Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Rural Development
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This document discusses information and communication technologies (ICT) for rural development, specifically focusing on rural ICT center programs. It notes that while cybercafes are common in urban areas, they are not financially viable in rural areas due to issues like high connectivity costs and low population density. As a result, governments have established telecenters modeled after cybercafes to bring ICT access to underserved rural communities. The document examines the challenges rural ICT centers face in achieving sustainability and impact, and identifies some best practices of successful programs, such as focusing on skills development training. It concludes that rural ICT centers can help advance development goals if viewed as technology hubs that promote digital inclusion and skills learning.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Rural Development
- 1. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Rural Development By: Jonnamae M. Dela Pena Shereen D. Mercado Rhoda S. Paras
- 2. ICT in Rural Development When bad weather strikes , university students in parts of the Philippines check their cellphones for text messages telling them whether or not classes have been cancelled. In some cities, looking for a building permit, a library card, or even a loan can download an application from the city’s website.
- 3. • Cybercafés are self-sustaining and common in urban areas. In most information and communication technology (ICT) penetration frontier lies in rural areas, precisely where commercial venues are unviable. Cybercafés have served as a model behind government efforts to set up one form or another of ICT centers to try to bring the benefits of ICT to rural communities. Those are only examples of innovative uses of ICT. It refers to all technology used to handle telecommunication, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, and network-based control and monitoring functions.
- 4. • Cybercafés arise as small urban businesses but are not financially viable in rural areas. • Telecenters are a governmental response, modeled after cybercafés, to try to bring the benefits of computers and the internet to underserved rural communities. Worldwide, cybercafés are far more numerous than telecenters. This are commonly associated with the provision of physical access to equipment but, ultimately, their objective is to bring the benefits of computers and the internet to underserved rural communities through shared facilities. This usually involves much more than physical access.
- 5. • Customer, worker and partner approaches. Digital transformation puts people and strategy before technology. The changing behavior, expectations and needs of any stakeholder are crucial. This is expressed in many change subprojects whereby customer-centricity, user experience, worker empowerment, new workplace models, changing channel partner dynamics etc. (can) all come in the picture. It’s important to note that digital technologies never are the sole answer to tackle any of these human aspects, from worker satisfaction to customer experience enhancement. People involve, respect and empower other people in the first place, technology is an additional enabler and part of the equation of choice and fundamental needs.
- 9. A Common Objective All rural ICT center programs share the same objective even if articulated differently. First, the focus is on rural areas. Second, they rely on the shared use of facilities, which is perceived to be less costly than individual use. Third, these programs seek to increase the access of rural people to the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT), mainly computers and the internet. Programs sometimes emphasize access to ICT, but decision makers will agree that what matters are the benefits that ICT use brings about. Finally, benefits are expected to be durable, long-lasting. A statement of this objective follows. “To increase access of rural people to enduring benefits of ICT through the shared use of center facilities. “
- 10. Sustainability The objective of rural ICT center programs is to introduce a variety of services, in the expectation that the rural population learns to use ICT tools and starts using them like modern societies everywhere do today. This does not require that an ICT center established by the program exist forever. The program’s aim should be for the centers it sponsors to generate long-lasting benefits while they are open.
- 11. • Should Rural ICT Center Programs be Supported? ICT centers are dear to governments and to the people they serve. They are seen as harbingers of modernity and progress. It is possible to implement a rural ICT center program with efficacy, and to make an impact in rural people’s lives by enhancing digital inclusion. • Risks The main risks are insufficient service demand, proclivity for decisions to become politicized, and rapid technological change. Rural ICT center programs must achieve a delicate balance. Subsidized centers should not compete with urban cybercafés. They are justifiable in underserved villages that are not too small, i.e., which have a large enough pool of potential customers. Achieving this balance can be challenging.
- 12. With the rapid spread of mobile phones, the demand for access to communications has drastically fallen, affecting such services as fax and voice over internet protocol (VOIP). Concentrating on services that can be frequently upgraded, such as skills development in the Philippines makes ICT center programs less susceptible to technological obsolescence. •Location The number of people that will use a given ICT center regularly is circumscribed to are relatively small catchment radius of around 3 kilometers, with variations depending on population density and transportation facilities. For program planning purposes, a minimum- sized village is needed to ensure there is sufficient potential demand for the centers. Future rural ICT center programs are unlikely to be very large, simply because rural areas generally have only a limited number of suitably sized towns.
- 13. • Services Training in ICT skills is a potentially high impact intervention that can empower disenfranchised peoples. Curious interest in acquiring ICT skills does not become willingness to pay for training, particularly among rural people, because of information asymmetries—nonusers seldom know the benefits they might derive. Encouragement and the opportunity to try out the tools are required. Government intervention is justified on efficiency and equity grounds. Presently, the most effective way to improve agricultural markets appears to be to expand mobile phone coverage. Rural ICT centers can however be useful as training venues where farmers can communicate with other farmers; and traders, using e-mail and social media, learn how to search for information, and learn how to learn on their own using ICT.
- 14. • Service Fees Fees do not determine whether a center will have impact or not, but fees affect incentives. Programs that assign high priority to self- sustainability should charge for services. Programs that do not charge fees should specify beforehand where the funds to maintain the centers would come from. Nonfee centers should also implement an aggressive outreach program. Otherwise, there is a risk that the ICT centers set up and maintained by government end up serving only a few users.
- 15. Rural ICT centers can help achieve the ambitious agenda set out by the Sustainable Development Goals. To do so, they must be seen as technology hubs, as places where rural young people can learn ICT skills and learn to learn on their own, and as catalysts for digital inclusion in rural areas. Their role is to amplify citizen access to a variety of digital services, most importantly to skills that enable young people to get rewarding jobs and participate in the process of innovation that ICT makes possible. Digital Inclusion and the Future of Rural ICT Centers
- 16. ICT for Rural Development • References Asian Development Bank. 2007. Program Completion Report: Modernizing Government and Fiscal Reform in Kerala Program. Manila. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/fles/projectdocum ent/66239/31328-ind-pcr.pdf https://www.technopedia.com/definition/24152/information -communication-technology-ict