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United NationsE S C A P

POLICY BRIEF ON ICT APPLICATIONS

IN THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

I S S U E N O . 3 D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

It is generally acknowledged that access to

information and communications technologies

(ICT) has the potential to alleviate poverty, promote

economic and social development and improve

the quality of life of people in rural and remote

communities. Many developing countries have

begun initiatives to build the necessary ICT

infrastructure in rural areas, including establishing

ICT access points – also known as telecentres –

which are community centres that provide public

access to ICT in the form of telephones, computers

and the Internet. The establishment of ICT access

points poses numerous challenges, particularly for

those located in extremely remote areas that are

inaccessible by roads and/or have no power

supply. In this policy brief, we feature appropriate

policies drawn from the experience of successes

and failures to promote the establishment of

sustainable ICT access points for the economic

and social development of rural communities.

How can ICT access points benefitrural and remote communities?

From an economic and social standpoint, ICT

access points allow those in remote areas to

access information more easily. For instance, in

the agricultural sector, ICT can be used to obtain

information about weather forecasts, new varieties

of crops, farming techniques or crop disease

prevention. In addition, ICT access points can

enable users to provide online products and

services. For example, rural communities can

market their wares – from handicrafts to food

products – on the Internet. Entrepreneurs in rural

communities can use the Internet to communicate

directly with their clients and partners anywhere in

the world.

Through ICT, communities in remote areas can

obtain health information and advice from

specialists (residing in urban areas) for the

diagnosis and treatment of diseases and other

health problems. ICT can also play an important

role in providing high quality educational

opportunities to rural and remote communities, and

Government services could be delivered more

effectively and efficiently in rural areas if they were

conducted electronically. Moreover, ICT can act as

a tool to promote social equality. It can empower

women by facilitating their access to information

related to health, education, employment and other

social development opportunities, including

participation in the decision-making processes of

their governments.

Sustainability – the biggestchallenge

Probably the biggest challenge in setting up rural

ICT access points is making them sustainable.

From a financial perspective, the sponsors of the

ICT access points, such as the local government,

usually cannot continue to fund them perpetually.

Therefore, plans should be put forward to ensure

that the communities, or entrepreneurs in the

communities, are able to sustain the centres. One

critical success factor is the inclusion of business

plans at the preliminary stage of establishing ICT

access points. The business plans should

demonstrate how to generate enough revenue to

operate and maintain the ICT access points,

including covering equipment and personnel costs.

To encourage the community to utilize the

telecentres, they should provide access to content

and services that are relevant and in the local

language.

Another perspective is human resource

sustainability – ensuring that properly trained staff

operates the ICT access point. Of particular

importance is the existence of a local champion to

ICT for the Economic and Social Development ofRural Communities

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catalyse and motivate the staff and to pursue new

ways of generating income. All of the personnel

should ideally be locals, as the participation of the

community is crucial to instilling a sense of

ownership and achieving sustainability for the ICT

access point.

Social sustainability refers to the role the ICT

access point plays in addressing the needs of the

community, a significant role should ensure its

continuous use. For example, in the e-Bario

project, which established an ICT access point in

the remote village of Bario in Malaysia, the

volunteers running the telecentre are also lodge

owners and tour operators. Their livelihood

depends on their websites, which promote their

products and services, and on the e-mails that

they use to liaise and communicate with their

clients. Thus, they have an economic motivation

to ensure that the ICT access point is operational.

Strategies for the successfulestablishment of ICT access points

Involve the community throughout the project

The community will have a sense of ownership if it

is given a chance to participate in identifying its

own problems, deriving the solutions, setting the

directions, and making decisions on planning and

implementation. Such a participatory approach

increases the likelihood that the community will

take on the responsibility of maintaining the ICT

access point when the implementation project

is completed. In addition, if the community

recognizes that the telecentre is essential to its

livelihood (for example, if the telecentre provides

access to the only telephone in the village), it will

be motivated to ensure that the equipment

provided by the telecentre is functioning properly.

Such an approach is reported as one of the

success factors of the Microsoft Unlimited Potential

Community Information Centres project in Bhutan,

which is being implemented by the Department

of Information Technology. The project has

reportedly secured the participation of important

stakeholders in the community – including

community leaders, the school principal, the village

representatives and the agriculture extension

officers – to create a sense of ownership in the

project. This sense of having a stake in the project

right from the beginning has been considered vital

to the projects success and to the long-term social

sustainability of the Community Information

Centres in the communities.

Provide appropriate technologies andapplications based on the community’s needsand strengths

While this may seem intuitive, there have been

instances where technologies were identified first

and the community had to find ways to make use

of them later. If the wrong technologies are put in

place, people will be unable to use them. In

addition, the technological solutions provided

should ideally be tried-and-tested technologies that

have proven effective in similar environments.

The ICT access points should also provide access

to ICT applications which are relevant to the

community and capitalize on its strengths. For

instance, if the rural community has rich cultural

traditions and beautiful scenery – such as

waterfalls or pristine jungle ideal for treks – then

ecotourism could be promoted. The e-Bario

project did just that, applying ICT as a tool to

promote ecotourism and to function as a

communication channel with potential tourists.

Another example is the project aimed at women

artisans developed by the Datamation Foundation,

a non-governmental organization in India. ICT

access points allow women artisans to use

Computer-Assisted Design tools to innovate and

modernize the design of ready-to-wear apparel,

home furnishings and accessories. It is reported

that more than 4,000 women have benefited from

the use of these tools.

Cultivate local champions who can fostergoodwill and motivate and mobilize thecommunity

The local champions are the ones who can

motivate and mobilize the community. The

establishment of a rural ICT access point could

involve many stakeholders within the community

and it is important to build good relations between

them to facilitate the smooth implementation of the

project. Specifically, an initial rapport must be

established between the community and the

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project initiators in order to build trust and, in turn,

cooperation. Ideally, champions should be

members of the community who have good social

relations and a good standing in the community

structure. They should also have entrepreneurial

skills, which will enable them to find ways to

garner revenue to sustain the ICT access point.

Performance-based rewards should also be put

into place to motivate the champions.

Plan for financial sustainability from thebeginning

In addition to the costs incurred to set up the ICT

access points, the maintenance of such centres

also requires financial resources. Thus, when

planning for the establishment of an ICT access

point, the community and its partners should

develop a business plan to determine how to

sustain the telecentre once funding stops. In this

way, implementation should take into account all of

the services and applications the communities are

likely to use to generate income. The micro-

franchise model adopted by Drishtee, a non-

governmental organization in India, is based on

a well developed business plan and the promotion

of entrepreneurship by women. In this model, the

ICT access points – which are called kiosks – have

to be financially sustainable from the beginning

since they are owned and operated by rural

entrepreneurs.

Monitor and evaluate the impact on thecommunity

There is much debate on what should be

measured and how in order to determine a

telecentre’s success. This largely depends on

what the stakeholders deem to be success

(increase in the average income in the community,

number of new businesses, number of people

using the services provided by the ICT access

point, etc.). Initial baseline studies (socio-

economic situation of the community, average

income per household, etc.) should be conducted

prior to the introduction of ICT and before

monitoring and evaluation take place. For

example, the Jamsetji Tata National Virtual

Academy for Rural Prosperity (NVA) has

developed several mechanisms to monitor the

impact of the village knowledge centres (VKCs)

established by the M.S. Swaminathan Research

Foundation, a non-governmental organization in

India. One of the results of these mechanisms is

a two-way communication channel between the

users of VKCs and other stakeholders that

contributes to up-to-date local content that is

relevant to the changing needs of the commu-

nities. NVA has conducted studies on VKCs in

Pondicherry from an anthropological perspective,

covering different aspects of VKCs and their

impact on things such as education, employment,

income generation, skill development and the

empowerment of women.

Policy Recommendations

ESCAP recommends six areas of policy inter-

vention pertaining to the issues raised above:

1. ICT policies should continue to strengthen

the focus on ICT for development. Policies and

regulations related to incorporating the

establishment of ICT access points into the

country’s national development plan should be

further developed and implemented. Universal

access to ICT services should be promoted and

seen as a public good on a par with water,

electricity and public health;

2. Public-private partnerships and community

participation should be promoted in developing ICT

infrastructure and establishing and operating ICT

access points in rural areas. Through these

partnerships, business models could be developed

to make access to the ICT infrastructure more

affordable;

3. Programmes to build capacity in rural

communities on the use of ICT should be

introduced. They should raise awareness of

proven ICT initiatives that can meet the needs of

rural and remote communities in the areas of

health, education, business and government

services;

4. An affordable environment for the

development of ICT access points should be

provided using tax relief, incentives and fee

waivers for the import and use of ICT equipment.

The liberalization of the telecommunication sector

should be continued in order to create competition

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This Policy Brief on ICT Applications in the Knowledge Economy has been prepared by the Information,

Communication and Space Technology Division of ESCAP to provide a brief introduction on selected

ICT applications, identify issues for implementation, and provide policy direction for the promotion of

the applications. For further information on this Policy Brief, please contact: Mr. Siva Thampi, Chief,

Information, Communication and Space Technology Division (e-mail: thampi@un.org).

which would bring down the costs of the new and

existing technologies to be deployed.

5. Research on new technologies should be

promoted in areas such as alternative energy

(which is efficient, reliable and affordable) and

telecommunications (to provide long-range

telecommunications that are reliable and robust,

require little maintenance and have low energy

consumption). Incentives such as funding should

be provided for research on technologies used

in urban areas that may be beneficial in rural

settings. Given the importance of the social

aspects of ICT access point sustainability,

anthropological research should be carried out to

understand fully the successes (and failures) of

ICT access point development in the country’s

rural and remote areas;

6. An environment that encourages local

content and service development and creation

should be provided. Private investors should be

brought into assist in this endeavour, and

intellectual property, traditional knowledge and any

revenue derived should be shared by both

investors and the communities involved.

References

ESCAP. Guidebook on Developing Community

E-Centres in Rural Areas: Based on the

Malaysian Experience. New York, 2006.

http://www.unescap.org/icstd/applications/

projects/Malaysia_CeC/docs/guidebook.pdf

(accessed February 11, 2008).

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. Village

Knowledge Centres in Pondicherry: An

Anthropological Perspective. Chennai,

December 2005. http://www.mssrf-nva.org/

p u b l i c a t i o n s / V K C - A n t h r o p o l o g i c a l %

20Perspective-2005.pdf (accessed February

11, 2008).

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy for

Rural Prosperity (NVA). Chennai, 2006.

http://www.mssrf-nva.org/publications/nva-

jts_booklet%20final.pdf (accessed February

11, 2008).

Sharma, Chetan. “Datamation Group of Companies

& Datamation Foundation Trust.” Paper

presented at the ESCAP Expert Group

Meeting on the Provision of ICT Access for

Disadvantaged Communities through Public-

Private Partnership, Bangkok, Thailand.

December 12-14, 2007. http://www.unescap.

org/icstd/applications/projects/EGM-ICT-PPP/

PresentationSharma.pdf (accessed February

11, 2008).

Dorji, Lektsho Yangden. “The Microsoft UP

Community Information Center Project in

Bhutan.” Paper presented at the ESCAP

Consultative Meeting for the Establishment of

Regional Knowledge Network of Telecentres

in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.

September 27-28, 2007. http://telecentresap.

org/meeting/cmap2007/Bhutan_Paper.pdf

(accessed February 11, 2008).

Mishra, Mamta and Mishra, Swapna. “Equity

within ICT.” Paper presented at the ESCAP

Consultative Meeting for the Establishment of

Regional Knowledge Network of Telecentres

in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.

September 27-28, 2007. http://telecentresap.

org/meeting/cmap2007/India_Paper_Drishtee.

pdf (accessed February 11, 2008).