Research in the multi-disciplinary domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development indicates there is potential for ICT to contribute to a nation s socio-economic development. We contend that there is a need for extending existing IS or ICT theoretical paradigms by the creation of frameworks set in the local context that will either analyse individual ICT applications or understand/measure ICT impacts on socio-economic development, especially in developing countries. Our research constructs a conceptual framework in order to understand the developmental impact at micro or community level in rural areas of one developing country, Bangladesh. We achieve this through an interpretive case study of one type of ICT4D project or intervention in three village areas in Bangladesh. Its results were analysed using Heeks information chain model and Sen notion of development as freedom. Our research makes a contribution to expanding the scope for impact assessment and to identifying social constraints (religious issues, perceptions held of female community members, and so on), and we believe that these constraints demand further investigation.
Research in the multi-disciplinary domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development indicates there is potential for ICT to contribute to a nation's socio-economic, socio-technical and socio-cultural development. Because of this, developing countries have been rushing to implement ambitious ICT for Development (ICT4D) projects, in rural areas, through the direct/indirect supervision of institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) and other local and international donor agencies. These interventions aim to provide positive developmental impacts on people's lives at an individual, group or community level. However, debate is continuing regarding how and to what extent the ICT4D projects further the achievement of development.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are identified as a promising technology that can be employed in promoting development in the developing-world. Embracing this view, many developing nations have shown an avid interest in leveraging ICTs for development and invested heavily in such projects. Unfortunately, the vision of ICTs acting as the transformative technologies in enabling development in developing nations has not been realised. In reality, successful implementation and benefits realisation from ICT-enabled development initiatives has proven a daunting challenge and project failure is a prolific and widely-acknowledged phenomenon. Among the issues that have contributed to this disheartening state of affairs, the difficulty of sustaining ICT projects for development in developing nations is a prominent concern. This thesis presents a study which examines the less-understood and neglected problem of project sustainability with respect to ICT projects for development implemented in developing nations. The study answers the research question of "How can ICT projects for development (ICT4D projects) in developing nations achieve sustainability?" The research question is addressed via an interpretivist, embedded case study on a large-scale, national level, government sector ICT project that targets agricultural development implemented in a South Asian developing nation. In examining project sustainability, the study employs Actor-Network Theory (ANT) concepts to extend analysis beyond the typical influencing factor and sustainability dimension-based interpretations of the phenomenon which are inherently static and limited in terms of the extent to which the dynamics of sustainability can be analysed. Through the adoption of this alternative theoretical lens, project sustainability is visualised and explored as a dynamic phenomenon that involves critical influencing relationships in actor-networks. The study has produced two key outputs. The first output is an alternative theoretical approach that could be employed by practitioners in enabling project sustainability, which is based upon the formation and sustenance of critical relationships that influence project sustainability. The second output is a framework that can be employed in sustaining ICT4D projects implemented in developing nations. Considered overall, the study findings suggest that project sustainability in the context of an ICT4D project in a developing nation can be visualised, interpreted and addressed on the alternative basis of critical influencing relationships in actor-networks. The results of the study essentially emphasise the importance of treating project sustainability as an ever-evolving, dynamic phenomenon that must be managed pro-actively and constantly throughout the lifetime of an ICT4D project implemented in a developing nation.
The second volume in the SIRCA book series investigates the impact of information society initiatives by extending the boundaries of academic research into the realm of practice. Global in scope, it includes contributions and research projects from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The international scholarly community has taken a variety of approaches to question the impact of information society initiatives on populations in the Global South. This book addresses two aspects— Impact of research: How is the research on ICTs in the Global South playing a role in creating an information society? (e.g. policy formulation, media coverage, implementation in practice) and Research on impact: What is the evidence for the impact of ICTs on society? (i.e. the objectives of socio-economic development). This volume brings together a multiplicity of voices and approaches from social scientific research to produce an engaging volume for a variety of stakeholders including academics, researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and those in the business and civil sectors of society.
This edited volume presents current perspectives on the innovative use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as an integral part of the changing nature of work. The individual chapters address a number of key concepts such as telecommuting, alternative work arrangements, job crafting, gamification and new work skills, supplemented by a range of examples and supporting case studies. The Impact of ICT on Work offers a valuable resource for business practitioners and academics in the areas of information systems, as well as for human resources managers. The book will also be useful in advanced graduate classes dealing with the social and business impacts of information and communication technologies.
Mobile phones are close to ubiquitous in developing countries; Internet and broadband access are becoming commonplace. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) thus represent the fastest, broadest and deepest technical change experienced in international development. They now affect every development sector – supporting the work of hundreds of millions of farmers and micro-entrepreneurs; creating millions of ICT-based jobs; assisting healthcare workers and teachers; facilitating political change; impacting climate change; but also linked with digital inequalities and harms – with the pace of change continuously accelerating. Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) provides the first dedicated textbook to examine and explain these emerging phenomena. It will help students, practitioners, researchers and other readers understand the place of ICTs within development; the ICT-enabled changes already underway; and the key issues and interventions that engage ICT4D practice and strategy. The book has a three-part structure. The first three chapters set out the foundations of ICT4D: the core relation between ICTs and development; the underlying components needed for ICT4D to work; and best practice in implementing ICT4D. Five chapters then analyse key development goals: economic growth, poverty eradication, social development, good governance and environmental sustainability. Each chapter assesses the goal-related impact associated with ICTs and key lessons from real-world cases. The final chapter looks ahead to emerging technologies and emerging models of ICT-enabled development. The book uses extensive in-text diagrams, tables and boxed examples with chapter-end discussion and assignment questions and further reading. Supported by online activities, video links, session outlines and slides, this textbook provides the basis for undergraduate, postgraduate and online learning modules on ICT4D.
A journal examining the impact of global IT from a publisher of quality research Information Technology for Development is a journal that specifically addresses global information technology issues and opportunities. It's dedicated to providing quality research, including social and technical research regarding information technology's effects on economic, social and human development. This journal's purpose includes serving as a forum for discussions about strategies, best practices, tools and techniques for assessing the impact of IT infrastructure, whether it's in government or the private sector. This is a single issue of the journal, Volume 13, Number 2, from 2007.
Billions of US dollars are invested each year by the public, NGO and private sectors in information-and-communication-technologies-for-development (ICT4D) projects such as telecentres, village phone schemes, e-health and e-education projects, e-government kiosks, etc.Yet we have very little sense of the effect of that investment. Put simply, there is far too little impact assessment of ICT4D projects.In part that reflects a lack of political will and motivation. But in part it also reflects a lack of knowledge about how to undertake impact assessment of ICT4D.This Compendium aims to address that lack of knowledge. It presents a set of frameworks that can be used by ICT4D practitioners, policy-makers and consultants to understand the impact of informatics initiatives in developing countries.The Compendium is arranged into three parts:• Overview - explains the basis for understanding impact assessment of ICT4D projects, and the different assessment frameworks that can be used.• Frameworks - summarises a series of impact assessment frameworks, each one drawing from a different perspective.• Bibliography - a tabular summary of real-world examples of ICT4D impact assessment.
