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ObjectivesHypothesis : - Clear objectives are which are held by the majority of stakeholders are needed to ensure organisational aspects of the activity are effective . The sustainability paper differentiates between Economic, Social and Institutional sustainability. The objective clarifies where the benefits may be found, what is the intended sustainability and whether these are intended to be based on direct or indirect cost recovery.
The objectives of each case study have been presented in Table 1, and not surprisingly, have a common theme of access to information. Most ICT projects represent the application of ICT in support of development objectives. Having said that, there are some projects that deal solely with technology, notably computer training projects. However, these are targeted at well defined groups where skills have been identified as an enabling factor. Overall, we can group projects around a core set of objectives although many of the studies address more than one facet: ·Enhancing information to planners ·Increasing citizens access to governance ·Enhancing livelihood incomes of the poor ·Enhancing livelihoods of the poor.
Enhancing information to planners:- To CARDIN, MIGIS, and KUMINFO, the ICT is primarily a mechanism for increasing the accuracy of data available to planners – both Government and NGO. Whilst the indirect beneficiaries are poor communities and the projects each have a poverty theme, the direct users of the data are planners. In the case of MIGIS, the technology facilitates participatory collection of data and enhances and endorses the data coming from the rural people.
One might put Deniva in to the same category, as the NGO network facilitates information exchange and flows among its members and to the government, again allowing the planning processes of development activities to have increased efficiencies.
Increasing citizens access to governance (promoting good governance):- Revistazo and Gyandoot specifically seek to help citizens in their project area to access and exercise their rights through e-links to the relevant government departments. In the case of Gynadoot this is directly in facilitating users to access government forms and information services. This has had considerable impact on corruption levels. In the case of Revistazo, sensitive information about corruption is brought into the public arena and discussed often with the desired effect.
One might put the MANAGE study in the same category since it attempts to facilitate communication between service organisations and ensure that access by citizens to finance (credit, banks) is eased.
Enhancing livelihood incomes of the poor:- UDS, Digital Village and Food Marketers primarily seek either to prepare users for employment or to enhance existing employment opportunities. The Food Marketers are attempting to find new or increasing markets for traditional production by artisans. Digital Village on the other hand is seeking to prepare young people for the new markets by giving them new skills in computing. UDS offers access and training specifically to enhance opportunities for income. However, Gyandoot and MANAGE, by offering access to ICT also enhance livelihoods, and in particular MANAGE offers mechanisms for finance.
Enhancing livelihoods of the poor:- The ACISAM project, with its distinct emphasis on mental health, illustrates how a community can be enhanced by broadcasting of relevant critical information. All the other cases also offer opportunities for communities to enhance their livelihoods by access to strategic information either directly or indirectly. For instance UDS aim to serve as an information resources for local NGOs and CBOs
Table 2: Overview of organisational ICT project objectives
The case studies seem to support the hypothesis. There are various forms of sustainability and some of the case studies are not intended to show economic sustainability, but are supporting social and institutional sustainability. |
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