Comments on: Trusted Intermediaries

By: JScarantino

JScarantino — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:54:11 +0000

Good post to get the brain churning, Erik. While I’m in pursuit of supporting technologists in Africa, I place high value on the tidbits of insight you have to offer for those of us coming in the door after you. I can also appreciate the insight left in the comments. They all have valid points that I think are highly relevant to this discussion.

By: Kevin Donovan

Kevin Donovan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:28:35 +0000

Niti – Or is it that where the system doesn’t work well to confine fickle human behavior, trusted intermediaries are even more risky?

Perhaps what we need is a solid reputation system so that the trust can be more solidified?

By: Emer

Emer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:16:09 +0000

good point Erik on the trust element and Miquel on the headstart as to where ur coming from, @butterflyworks we call it ‘navigating cultures’ as we continually find ourselves moving between not only geographically driven cultures but also across disciplines, hierarchy levels, non-profit to business and more. These are all sub cultures that need navigation and cohesion to come together to make a social innovation project. I find speaking the others language (use of terminology) is key and taking time to place yourself in the others perspective. thanks for the discsusion

By: niti bhan

niti bhan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:32:52 +0000

Kevin,

Your thinking, imho, may only apply to those locations where systems are not only in place and they work but are also trusted to work effectively by the local population.

for the rest of us, trusted intermediaries maybe the only way to navigate a complex, chaotic system

best,
niti

By: Kevin Donovan

Kevin Donovan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:27:36 +0000

I dunno; I’m not convinced.

Trusted intermediaries need to be confined by well-developed systems.

For example, I voted for Obama. Much of my thinking was that this was a guy who understood the importance of civil liberties and the Internet. Even more, he was surrounded by people who could be trusted intermediaries. However, he has disappointed repeatedly in intellectual property and civil liberties (DoJ appointments and Patriot Act, to begin).

Perhaps it isn’t fair to compare this w/ your examples because of the scale of their portfolios, but more generally, the reason why we don’t need to worry too much about Obama is because we have a solid system/structure in place to limit the effects (good or bad) of one person (courts, constitution, etc.).

I’m inclined to think that those deserve our faith (and effort) more than individuals.

By: Marco Puccia

Marco Puccia — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:41:42 +0000

I think trusted intermediaries are key in unlocking potential around the world. This is why I started Transparency Solutions, to serve as that trusted intermediary and lift the honest and accountable organizations above the stigma of corruption and hopefully unlocking their investment potential.

By: niti bhan

niti bhan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:56:27 +0000

Very nice. Thank you for writing this, Hash, I’d love to see your recommended listings of trusted infomediaries in Africa grow into a serious list somewhere.

best,
Niti

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:36:10 +0000

I agree with Miquel, the flip side of being a ‘trusted intermediary’ is that sometimes perhaps too much trust is placed on people who happen to be in the ‘limelight’. There’s a certain amount of pressure to always deliver, which is good, but sometimes people put TOO much faith in our various projects and efforts. Great expectations can often lead to great disappointments. To Miquels second point, there are plenty of other organizations who exist around us, sometimes attempting similar efforts. Some have been here for years, the question is why aren’t they trusted? Does it always have to be Westerners (or the western educated) who act as proxies? Are there examples of purely local trust being built locally? If not, what does that say about the global development community?

By: Miquel

Miquel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:01:50 +0000

Those of us from America (whether citizens or residing), despite having an economy and a currency in the toilet are still able to start with an artificially inflated level of trust above others in Africa. While Jon and Glenna have put in a great deal of work to their respective projects, their being Americans is the reason that we know of them and not of Ugandans who were may have been doing the same work while they were getting well-known and growing additional trust. I speak of this from personal experience that an unnerving degree of weight is given to what anyone from the US says. Trust and being a “trust intermediary” still need to be earned and can still be lost, but we get a massive head start in this which goes above and beyond the countless hours we spend in trying to build our projects.