Tecnologia Social: A Global South Approach To Information Systems Development

Information Systems Development (ISD) is a critical field in the digital age. Although studies on the participation and representation of local stakeholders in ISD have a long tradition, we identified a lack of investigations in Global South contexts. This paper contributes to the literature by advocating for an equitable and inclusive approach to ISD that considers the unique cultural, economic, and institutional differences in those contexts. To this end, the paper introduces the concept of tecnologia social, an approach that prioritizes the social context of technology design and the protagonism of local stakeholder groups in its development. Overall, this paper advocates for the opportunity to embrace tecnologia social as an alternative and complementary approach to mainstream Global North ISD and underscores the importance of prioritizing local stakeholder participation and representation in the development of information systems.