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What is Community Informatics?
Community Informatics:
Bottom Up (and Top Down) Towards Digital
Transformation
ISTD: Porto, Portugal July 2010
Michael Gurstein, Ph.D.
Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and
TrainingVancouver, BC, CANADA
[email protected]
Community Informatics
Enabling (empowering) communities with information and communications technologies (ICTs)
CI is of equal interest to practitioners, researchers, and policy makers
CI for practitionershow to do what they do
CI for researchershow to make the work of practitioners more effective
CI for policy makers/fundersthe DD, development, community centred policies(
(Multi)Stakeholder Approach
Communities/NGOs
Researchers
Funders/Policy Makers
The Stakeholders
Communities Have the need
Have local resources
Are there for the long term
Governments/Private SectorRegulatory authority/responsibility
Knowledge
Resources
Universities/ResearchersProposing/Planning/designing
Networking
Evaluating
Community Informatics Approach to ICTs
AccessAdoptionApplicatn/ImplementnEffective Use
Top Down
Telecentres, PIAP's, etc.
Top down
Funder/policy driven
Resource management issues
Sustainability issues
Narrow focus-structural rigidity (programmes)
Top Down Resources/Processes
Broadband Infrastructure for developmentAdditional resources Training and skills development
Capital
Knowledgemarkets, suppliers, logistics etc.
Networks and networking
Bottom Up
Various namescommunity networks, telecentres,
Grassrootsenergy, passion, mobilization
Practice driven/flexible
Highly local
Funding/resource scarcity
Problems of continuity/sustainability
Pragmatic/opportunistic
Respond to local needs/problems/opportunities
Bottom Up Resources/Processes
Human capital
Social capital
Knowledgemarkets, suppliers, logistics etc.
Networks and networking
Community innovation
Bottom up/Top Down
To scale (for Digital Transformation)-need both
Bottom up can (and should) mean mobilization at the grassroots in support of digital empowerment
Top down can (and should) mean a supportive enabling regulatory/funding/policy framework
Original community networking visionDe-centralized (peer to peer)
Democratic
Egalitarian
ICTs/Mobiles
MobilesprosUbiquitous
Low cost
Engaging young people
ConsPhysical limitations
individualized
Privately owned/controlled
ICTs/Mobiles
ICTsprosInformation elaboration
Links to off-line programs
ConsLimited dispersal
Cost
Can be community based
ICTs/Mobiles-->Development?
Integration?Design developmental programs offline based on computers with integration of mobiles
Mobiles become input/output devices
ICTs become data-management/processing
Community site/telecentre as organizing/mobilizing focal point
Broad design process linking back to overall programs
ICTs/Mobiles-->Development?
Technology (informatics)
Community/collective processesuse for collective mobilization
Success Stories
K-Net First Nations in remote Northern Canadajob creation, e-health, e-administration
CB Musice-culture, e-socio-economic development
E-BarioSarawake-learning, e-tourism, e-socio-economic development
RlabsSouth Africa
Now Where To Go
Where not to go is to develop stand alone services -- these fail and are unsustainable
Where to go is to build the demand and expectation for effective and efficient service delivery from/to and with the users/communities
Enable existing processes/activities using ICTs to make processes more efficient and effective
Build the ICT component as a facilitator/extender to other activities
Because
The Real Power of ICTs comes when communities are enabled with Community Based ICTs and where a Community Informatics approach empowers local communities to use ICTs for
Local development
Local health service
Local economic development
Local environmental management
Local resource development
Effective Use
The elements of effective use:
Infrastructure
Input/output devices
Software and control
Content
Social context
Organization of social context/animation/leadership
Policy/funding context
Lessons Learned for Community ICTs
Only bottom up community based strategies work
Policy plays a key role
Research plays a significant role
Partnerships are essential--with governments, private sector, existing institutions,
Significance of networking for scaling up
Technology does matter (but not that much)
Digital Transformation/
Social Transformation
The default position for digital transformation is networked individualism--e.g. Facebook etc.
Networked individualism is essentially politically disempowering for social transformation
Social transformation is a collective/collaborative phenomenon
In a digitally enabled society (a digital society) the necessary bases for social transformation are communitiesphysical and virtual
Community Informatics Resources
CI Researchers e-list
http://vancouvercommunity.net/lists/info/ciresearchers
Journal of Community Informaticshttp://www.ci-journal.net
(CI in Brazil: Portugese and EnglishDec. 2010)Blog
http://gurstein.wordpress.com
CRACIN BookEds. Clement, Gurstein, Longworth, ShadeConnecting Canadians (Jan. 2011?)
Prato (Italy) Community Informatics Conference-Oct.
Michael Gurstein, Ph.D.
Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and
TrainingVancouver, BC, CANADA
http://[email protected]