This study dealt with the issue of sustainability of ICT4D initiatives being a problem with few success stories (Heeks, 2002, Toyama, 2010). Many of these initiatives were planned and executed in a top-down fashion by large funders and governments, and these failures have stimulated the search for new strategies to achieve long-term sustainability. One possible approach is to consider the different levels of systems that are involved. The reasons for failure lie inside the scope of a project, within the community itself, and outside the community in the larger socio-economic system which includes the economy. A systems approach with respect to the analysis of the sustainability (or lack thereof) of development initiatives was therefore adopted. The Choice Framework of Dorothea Kleine (2010) was used since it is a systemic approach, developed in the study of ICT4D initiatives, that embraces the complexity of engaging with development paradigms, societal structures and personal agency. The research was done on a large South African government initiative, the Broadband-for-All (BB4All), community-based wireless mesh network project which aimed to provide a cost-effective way of enabling reliable broadband connectivity in rural areas. The project had two key aspects, the provision of a large-scale demonstrator of a wireless mesh network (WMN) as a broadband solution and the establishment of a Village Operator (VO) model to support access to and increase the use of the technology. The teachers and learners in more than 170 schools were the primary customers. Young people from local communities were trained as VOs to become local entrepreneurs (micro-enterprises) responsible for operating and supporting the BB4All service in their assigned cluster of schools and respective communities. The research focus was the sustainability of the VOs. The Choice Framework was used to provide a context for the research regarding the role played by social resources (social capital) in contributing to the sustainability of the VO micro-enterprises. In-depth interviews were held with all but one of the 15 VOs in order to develop an understanding of their social capital and the influence thereof on them as entrepreneurs. The importance and usefulness of social capital in supporting sustainability at VO and initiative level was analysed. Three major themes emerged that were analysed in detail, namely, the role of social capital, community service and social entrepreneurship, as well as the development of networks of innovation. At a theoretical level, the research reflected on implications of the findings for the role of social capital in the Choice Framework. At a practical level, considerations for using a social capital perspective in order to improve the conceptualisation, design, implementation and transfer of ICT4D initiatives for sustainability were developed. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Informatics / PhD / Unrestricted

Human development requires some kind of action and needs information to set the development process in motion. An expansion of choice and the ability to enact choice are outcomes of development. In order to become aware of choices and support the ability to enact choices that can lead to development, access to information is required. In her thesis, Shaping meaningful information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) solutions using design science research: a social shaping of technology framework based on the capability approach, Manti addresses the problem how should the information needs that are meaningful to women working as domestic workers, be effectively translated through the use of ICT in order to enhance their experience of the good life as defined by Sen’s capability approach and to contribute to the success and social value of ICT4D projects. A group of women working as domestic workers and a selected group of organisations in South Africa participated in the study. The artefact produced by the study is the Community Shaping Solutions Framework (CSSF). The CSSF’s contribution is a response to the criticisms against ICT4D of being overly technology deterministic by applying the social shaping of technology and the capability approach theories and suggesting a human-centered approach. The CSSF draws on the capability approach as a way to measure development and the social shaping of technology theory for the positive role in integrating people and technology concerns by offering a greater understanding of the relationship between scientific excellence, technology innovation and social well-being. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Informatics / PhD (IT) / Unrestricted

This thesis investigates ICT diffusion in the context of developing countries, morespecifically in the case of Mobile Money in the Asian country Nepal. Mobile Moneyhas recently emerged in Nepal and has the potential to improve the lives of millions.The aim of the thesis was to examine the dominant business models in Nepal and thebarriers and drivers for the future diffusion of Mobile Money in Nepal. This was donethrough a case study consisting of a field study in Nepal and an extensive literaturereview in the field of ICT diffusion and Mobile Money. Interviews with stakeholdersin the Mobile Money business ecosystem, observations and databases fromorganizations such as the World Bank were used as data sources. The results showthat there are both barriers and drivers for Mobile Money and that the attitudes ofinstitutions, in this case the central bank, have a high impact on diffusion. The introduction of a technology into a new context was affirmed to be a complex,multi-dimensional process. However, in the case of Nepal, one of the solutions couldbe to improve institutional attitudes and make the regulations more accommodating. / Detta examensarbete undersöker spridningen av informations- och kommunikationsteknik(ICT) i utvecklingsländer. Fallet som undersöks är ‘Mobile Money’ i Nepal.‘Mobile Money’ har nyligen introducerats i Nepal och har potentialen att förbättralivet för miljontals människor. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka dedominerande affärsmodellerna i Nepal samt vilka drivkrafter och hinder det finns föratt ‘Mobile Money’ ska spridas inom landet. För att möta syftet genomfördes enfältstudie i Nepal tillsammans med en omfattande litteraturstudie inom ICT spridningoch ‘Mobile Money’. Intervjuer med intressenter inom ‘Mobile Money’,observationer samt information från databaser från t.ex. Världsbanken har använtssom datakällor. Resultaten av studien visar att det finns både hinder och drivkrafterför ‘Mobile Money’ i Nepal och att inställningen hos landets institutioner, i detta fallCentralbanken, har en stor påverkan på spridningen. Införandet av teknik i en ny kontext, eller land i detta fall, visade sig vara en komplex,multidimensionell process. En lösning i Nepal skulle dock kunna vara att förbättraden institutionella attityden och göra regleringarna mer tillmötesgående.

Thesis (M.M. (ICT Policy and Regulation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2014. / The research aimed to investigate the supply and demand side factors that enables or hinders the effectiveness of rural connectivity provided through public access points such as the Thusong Service Centres (TSCs). The lack of broadband and terrestrial infrastructure is often cited as the main reason why rural people are not able to participate in the information society. The status of the Mopani District rural connectivity indicates that the digital divide is not always due to the lack of infrastructure, but due to the etic approach towards the deployment of connectivity and the failure to locate rural connectivity within the broader community development goals. The failure to understand the user requirements contributes to the misconception that Very Small Apparatus Terminals (VSAT) satellite technology is an inadequate solution which must be replaced by fixed broadband. On the other hand, the failure of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) blueprint indicates the poor level of e-government readiness within the public service sector. The status of the Mopani TSCs also shows that there is a lack of accountability, cooperation and collaboration across the three spheres of government and that there is a misuse of public funds in cases where connectivity resources are duplicated and not optimally used. The separation of the public service connectivity from the public connectivity creates the digital inequality in the targeted communities. The separation has resulted in connectivity being available to some and not to all, because accessibility is based on personal relationships. In other cases there is constructed denied access due to local politics. 16 years later since the establishment of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA), the South African Community Informatics (CI) sector is struggling to achieve outputs that produce the desired impact in the targeted communities.

One of the key challenges in information and communication technologies for socio-economic development (ICT4D) is that the contribution of ICT to development is difficult to describe and assess. This is particularly true when looking beyond the immediate context of an ICT4D project, to its impact on the larger social system within which the project is introduced. This problem can benefit from a systems approach. Systems thinking is concerned with the performance of the total system, when changes are made to a part of the system. Systems thinking recognises that the performance of a subsystem relative to its own goals does not necessarily lead to increased performance of the larger system. However, in the field of ICT4D, systems approaches are seldom used, and appropriate ways to describe and assess a social system are lacking. The study aims to contribute theoretically as well as empirically to the social systems body of knowledge in ICT4D. A particular social systems approach or framework is developed, based on structuration theory and autopoiesis. The framework is attractive because it provides a way to describe and assess the sustainability and state of development of the total system. The theoretical component of the thesis concerns the development of a social systems framework. This is done in a conceptual study that draws on systems literature and social theory. The empirical component concerns the application of the systems framework in an ICT4D case study. A descriptive, longitudinal case study is performed in a rural settlement in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Data is collected by means of interviews and participant observation during several visits to the settlement. Data analysis is done making use of the concepts in the systems framework. The result of the data analysis is a description of the larger social systems where the ICT4D project is implemented, as systems served, and the ICT4D project, as serving system. By studying the mutual influences between the serving system and systems served, the contribution to socio-economic development of the serving system is assessed. The study’s research contribution is to indicate how a social systems framework can be used to assess an ICT4D project’s contribution to the socio-economic development of the social systems it serves. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Informatics / unrestricted

The research reported here evolved from the researcher’s ethnographic immersion in an ICT for Development (ICT4D) project in a deep rural part of South Africa. During ethnographic immersion, three key issues emerged from fieldwork. Firstly, the researcher realised his limited understanding of the worldview of research participants. Secondly, he realised his inability to appropriately and ethically do community entry and implement the ICT4D artefact (e.g. ICT4D training and policy), especially because of his limited understanding of the cultural context, underlying values, emancipatory concepts and interests, as well as incomplete insight into the oppressive circumstances that the people in the research setting find themselves in. The third issue relates to an inability to interpret and explain the collisions and conflicts that emerged from introducing, aligning, and implementing the ICT4D artefact. Through critical ethnographic methods and a critical orientation to knowledge, the researcher shows how these inabilities, collisions, and false consciousnesses emerged to be the result of cultural entrapment and ethnocentricity that he and the research participants suffered from. A key argument throughout this thesis is that the emancipation of the researcher is a precursor for the emancipation of the researched. The researcher thus asks: In what ways should ICT4D researchers and practitioners achieve self-emancipation, in order to ensure the ongoing emancipation and empowerment of the deep rural developing community in South Africa? The study subsequently argues the link between the topic of this thesis, namely the issue of ethical research practice, and the primary research question. A unique perspective on these problems is presented as the study looks at emancipatory ICT4D research and practice in context of a deep rural Zulu community in South Africa, and specifically the journey of social transformation that the researcher himself embarked on. The study retrospectively applies Bourdieu’s critical lineage to reflect on the research contribution and how the researcher was eventually able to construct adequate knowledge of the ICT4D social situation. Building onto the idea of critical reflexivity, the researcher argues that critical introspection should also be part of critical ICT4D research in South African contexts. Through confessional writing, the researcher describes experiential knowledge of the worldview collisions that emerged from ICT4D research and practice. In particular, manifestations of the collisions between the typical task-orientated or performance-orientated value system of Western-minded societies and the traditional loyalty-based value system or people-orientated culture of the Zulu people are described. The research contributes by challenging dominant ICT4D discourses and by arguing for an end to a line of ICT4D research and practice where outsiders with a Western task-orientated worldview, like the researcher himself, make unqualified and inadequate assumptions about their own position in ICT4D practice, and about their own understanding of how to “develop” traditional communities in South Africa through ICTs. Following Bourdieu, the researcher argues that one can only build an adequate understanding of the social situation through critical reflexivity, by making the necessary knowledge breaks, and by allowing oneself to be carried away by the game of ICT4D practice. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Informatics / Unrestricted

This exploratory and interpretive research analytically examines perceived influence of the Water Supply Database (WSDB) initiative on Uganda's water sector development, particularly the rural sector. The WSDB was deployed by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) to manage country wide water source information submitted by District Water Officers (DWO) and regional Technical Support Units (TCUs). The MWE has integrated the WSDB to support sector governance, planning, budgeting, information sharing, setting measures for performance indicators and data based decision making processes for developing new water supply projects. This research is the first in-depth study exploring the WSDB; hence justifying relevance and my enthusiasm. Instead of focusing on numerical concepts, this research qualitatively investigates and theorises from participant perceptions about the WSDB benefits and positioning as the MWE's primary information and communication technology (ICT) initiative. The perceptions are categorised from WSDB design, implementation, benefits and implicit contribution to recognise development influence. Grounded Theory (GT), specifically Glaserian Classic Grounded Theory (CGT) approach was adopted to inform methodology choice, data collection, data analysis and theory development. Data was collected across two field studies from multiple stakeholder participants working in Uganda's water sector over a total period of six months. Participant perceptions expound the developmental significance of WSDB using benefits, optimism and subtle discontents. As a result of CGT methodology, inductive thinking and interpretive philosophical assumption; I discerned that the main participant perspectives entailed MWE effectively leveraging the WSDB to increase citizen's access to water by managing functionality of water sources, tracking sector performance, governance and data based decisions to develop new water sources. This concept emerged from data analysis, coding and categorization processes which cultivated the conceptual core category Optimizing Perspectives from codes, primary sub-core categories and secondary sub-core categories. Four primary sub-core categories and thirteen secondary sub-core categories cultivated discovery of Optimizing Perspectives. Optimizing Perspectives emerged as a substantive theory whose constructs, processes and categories summarily infer that the MWE is continually engaged in optimisation of WSDB to develop the water sector. Other than the theory contribution, two main implications of adopting CGT methodology emerged from this research. First, findings are useful for understanding consequences of adopting CGT for artefact theorisation studies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for which the WSDB is an exemplar. Secondly, findings contribute to IS research which advance using CGT to theorise about the contemporary notion of ICT for Development (ICT4D) or Information Systems in Developing Countries (ISDC) studies that examine developmental significance of ICTs such as e-government systems in SSA. A comparative analysis of Optimizing Perspectives with related theories was undertaken to bring new conceptual meaning, understanding and potential theory generalisation. Optimizing Perspectives makes a case for the construction of guidelines to inform social-technical analysis of development oriented ICT artefacts. Finally, possibilities exist for CGT researchers to enhance studies about ICT artefacts and ICT4D or ISDC by adapting the theory Optimizing Perspectives.

No description available.

The road of development through e-government is covered with deep potholes and dead ends. This is because Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are adopted and e-government policies are developed with a blind focus on the ICT tools and with little reflection on the contribution of ICT to development (Heeks and Bailur, 2007, p. 243, Avgerou, 2009, p. 14). To assist with this reflection Information Systems (IS) researchers are increasingly calling for the development of local contextual theory or a framework in ICT for Development (ICT4D) (Avgerou, 2009, p. 14, Madon et al., 2007, Walsham, 2003, Walsham, 1997). This thesis responds to that call by investigating the role of e-government towards development within the South African context. The means of inquiry was a three year ethnographic immersion in a longitudinal research project. The aim of the longitudinal research project was to investigate how a specialised type of ICT (Group Support Systems) can enable interaction between government and citizens in attaining specific human rights. The research project centred on creating an awareness among the public in South Africa of a newly enacted Act, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act No 3 of 2000 (PAJA). The rich data collected was analysed using Grounded Theory, resulting in a substantive theory that suggests that within the South African context e-government could contribute to development if it is used to facilitate policy implementation within the spirit of Ubuntu. The thesis delineates the journey up to the emergence of the substantive theory. The substantive theory has important implications for IS theory and IS practice. For IS theory, the substantive theory demonstrates that research on ICT4D in Africa could usefully be undertaken by following an action research strategy within a critical-interpretive paradigm. The substantive theory also suggests the importance of taking into account the contextual collaborative nature of African culture in the spirit of Ubuntu when conducting such research. For practice, the substantive theory proposes a potential framework where ICT could provide the collaborative environment or shared space in the spirit of Ubuntu for policy implementation towards development. Checked against implementation requirements on the South African policy on entrepreneurship, the substantive theory framework proves to be equally valuable. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Informatics / unrestricted

The application of information and communication technology (ICT) in socioeconomic development often referred to as “ICT for development” (ICT4D) is an increasingly relevant concern both academically as well as within development organisations on all levels.   This master thesis project has explored opportunities, constraints and challenges to designing and implementing mobile phone based ICT services for an organisation working with sustainable agricultural development in West Bengal, India. Through a participatory design process with smallholding farmers a simple, low-cost platform for prototyping and implementing mobile phone based ICT services using interactive voice response as interaction modality was developed. It was found that even inexperienced and illiterate users were able to understand and make use of such services with minimal training. On the basis of services deployed on this platform, context specific constraints and opportunities were identified as well as the appropriateness of the ICT design evaluated. Finally, use of participation was critically reviewed and found to be a necessary element of ICT design in this context yet requiring a high level of reflexivity and contextual understanding from the researcher or designer in order to contribute to development goals. / Användning av informations och kommunikationsteknologi (ICT) för socioekonomisk utveckling ofta kallat ”ICT for development” (ICT4D) är i allt högre grad en relevant fråga både akademiskt och inom utvecklingsorganisationer på alla nivåer. Detta exjobb utforskade möjligheter, begränsningar och utmaningar för introduktionen av mobilbaserade ICT-tjänster åt en organisation som arbetar med hållbar jordbruksutveckling i Västbengalen i Indien. Genom en deltagande designprocess med småskaliga bönder så utvecklades en enkel, billig plattform för att skapa prototyper och implementera mobiltjänster som använder sig av ”Interactive Voice Response” som interaktionsmodalitet. Även personer med begränsad erfarenhet av ICT samt begränsad läs- och skrivkunnighet kunde förstå och använda tjänster utvecklade på plattformen med minimal träning. Med grund i tjänster utvecklade på denna plattform så utvärderades lämpligheten för ICT i den lokala kontexten och flera kontext-specifika begränsningar och utmaningar identifierades. Slutligen så utvärderades ”deltagande” i design processen metodologiskt och fanns vara ett nödvändigt element av ICT-design i denna kontext samtidigt som det kräver en hög grad av reflexivitet och kontext-specifik förståelse från forskaren eller designern för att kunna bidra till utvecklingsmål.