ABOUT INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS Eight Critical Dimensions of Information Ecosystems 1. Information needs: Are they known to 5. Use: What does the audience / users do with information producers? Are the needs of all groups being served? Populations’ information needs are diverse and changing. Through information ecosystems, we can see information as a master resource, like energy, the lack of which makes everything more difficult. the information? Does information facilitate civic engagement? 6. Impact of information: How has information 2. Information landscape: What are the physical enabled or constrained individual and community opportunity, health, and economic development? How does the community organize around different types of information? (How) has information informed community planning and action? and institutional infrastructures that support information production and flow? What are the characteristics of the information providers? What are the intermediary organizations: media, government, civic? Are they robustly equipped to verify, filter, sort, and disseminate information? 7. Social trust: How do networks of trust 3. Production and movement: Are a variety of types of information available (e.g. government services, community news)? Who are the producers of information and the owners of the means of production and dissemination? What is the role of word of mouth, social media, bulletin boards? (How) are rapid changes in internet and mobile media impacting the flow of information? What types of content are available and to whom? How does our perspective on these dynamics shift if information flows are framed as storytelling? influence the flow and use of information? How is trust built around information? Where are the disruptions in trust tied to information (or its lack)? What are the challenges in building trust around information flows? 8. Influencers: Who are the people, organizations, and institutions that influence how information flows? Who builds trust and how? How do points of influence shift over time, especially during disruption?14 4. Dynamic of access: What is the environment in which information flows (e.g. political, cultural, time, cost, and other factors)? How easy is it for residents to access, find, use, and share different types of information? What are the barriers to participation? What about the broader structures that influence access: governance, legal, political, economic, and infrastructural factors affecting access? 14 In late 2012, the Center started to experiment with new methods to understand the information dynamics of communities, particularly those in restrictive environments where the usual quantitative and qualitative research approaches (surveying, depth interviews, focus groups etc.) have inherent limitations (logistics, security, accuracy). The potential of ethnographic and design research to reveal the intricacies of human experiences and relationships within highly complex systems in support of the creation of appropriate, innovation solutions clearly appeared as a potentially valuable approach for this study. Working alongside Reboot, a social enterprise supporting improved global governance and development, the Center implemented a groundbreaking study investigating the information ecosystems in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas. Internews Center for Innovation & Learning, “Information Ecosystems Literature Review” (2014). part one: rese arch findings Based on the work conducted in Pakistan, the Center turned to focus on the unique opportunity afforded by the rapid removal of political, economic, and social restrictions in Myanmar, to conduct research on the flow of news and information in this previously tightly controlled country, particularly the ethnic states. 15 6 INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS in transition: a case study from myanmar Despite the challenges of implementing this research, using and adapting techniques from the field of design and ethnographic research proved an excellent approach to understanding from the ground-level the complexities of information access and use in areas of the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. This approach proved capable not only of capturing the expected outputs of conventional research approaches, but also revealed subtle but significant nuances of the information environment, notably those related to trust, influence and adaptive behaviors using new technologies. 15 Internews Center for Innovation & Learning, “Trust, Influence, and Connectivity – Understanding Information Ecosystems in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas. A Design Research Approach” (2013). 7 how to inform, empower, and impact communities INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS in transition: a case study from myanmar how to inform, empower, and impact communities PART ONE: RESEARCH FINDINGS