Madhu asked:
Just why is there such intellectual stagnation here, there, and everywhere, institutionally speaking? Or am I being unfair?
This maybe trite, it is alas very accurate: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.

Curious that the example given is in Kenya, which has started a number of ground-breaking uses of IT, in finance and information sharing, alongside a paucity of public capital and increasing demand for public services.

We in the 'developed' world are rarely nimble, let alone quick. I cannot recall the details now, two sports stadium in London were recently built, one for a public body took years longer than another built for a privately-owned football club.