What does Evaluation tell us about how to Harness Disruptive Technologies for Development?

Countries looking to harness the power of disruptive technologies need to ensure that citizens, and particularly the poor and those left behind, benefit from the opportunities created by disruptive technologies. It is not enough that disruptive technologies lower costs of goods and services or provide other efficiencies. Jobs, education, social safety nets, and investments that give opportunities to the poor matter just as much. At this year's Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group, stakeholders in the development community will, among many different topics, discuss how best to leverage the potential of disruptive technologies in order to address world's most pressing development challenges. Disruptive technologies include innovations that "lead to a step change in the cost or access to products and services with potential to disrupt traditional pathways of economic development."