The COVID-19 pandemic was the first global pandemic in the digital age. Measures to combat the pandemic, including lockdowns and the need for social distancing, forced many of our everyday spheres of activity online, including work, education, buying essentials such as food and medicine, and our social lives. Furthermore, digital tools became a widespread part of pandemic response itself, including using the online world for risk communication, as well as digital / online applications for contact tracing, quarantine monitoring, and more recently, vaccine distribution.

These changes brought tremendous opportunities, allowing many activities that would otherwise have been interrupted, to continue. Digital technologies also opened up the possibility of making pandemic control faster and more efficient through harnessing numerous and varied sources of data. However, inequalities in access to digital technologies and broadband meant that some have been affected worse than others, along lines such as gender and socioeconomic status. In addition, there are many forms of work and other activities that simply cannot be undertaken online. Moreover, the use of digital technologies in pandemic control measures such as contact tracing and quarantine enforcement, have raised questions about cybersecurity and the protection of users’ personally identifiable information.

LIRNEasia’s work on the impact of COVID-19 on our society addresses all these aspects, drawing on our existing work under the themes of Disaster response, AfterAccess, Education, the Future of Work, Small and Medium Enterprises, Gender, and the Data, Algorithms, and Policy workstream.

During pandemic related shutdowns in 2020, we revisited our findings from the AfterAccess surveys of ICT use to explore challenges faced by digitally unconnected individuals in accessing education.  Often, data helped frame policy debates on remote education.

Given the importance of digital payments and digital presence during lockdown, we also explored existing data and participated in policy dialog related to how Small and Medium Businesses could survive and thrive in the “new normal”.

We also  explored several risk communication activities undertaken in Asia, and how risk communication may be used to build trust in populations, thereby motivating them to follow precautionary measures.   These findings were presented at international policy events as well as Sri Lankan academic events related to COVID-19.   More broadly, we continued our thinking and writing on communicating, use of evidence and decision making under uncertainty.

We looked at the promise and challenges of technology and data as tools to deal with the pandemic – for example, exploring the potential for wearable contact tracing technology.  Towards this, we explored how health information and other related data are gathered and used as part of COVID-19 responses in Sri Lanka and Thailand, especially in terms of contact tracing and quarantine monitoring. We asked what kinds of information and data are collected, how they are gathered, and how they are used in the COVID-19 response, to identify lessons learned for future pandemics.

Understanding how people were impacted day-to-day were impacted by the enforcement of pandemic-related lockdowns is important because we know different people were impacted differently.  Understanding how people coped is also important to designing solutions that rebuild better.  However, we grappled with the challenges of not being able to visit, travel or interview face to face various respondents.  During the second wave of the pandemic, when curfew was implemented in specific areas of Sri Lanka, we used an innovative e-Diary method to study a select group of respondents through intense by remote research.

We continued the efforts to understand the user or demand-side on a much larger scale through two surveys in India and Sri Lanka. The surveys aimed to explore people’s behaviour related to work, accessing food, accessing non-pandemic health care and accessing education prior to, during and post-pandemic.  Results are expected May 2021.  Both were designed to be nationally representative of the population over the age of 15 in each country, but since they were completed during and in between pandemic surges over 2021, the Indian sample excluded the state of Kerala, as it was not safe to conduct research there at the time.   The project was part of a larger project that covers Asia, Africa and Latin America and is done with our long term research partners in those regions.

Documents

• Relationships between ICTs and primary & secondary education during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
• Relationships between ICTs and primary & secondary education during the COVID-19 pandemic in India
• Gender gaps in internet access and digital skills in India and Sri Lanka (draft report)

  This working paper explores the effect of gender on the likelihood of internet access and the likelihood of possessing digital skills capabilities among Indians and Sri Lankans, based on nationally representative survey data from 2021.

• Digitally-enabled work opportunities and women’s empowerment – Draft 1

  The technological advancements of the recent decades, including the expansion of the gig economy have given rise to increasing numbers of opportunities for flexible work for both men and women across the globe. Opportunities range from ridesharing to online freelancing to running home-based businesses with the help of social media and logistics platforms.   The growth in opportunities for digital work have expanded considerably after the advent of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Flexible work arrangements – such as those offered by the gig economy—have long been argued as an enabler of women’s increased and sustained participation in the labour market. This is particularly pertinent for countries like Sri Lanka, which have tussled with low female labour force participation (LFP) rates over the years. Many have argued that these opportunities are especially advantageous for women, enabling flexibility in terms of time, location, and the conditions of work, allowing for greater LFP and wide opportunities for socio-economic empowerment. This paper seeks to explore the impact that such opportunities are having on women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka.

• Digital for Education in Sri Lanka (Presentation)

  Slides presented at the Education Forum Policy Dialogue (#20) on Education Post-Pandemic on Saturday, 26 March 2022

• Access to education during the first lockdown was high, but not without problems, survey shows (Press Release)

  A new survey shows that 85% of enrolled school-aged children had some form of education services during school closures between March and July 2020. While some received educational services through multiple means, 54% of students received information, instructions, notes, or assignments sent to smartphone, tab, or computer, 50% had live lessons delivered over Zoom and other applications (potentially alongside other methods).

• Internet use in Sri Lanka has grown due to pandemic, but slower than peers, survey shows (Press Release)

  A recent national survey conducted by LIRNEasia, a regional policy think tank, showed that 44% of Sri Lanka’s population aged 15 and above were internet users in 2021. Internet use was lower amongst the rural, elderly, less educated and poorer groups.

• Impact of COVID-19 on households and the workforce in Sri Lanka: Survey methodology note

  The COVID-19 related lockdowns, mandating citizens to ‘stay at home’ brought about a host of challenges, from restricted mobility to large scale job and income loss to disruptions in the provisions of essential services as well as education. To an extent, especially in urban areas, digital technology-driven solutions have been able to bridge the last mile of service delivery and help minimize the disruptions, for example through app-driven delivery services, online schooling, etc.

More Documents →

Events

• LIRNEasia at APrIGF 2022 in Singapore
  Gayani Hurulle participates in panel on Connecting the Unconnected at APrIGF 2022 in Singapore
• Education during COVID-19 induced school closures
  LIRNEasia recently participated at Education Forum Sri Lanka’s Policy Dialogue on Education Post-Pandemic (#20) held on Saturday, 26 March 2022.
• Register Now | Policy Dialogue on Education post-pandemic, March 26th, 2:30-5:00 pm
  Register to hear presentations by UNICEF Sri Lanka and LIRNEasia and responses by key stakeholders, and participate in the discussion
• Digital Sri Lanka during COVID-19 Lockdowns (Research Report)
  LIRNEasia will present the findings of a nationally representative survey with a 2,500 sample across Sri Lanka.
• Access to Services during COVID-19 in “Digital India” launched
  LIRNEasia and ICRIER jointly released the findings of a nationally representative, 7000+ sample survey assessing access to services during COVID-19 in India.

More Events →

People

Ruwanka De Silva

Helani Galpaya

Ayesha Zainudeen

Isuru Samaratunga

Gayani Hurulle

Ramathi Bandaranayake

Tharaka Amarasinghe

Blogs and Updates

• Relationships between ICTs and primary & secondary education during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
• Relationships between ICTs and primary & secondary education during the COVID-19 pandemic in India
• Gender gaps in internet access and digital skills in India and Sri Lanka (draft report)
  This working paper explores the effect of gender on the likelihood of internet access and the likelihood of possessing digital skills capabilities among Indians and Sri Lankans, based on nationally representative survey data from 2021.
• Digitally-enabled work opportunities and women’s empowerment – Draft 1
  The technological advancements of the recent decades, including the expansion of the gig economy have given rise to increasing numbers of opportunities for flexible work for both men and women across the globe.
• Digital platforms in Asia: Access and use
  LIRNEasia conducted a study on digital platform use across six countries in South and Southeast Asia.
• Digitally enabled flexible work for women: Is it all that its cracked up to be?
  South Asia has some of the lowest female labor force participation (LFP) rates in the world, second only to the Middle East.
• LIRNEasia at APrIGF 2022 in Singapore
  Gayani Hurulle participates in panel on Connecting the Unconnected at APrIGF 2022 in Singapore
• LIRNEasia at UNESCAP USF Modernisation workshop
  LIRNEasia Chair Rohan Samarajiva and I were invited to share our experiences at a UNESCAP capacity building workshop on Universal Service Fund modernization on 23 June 2022.
• LIRNEasia research on vaccine communications at 22nd ICA Conference
  I recently participated in a panel discussion on “Health Communication: Risk & Strategies during COVID-19” at the International Communications Association (ICA) Conference (South Asia Regional Hub) on 29 May 2022.
• LIRNEasia CEO speaks on improving social safety nets in Sri Lanka
  LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galapaya and Chair Rohan Samarajiva participated in an online webinar on Social Safety Nets on 8 May 2022.
• Digital for Education in Sri Lanka (Presentation)
  Slides presented at the Education Forum Policy Dialogue (#20) on Education Post-Pandemic on Saturday, 26 March 2022
• Education during COVID-19 induced school closures
  LIRNEasia recently participated at Education Forum Sri Lanka’s Policy Dialogue on Education Post-Pandemic (#20) held on Saturday, 26 March 2022.
• Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on income and earning opportunities: Findings from nationally representative surveys in India and Sri Lanka
  This reportage delineates the impact of the pandemic on income and earning opportunities of men and women in Sri Lanka and India.
• Register Now | Policy Dialogue on Education post-pandemic, March 26th, 2:30-5:00 pm
  Register to hear presentations by UNICEF Sri Lanka and LIRNEasia and responses by key stakeholders, and participate in the discussion
• Media coverage of the COVID-19 research launch in Sri Lanka
  The coverage by Sri Lankan media of the COVID+ surveys
• Media coverage of the COVID-19 research launch in India
  The coverage by Indian media of the COVID+ surveys
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