Designing E-Rural Development Services

- emerging trends and approachesS. Janakiram

Champion, ICT for Rural Development, E-development and Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Knowledge and Institutions Thematic Groups

World Bank

Session organized by E-development services thematic group in collaboration with ITSLC Quickstart, ISGIF, and SASKI

thematic group, World Bank

23 March 2005

The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are the author’s own and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its management, its Board of Directors or the countries they represent.

 

Overview

• What is E-Rural Development?

• What are the emerging trends in E-Rural Development?

• What are the approaches in E-rural development? – a practical framework

• How to design E-Rural Development Services? – implementation steps

• What has worked and what has not worked – some examples

• What we hope to see in the years ahead? – some suggestions

Take away messages - to design and implement e-rural development services to

- reach MDGs and obtain results on the ground

• Trends– Changing information needs – simple to complex– Changing information and communication technologies

– single to integrated systems– International investment in ICT’s shifting from

manufacturing to service activities• Approaches

– Need to focus more on I and C elements than T in ICT– More emphasis on developing both - Institutions and

Infrastructure – the two I’s

What is E-Rural Development?

What is E-rural development?

E-rural development is the provision of information, knowledge and business services to the people living in rural areas for improving their livlihoods using a variety of electronic means of communication

What are the emerging trends in E-Rural Development?

- three major trends…

First trend….

Changing Information Needs…..

From…

Information needs of ..

• Landless poor– Entitlements

– Employment opportunities

– Social services

– Education and training

– Entertainment

– Health

– Other

• Subsistence Farmers– Technologies to maintain at

least subsistence levels of agricultural production

– Cultural practices

– Prices

– Weather

– Inputs

– Credit

– Other

Information needs of ..

• Small farmer– Same as those of

subsistence farmer Plus..– Market opportunities

• Where to market• What to market• When to market• Developing market niches

– Farm management– Technologies– Agricultural policies– Other

• Medium to large farmers– Same as those for small

farmers PLUS….– How to influence

agricultural policies– Management and

administration– Technologies– Environment rules and

regulations– Other

To …

More holistic information and knowledge – multisectoral and multidisciplinary in nature..

from A….Z– Agriculture– Business - Biology– Culture - Credit– Debt– Education, Entitlements - Entertainment – Environment– Foods – Forestry– Government services, Genetics, GMO’s– Industry– Health, Horoscope– Job opportunities– Land titles, laws, Licenses– Market, Microfinance, Manufacturing, Matrimony– Nutrition– Recreation– Social benefits– Technology, Trade, Tourism– Weather– Zoology

Common theme which emerges is

• Demand for information and knowledge is on the increase, is becoming complex, is a factor of production and is becoming a basic need…

• But must be– Timely

– Relevant

– Easily accessible

– Understandable

– Affordable

even if it is scribbled on the back of an envelope!

Second trend….

Evolution of ICT

Clay Tablets

1800 BC 0 AD 1200 1450 1837 1861 1939 1971 1995

Latin texts

Woodblock printing

Printing press

Telegraph Television

Internet

Photos

Microchip

• Information and Communication Technologies – ICT’s – Are tools that help build human network, increase public

awareness and provide access to information and knowledge for the use of people

– Consists of a range of communication media and devices• Print - Internet• Telephone - Remote Sensing• Fax - GIS• Radio - RFID• Television - and technologies on the drawing boards…• Video• Audio• Computer

Definition of ICT

Emerging trends in ICT – single to integrated, complex systems

• Print• Radio• Telephone• Films• Audio• Television• Video• Computer• Internet• GIS• RFID• Other…

– Multimedia information & knowledge centers

providing

– Multi-sectoral – Multi-disciplinary content

From

– Multiple sources

To serve

– Multiple users

– With feed-back

mechanisms

Essential elements

Enabling policy environment to promote access in rural areas – pricing, competition, regulatory env., etc

Relevant Content

Telecommunication infrastructure

Institutional linkages and capacity building

Incentives for retaining skilled people and private sector involvement

Existing tools

Present… future

Third trend….

Trends …

– International investment in ICT’s shifting from manufacturing to service activities

• Marketed services become a larger share of economic activity– Because of greater domestic de-regulation

– Competition

– Trade liberalization

• Outsourcing

MDGs and ICTs • Sustainable Poverty Reduction

– Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (Goal 1)– Ensure environmental sustainability (Goal 7)

• Education – Achieve universal primary education (Goal 2)

• Empowerment– Promote gender equality and empower women

(Goal 3)

• Health – Reduce Child Mortality (Goal 4)– Improve maternal health (Goal 5)– Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other

diseases (Goal 6)

• Partnership– Develop a global partnership for development

(Goal 8)

• Market information to increase negotiating power of farmers

• Information system for flood protection system, GIS systems combat illegal logging, monitoring land use

• School networks, Electronic libraries, digital literacy

• Developing entrepreneurship skills, radio and television programs by and for rural people, building new forms of community networks and alliances

• Bringing latest medical advances to remote areas through tele-medicine, use of PDA’s to improve management and monitoring of health care

• Global communications, internet have helped increase trade in the services sector between developed and developing countries – and created new partnerships and jobs

What are the approaches in E-rural development? – a practical framework

Basic principles..Need to place more emphasis on..

– I :Information - needs assessment, indigenous knowledge, intellectual property rights, freedom of information, and to make it as another BASIC NEED

– C:Improving Communication, Content, Connectivity, Capacity building

– T:Build on existing “traditional” technologies along with “modern” technologies

Objective

• To enable the free flow of information and knowledge to improve decision making and participation of rural households, communities, enterprises, institutions, etc for economic growth

From Simple…

Agriculture - Market prices of inputs and outputs

Ministry of Agriculture

User Information

Needs Assessment

Print

Single Media

Single User

Farmers

Feedback Feedback

Single Source

Single sector &Single area

To

• An increasingly complex…– Modular approach using multi media to develop multi-

disciplinary and multi-sectoral e-rural development services from multiple sources to multiple users with built in user e-needs assessment and feedback mechanisms:

• The Four M modular approach for e-rural development services*

*Approach has been adapted from the approach taken to help develop a rural information and knowledge system in Russia. More information is available in the following link to the case study on Russia - Rural information and knowledge system

– http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/essdext.nsf/11DocByUnid/AB4B3D8CABFAC63185256C6700816E6C/$FILE/Annex4SuccessfulBankOperationsinAgricultureandRuralDevelopment.pdf

Mechanisms for Content Development and Partnership arrangements with Users

Sources

Partners

NGO’s

Academic Institutions

Government institutions

Private sector

Internet

Multi-national Cos

International Institutions

Diaspora

UserInformationKnowledge Capacity

Needs Assessment

Print Radio Video Computer/Internet TV Exhibitions

& Fairs

Multiple – Communication channels

Multiple Users

Rural Households Entrepreneurs Government Schools Hospitals

Framework for E-Rural Development Services

Feedback Feedback

Multiple-sources-partners

Multiple-disciplines-sectors, content

-partnerships

Replicability

Modular nature of the approach taken• Lends itself to the design of the least cost and

most appropriate ways for developing e-rural development service delivery mechanisms

• One which would address user needs of the rural population – ranging from traditional and tested radio, print and television dissemination mechanisms to modern high technologies using high speed computers and internet.

SCALABILITY

Builds on

• Available Information Technology Infrastructure

• Capacity in existing institutions involved with provision of information, knowledge and business services and training

How to design E-Rural Development Services?

- implementation steps

Implementation Steps..• Step One: End user information, knowledge, business, capacity needs

assessment of target users in the rural areas

– farm and non-farm population– Local government– Rural enterprises– Hospitals– Schools, universities and training institutions– others.

• Step Two: Development of appropriate content and partnerships– content and partnerships to meet user needs ,

• Public, private, academic, non-governmental institutions• publicly available content from the World Wide Web and adapted to meet the needs of the

rural population• Other

• Step Three: Dissemination of content and partnership linkages through a variety of information communication technologies

– such as TV, video, CD rom, print, E-mail, internet, teleconferencing, etc.• Step Four: Ongoing feedback for monitoring and evaluation

– for content improvement, selection of appropriate media, cost recovery mechanisms, assessing changing demands for new types of information, knowledge and business opportunities by different types of end-users

Wide variety of e-rural development centers..

• Rural kiosks

• Telecenters

• E-Sewa centers

• Community Technology Learning Centers

• Distance learning centers

• Rural Information and Knowledge Centers

What has worked and what has not worked? – examples

Examples

What has not worked…

Why some IT projects have failed? Some reasons..

• More than half of 134 large companies listed in UK, US, Africa, Australia and Europe surveyed by KPMG* had a failed IT project in 2001-2002– Reasons

• Inadequate planning

• Poor scope management

• Insufficient communication between IT departments

and business• Source: www. computing.co.uk

Mozambique – where the telecenter did not work*

Why?• Because the telecenter was “plagued” by huge telephone bills

and could not recover these from customers– Charges were levied for failed attempts to connect to the internet

via long-distance dial-up – and were slow when connected – the telephone company TDM billed the telecenter for a three minute charge for each attempt made plus a long-distance charge to connect to the POP in Maputo

– ---- Points to the need for effective regulation and demand aggregation – calls for a “critical mass” of telecenters across the country to negotiate better prices for connectivity

* Source: www.cinsa.org.za

Examples

What is working..

E-Choupal – a private sector initiative by ITC, India Building Blocks

One-stop-shop, offering… Relevant and real time Information (weather, prices, news) + Knowledge

(farm management, risk management) + Inputs (screened for quality) + Output (convenience, lower transaction costs)

Interlocking Network of Partnerships to bring in “best in class” in all offers (ITC+IMD+Universities+Input Cos etc.)

ICT Infrastructure ICT kiosk with internet access

In the house of one trained farmer – Sanchalak Within walking distance of target ICT kiosk with internet access

Warehousing Hub/Store Managed by the erstwhile middleman, Samyojak Within tractorable distance of target farmers

Collaborative network of companies – led by ITCSource: S. Sivakumar, 2002,2004, ITC e-Choupal – Profitable Rural Transformation. India. For more

information, contact:: shiv@itc.co.in P C

ICT’s for rural poor- a Datamation Foundation Initiative - India

• Objective: use ICT applications to help “chicankari” poor women artisans improve their livlihoods in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

– ICT center established –with support from Info-Dev and Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential project

• Provided a platform to develop artistic skills,

• improve designs and respond to market demand – traditional designs and embroidery patterns – made innovations possible

• Training in computer skills

• Empowers women

• Source: Datamation Foundation, India More information could be obtained from :http://www.datamationfoundation.org/infoDev.htm

Macedonia e-BIZ: A New Model for Sustainable Economic Growth

• USAID Macedonia project, conducted by EDC under a DOT COM cooperative agreement*

• Objective– help SMEs use ICTs to become more competitive and generate

jobs• Approach

– Begin with demand• Identifies "high impact" ICTs that can quickly and significantly

improve SME competitiveness– Partner with entrepreneurs who invest in e-BIZ Centers that offer

the high-impact ICTs– Establish e-BIZ Centers with a viable business plan

*Source: Janice Brodman.2005. EDC. Ma, USA. For more information contact : jbrodman@edc.org. 617-618-2620

Achievements After 1 Year

• 7 e-BIZ Centers– Owned by local entrepreneurs who co-invest– Will directly benefit 1,000 SMEs with 30,000

jobs

• Experts say these e-BIZ Centers will save or create 10,000 – 23,000 jobs in 3 years

• Attracted $300,000 foreign direct investmentSource: Janice Brodman.2005. EDC. Ma, USA

Example: Apparel industry

• Key industry in Macedonia– 30% of Macedonian exports– 22,000 jobs

• Problem: Competing on cost, industry will “disappear” in 5 years

• e-BIZ impact: SMEs shift to higher value-added “rapid response” market niche

Source: Janice Brodman.2005. EDC. Ma, USA

What we hope to see in the years ahead? – some suggestions

What we hope to see in the years ahead…

• Establishment of inter-connected rural information and knowledge centers within and between countries providing a range of e-rural development services:– Tailored to meet the multi-sectoral and multi-

disciplinary information needs of local rural population– Providing

• Free and • Fee based information, knowledge and business services

– Using a variety of communication media

What we hope to see in the years ahead…

• Integrated ICT strategies aimed at inter-operability and common technology infrastructure across and within ministries

• Increased role of universities and local population to develop and sharing local content in local languages

• Universal adoption of freedom of information laws

• Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of the poor – and indigenous knowledge as an asset

• Development of information and knowledge markets at the local level

• Increased role of public sector to provide ICT connectivity to central nodes in rural areas to stimulate private sector involvement to provide value added demand driven services

Plenty

WISDOM

KNOWLEDGE

INFORMATION

DATA

Scarce

Data to wisdom…Present…

The future...work towards..More wisdom… and less data…

NEEDS THE TWO I’s:Institutions

Infrastructure

Plenty

WISDOM

KNOWLEDGE

INFORMATION

DATAUseful

Many thanks for your attention

Comments, suggestions welcome..Please send to:

Sjanakiram@worldbank.org

Telephone: (202) 473 6855