Networked Intelligence for Development is a network of independent development consultants and adult-learning specialists who apply web-based learning, mobilization and advocacy with communities seeking to manage local sustainable development.

We provide advice and know-how on a range of human, social and economic development concerns with a particular emphasis on the strategic interests of women and marginalized groups. Established in 1997 with a commitment to promoting economic and social equity, we work with a wide spectrum of communities at different levels in developing countries, primarily in Africa and the Caribbean.

Our mission is to harness new media, to enable people to tell their own stories, to celebrate their creativity and to enable them to take action through informed choices and decisions that affect their lives and identities.

The sectors that we especially focus on include:

• Open and distance adult learning using hybrid teaching and learning models (virtual and real);
• ICT applications and policy in rural development, agricultural livelihoods and small enterprises;
• Media policy, legislation and capacity building in developing countries;
• Small scale diversity farming, organic farming, local food security and climate change;
• Policy, program, project and investment decisions of multi-lateral agencies in environment and climate change management.

Our Principles and Approach and Training.

Nidhi Tandon
Principal consultant and trainer
Email: nidhi at networkedintelligence.com
+1 416 538 7398

Nidhi Tandon is originally from East Africa, and is the Director of Networked Intelligence for Development. Nidhi works on local grassroots issues, in the context of globalization and increasing disparities between peoples and nations.

She designs and runs grassroots training workshops for women’s organizations, small business and farmer communities in East and West Africa and in the Caribbean, enabling women to organize and articulate their priorities around sustainable development. Much of her work revolves around the relationships between women and water, energy, natural resources and policy decisions. More …

Deepa Hazrati

Deepa Hazrati was born and raised in India. She completed her Masters thesis on the inter linkages between population, water resource and quality of life of women in rural India. She was awarded an M.Phil degree in Science Policy from the Center for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University and her research focussed on investigating World Bank’s preferences for funding certain irrigation technologies.
More …

Sarah Murray

Sarah Murray has a long-standing commitment to human development and passion for empowering women and youth globally. She has a proven capacity for high calibre social policy research, impact evaluation and project management. Sarah’s experiences have led to education, work and travel in over 35 countries across 5 continents.

Sarah has strong research and evaluation competency, combined with effectual analytical thinking. Her graduate thesis assessed implementation issues and the cost-effectiveness of new biomedical HIV/AIDS prevention tools. Sarah’s research roles have spanned a diverse range of issues including gender, livelihoods, health, information communication technologies (ICTs) and sustainable environs. Recent research and policy analysis with NID included assessing gender mainstreaming materials and examining the use of ICTs in relation to climate change for women organic farmers in the Caribbean. More …

Shannon Pritchard

Shannon Pritchard has twelve years of progressive Canadian and international experience in Project Management, with a proven ability to effectively manage business relationships, interpret needs, discern priorities and deliver results. Shannon has worked for NID in Africa and the Caribbean in various capacities including presenter at a national IT training workshop, ICT trainer for women entrepreneurs and researcher on various projects.

Fluent in English, French and Spanish, Shannon has a Master’s in Project Management and a B.A. from Queen’s University in Spanish and Latin American Studies and Political Science.

Dorienne Rowan-Campbell

Dorienne Rowan-Campbell has been working on a wide range of women, gender and development issues for more than 30 years. Her organic farming experience has widened the emphasis to include questions of export, access, business management, ICTs and organic production. Based out of both Canada and Jamaica, which affords a useful “bifocal” world vision; she works as an independent development consultant. Dorienne owns and manages a small, certified organic farm and produces Rowan’s Royale Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. She is a qualified organic crop inspector, Board Member of the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement and interim Vice Chair of the fledgling Caribbean Regional Organic Agriculture Movement (CROAM). More …

Racquel Smith

Racquel G. Smith is a consultant with a ten year background in community development and international cooperation. Her work has focused on organizational capacity development, business and proposal development and strategic communications. She hones a special interest in participatory programming, monitoring and evaluation that emphasizes organizational learning and personal empowerment.

She currently works as a consultant with various community-based and international change agents. She has previously worked with MATCH International, the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL), the Inter-American Development Bank and Grameen Foundation, among other organizations. She is also principal consultant of Good Partners, a network of young development professionals who bring together people, multidisciplinary expertise, and cutting-edge ideas for a greater good. More …

Erich Vogt

Erich Vogt is based in Washington D.C. He is a Professorial Lecturer at American University’s School of International Service and George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Erich is also an international development consultant providing climate change and sustainable development policy and program advice to multilateral and bilateral development agencies and organizations, regional development banks and international NGOs. More …

Gender implications of climate change funds

Climate Adaptation Fund A gender assessment and implications for women (February 2010)   [PDF]
Climate Investment Funds A gender assessment and implications for women (January 2010)   [PDF]
Issues and Challenges of Climate Change for Women Farmers in the Caribbean The potential of ICTs (August 2009)   [PDF]
The bio-fuel frenzy: what options for rural women? A case of rural development schizophrenia published in Gender & Development 17:1 (March 2009)   [PDF]

Women’s rural livelihoods and climate change

Climate Change: Beyond Coping – women smallholder farmers in Tajikistan. Experiences of climate change and adaptation Oxfam (June 2011) [PDF]
Small Player, High Stakes (June 2008)   [PDF]
Biopolitics, climate change and water security impact, vulnerability and adaptation issues for women (2007)   [PDF]

ICTs and Women’s Empowerment

A Bright Future in ICTs – Opportunities for a New Generation of Women (2012) [PDF]
Community ICT Centres for Women’s Social and Economic Empowerment Part of a series of ITU modules for practitioners (2010) [PDF] (executive summary) [PDF]
Handbook on Women-owned Small and Medium Enterprises Alliance Building & Advocacy (2006)   [PDF]
Information and Communication Technologies in Bangladesh Trends, opportunities and future options for women workers. (2005)   [PDF]
Trends in ICT use in women-run micro and small enterprises in developing and transition countries. (2004) [PDF]
Knowing and growing. The convergence of organic farming, women and ICT ( Winter 2004) [PDF]

Green Economy

Empowerment of women in a Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication (2012) [PDF]
“The road to Rio +20: women and the green economy” [Oxfam site link]

We design, customize and deliver a broad spectrum of training packages customized to adult learners both in the field and for distance learning. Our methodology is highly participatory and combines an understanding of policy contexts with hands-on, technical or on-site training.

Our clientele have included a wide spectrum of interest groups from women farmers in the fields, to micro entrepreneur women’s groups in Cameroon, Tanzania, the Caribbean region and the Baltic States to senior staff in multilateral, donor and government agencies.

A sample of recent training workshops is listed below. Reports and materials from these workshops are available on request.

• Organic Farming, Eco-tourism and Climate Change, Regional Workshop for Knowing and Growing Farmers – December 2009, Dominica (PDF)
• ICT training for Open Learning Managers from Commonwealth Countries, November 2008, joint venture with Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver.
• Gender Mainstreaming Workshop for Public Service in Commonwealth Countries, July 2008, workshop with Commonwealth Secretariat, London and Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver

• ICT tools and services in support of development of organic agriculture in the Caribbean: Knowing & Growing Facilitators’ Workshop. May 2008, Jamaica – joint venture with Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement
• Knowing & Growing: ICT tools and services in support of development of organic agriculture in the Caribbean – regional training workshop for women farm entrepreneurs (III). November 2007, Guyana – joint venture with Guyana Organic Agriculture Movement.
• Knowing & Growing: ICT tools and services in support of development of organic agriculture in the Caribbean – regional training workshop for women farm entrepreneurs (II). May 2006, Grenada – joint venture with JOAM. (PDF)
• Knowing & Growing: ICT tools and services in support of development of organic agriculture in the Caribbean – regional training workshop for women farm entrepreneurs. April 2004, Jamaica – joint venture with the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement
• Integrating with Information Technologies and Electronic Commerce: workshop for women entrepreneurs in Small and Medium Enterprises – >National workshop for women. July 2002, Tanzania Training
• E-business & IT – regional training for women entrepreneurs in the Baltic region. July 2001, Lithuania, – joint venture with Women’s  Employment Information Centre

• As much as is possible, we collaborate closely with partner organizations on the ground, to establish local ownership, local priorities and local best practices;
• We apply a ‘rightstreaming’ approach to all gender and development consulting work. This means incorporating gender analysis across the many layers of institutional capacity and across sectors, and working holistically with a cross section of stakeholders around common goals;
• We treat ICTs as a set of tools and applications that can be applied at different levels and adapted to the specific needs and priorities of different groups towards their development goals.

These principles ensure that we:

• Build capacity at local levels through facilitating exchange of  information, advice, training and skills;
• Design and adapt our training modules with local partners to suit different needs and contexts;
• Interface with cutting edge research and thinking in real-life initiatives;
• Change ways in which knowledge and information is shared to optimize personal growth and skills.