible Digital: Co-Creating Safe, Wise and Secure Digital Interventions with Vulnerable Groups, Information Systems Frontiers, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10796-025-10611-4
  • Harindranath, G., Unwin, T., Lorini, M.R. (2024). The Design and Use of Digital Technologies in the Context of South–South Migration, in: Crawley, H. and Teye, J.K. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of South–South Migration and Inequality, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39814-8_23
  • Unwin, T., Casentini, G., Harindranath, G. and Lorini, M.R. (2023) What works for migrants: reflections on research practice in the interests of migrants, Egham: ICT4D Collective, Working Paper 1
  • Harindranath, G. , Unwin, T. and Lorini, M.R. (2023) Rethinking digital tech policy for (and with) migrants, Chapter 8 in: UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development) and MIDEQ (Migration for Development and Equality) Migration and Inequality in the Global South: Evidence from the MIDEQ Hub, Geneva: UNRISD, 36-40.
  • Unwin, T., Harindranath, G.H., Lorini, M.R. (2023) Migrants and digital tech: policy recommendations, Egham: ICT4D Collective, Policy Brief 1.
  • Harindranath, G. and Unwin, T. (2022) Digital technologies, migration and the SDG agenda, in: Piper, N. and Ditta, K. (eds) Elgar Companion to Migration and the SDGs, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar (in press)
  • Unwin, T., Marcelin, L.H., de Souza e Silva, J., Otero, G., Lorini, M.R., Anyadi, C., Gonçalves, D.M., Sato, D.P. and Harindranath, G. (2022) Uses of digital technologies by migrants from Haiti and to Brazil, Egham: UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London, Working Papers No.4.
  • Unwin, T., Garba, F.,  Musaba, M.L., Lorini, M.R. and Harindranath, G. (2021) Uses of digital technologies by migrants in South Africa, Egham: UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London, Working Papers No.3.
  • Majidi, N., Kasavan, C. & Harindranath, G. (2021) In support of return and reintegration? A roadmap for a responsible use of technology, in: McAuliffe, M. (ed.) Research Handbook on International Migration and Digital Technology, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 220-236.
  • Unwin, T., Ghimire, A., Yeoh, S-G., Lorini, M.R. and Harindranath, G. (2021) Uses of digital technologies by Nepali migrants and their families, Egham: UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London, Working Papers No.2.
  • Unwin, T., Ghimire, A., Yeoh, S-G., New, S.S., Kishna, S.S., Gois, W., Lorini, M.R. and Harindranath, G. (2021) Uses of digital technologies by Nepali migrants in Malaysia, Egham: UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London, Working Papers No.1.
  • Harindranath, G. and Unwin, T (2019),  Digital technologies and migration: Reducing inequalities or creating new ones?, TREO Talk, International Conference on Information Systems, 15th December, Munich, Germany.
  • Harindranath, G. (2019) Digital technologies, migration and inequality, Presentation, Copenhagen Business School-Royal Holloway School of Management Joint Workshop, 16th September, Royal Holloway, UK.

To find out more about our work, do get in touch through our Contact Page.

Utilizando as tecnologias digitais de forma segura, inteligente e protegida

Temos o prazer de anunciar a tradução para português das nossas notas de orientação gratuitas para pequenas organizações da sociedade civil sobre a utilização segura, inteligente e protegida da tecnologia digital https://ict4d2004.wordpress.com/…/2025/06/udtsws-v6-pt.pdf. Este trabalho foi realizado pelos nossos parceiros da Coordenador do Centro de Apoio à Informação e Comunicação comunitária na Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CAICC; CIUEM) em Moçambique, e estamos agora a desenvolver um plano conjunto para a sua ampla divulgação na África Lusófona, começando por Moçambique.

MoU signed with CIUEM, Mozambique

Professor Luis Neves Domingos and Tim Unwin signing a partnership Memorandum of Understanding between the Centro de Informática da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM), Mozambique, and the ICT4D Collective on Monday 30th September 2024 in Maputo.

The ICT4D Collective is delighted to have signed its latest partnership agreement with the Centro de Informática da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM) at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. This agreement builds on collaboration between the two organisations over more than 20 years, which began during the UK Government’s Imfundo initiative, and was then taken further through the Africa ICT4D university network that was funded by the UK’s Development Partnerships for Higher Education (DelPHE) scheme supported by DFID and the British Council, and subsequently by European EDULINK funding. This agreement has the following main intended outputs:

  • High quality research and practice on digital technologies, inequalities, social change and international development 
  • Joint workshops and conferences to explore aspects of the inter-relationships between digital technologies, inequalities, social change and international development  
  • Research visits and exchanges between partners, especially to enhance the experiences of early career researchers
  • Joint strategic interventions designed to enhance the wise and appropriate use of digital technologies, especially by marginalised communities and individuals
  • Joint research grant applications to relevant funding agencies and research councils
  • Policy recommendations on areas of mutual interests

More specifically, our work together will focus on developing and sharing local language training resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, and will initially concentrate on disseminating these resources to Community Radio stations through the agency of the Centro de Apoio à Informação e Comunicação Comunitária.

Signing this agreement also provided an opportunity for both Neves and Tim to discuss with the Rector of Eduardo Mondlane University, Prof. Dr. Manuel Guilherme Junior, further ways in which closer collaboration between Mozambican and UK-based researchers and practitioners in the field of digital tech for development can be developed in the interests of some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Mozambique.

This was also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the CIUEM’s recent achievements, and the exciting new facilities that they are developing, especially in the field of of digital engtrepreneurship and capacity development.

Guidance for small civil society organisations on using digital tech safely, wisely and securely

During one of our research visits to South Africa in January 2024 it became abundantly clear that many small and poorly resourced civil society organisations have little experience of using digital tech safely, wisely and securely. Drawing on good practices across the world, as well as our subsequent experiences in and with colleagues from Brazil, Nepal and Mozambiaue, we have therefore produced a short (12 page) guide to help such organisations understand the risks they are at from the use of digital tech and how they can be mitigated. This contains useful tips, graphics that can be copied and reversioned into posters, as well as links to more detailed sourcers of information, and it is freely available in English under a Creative Commons CC BY SA license.

Please get in touch using our contact page should you have any comments on how this could be improved or to discuss developing versions in other languages or for other contexts, and do please share information about this resource through your own networks.

This forms part of the ICT4D Collective’s ongoing research-practice in the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, further details of which are available here.