Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about FrontlineSMS!
FrontlineSMS set up on a laptop. Photo credit: Ken Banks, kiwanja.net When people first encounter FrontlineSMS software, a number of questions come up again and again, both in person and on our community forum; ‘how do I access the software?’ ‘What does it cost to send and receive messages?’ ‘What can FrontlineSMS be used for?’ We’ve collated the answers to these and many more Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)... Read More
FrontlineSMS is shaped by our diverse user community: We want to hear from you!
By Florence Scialom, FrontlineSMS Community Support Coordinator Some FrontlineSMS users 'doing' the FrontlineSMS logo. Photo credit: Ken Banks, kiwanja.net “Focus on the user and all else will follow,” has been one of our main mottos here at FrontlineSMS ever since the original version of our software was built in 2005. Yet it is undeniable that, as we gear up for a big year in 2012, the face of the FrontlineSMS user is more diverse than... Read More
Combating food insecurity in Northern Kenya
infoasaid is a consortium of Internews and the BBC World Service Trust. The objective is to improve how aid agencies communicate with disaster-affected communities – the focus is on providing humanitarian information. The emphasis is on the need to deliver information, as aid itself, through the most appropriate channels. In this guest blog post first published on their website, infoasaid highlight some of the innovating approaches they... Read More
Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Design
By Ryan Jones, FrontlineSMS Grants and Fundraising Manager “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” The above quote, from famed designer Buckminster Fuller, sums up the motivation behind ‘Architecting the Future,’ three days of learning, sharing, and celebrating innovation for social change. I was proud to represent FrontlineSMS as one of four... Read More
Emerging Explorer project makes Buckminster Fuller finalists
FrontlineSMS has been selected as one of only four Finalists in the Buckminster Fuller Challenge, the prestigious annual design science competition. Named “Socially-Responsible Design’s Highest Award” by Metropolis Magazine, the Challenge awards $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a whole systems-based solution that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems. By Sarah George, Florence Scialom... Read More
Learning more about FrontlineSMS users: Results from our first ever survey!
Offering FrontlineSMS as a free software download has proved a successful way to help many non-profits; but it’s an approach that doesn’t come without its challenges. There are many cases of our software having a positive impact on people’s lives which the FrontlineSMS team and other FrontlineSMS users remain oblivious to. At the end of 2010 our software had been downloaded 12,500 times and was being used in 60 countries across the world. Yet... Read More
Plan International case study: helping children report abuse in Benin
We’re delighted to announce the publication of the first in our series of in-depth case studies of FrontlineSMS implementations, from Plan International, documenting their work in Benin to develop and pilot a Violence Against Children SMS helpline. Linda Raftree, who many of you will know as @meowtree on Twitter, has written extensively about the programme on her blog, but the case study tries to pull out a bit more of the institutional processes... Read More
SMS used for peacekeeping at Burundi’s Elections
The African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI) strengthens, supports, and promotes peace activities at the grassroots level in the Great Lakes region of Africa (Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda). Here, in our twenty-ninth guest blog post, AGLI Coordinator, David Zarembka, discusses how FrontlineSMS proved a valuable tool for supporting and coordinating peace building efforts during recent election violence prevention in program in Burundi. AGLI... Read More
SMS inspiration: A view from the Central Independent States
Moldcell and Orange - the two main Moldovan networks I’m beginning this week in the small landlocked eastern European country of Moldova, talking to representatives of IREX-supported organisations running telecentres and internet access points across the region. We just had a short session on FrontlineSMS, explaining how it works, and starting to come up with ideas for how to use it. Even though we talk every day about how users innovate way... Read More
ECOCARE Maldives: Project Mobilize
Our twenty-seventh guest post comes from ECOCARE Maldives, an NGO working for the protection and sustainable development of the environment, writing about how they’ve used FrontlineSMS in their environmental awareness programme with local school children. It’s an incredibly simple use case, but it helps them to continue offering the service, and making a difference on the ground… ECOCARE programme participants ECOCARE was introduced... Read More
