Designing e-Government for the Poor - Tanzania Development ...

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38 Methods of assessing the information needs of the poor Mr. Gunawardena explained that over the past few decades a vast quantum of innovations in the field of ICT have increased access to vital information. However, in most of the developing countries, the access to ICT based information is limited to a very small segment of people with a high income. In these countries, the poor have little or no access to ICT based information due to the lack of social innovations. An innovation to increase ICT usage, and provide services to the poor, is the assessment of real-world information needs of the specific target groups of the poor. The information services to be provided should be people-centred and demand driven. Mr. Gunawardena explained that when a community or government intends to establish community information centres (CIC), they must conduct an assessment of initial information needs. This initial assessment can be seen as a “kick off” information assessment and should focus on the wide range of information needs of the target population. These include their techno-social background, and data that would help to attract the poor to visit CICs and contribute to the establishment of a community information network (CIN). Mr. Gunawardena emphasized that providing services to the poor should be seen as marketing a product to a client. In addition to “kick off” or start up information needs appraisal, it is also necessary to conduct a continuous assessment of information needs to guarantee that the CIN continuously caters to the specific needs of the people who are patronizing it. The most appropriate method of assessing “kick-off” or “start-up” community information needs is via an assessment survey utilizing a structured questionnaire. A group of investigators or interviewers with experience in this type of survey should be selected for the processing of the surveys. The survey questionnaire should be pilot tested to ensure that it is adequate and efficient for the purpose of the “kick-off” information assessment survey. The filled questionnaires should be edited and processed via data entry work. A second method of needs assessment is to conduct a series of focus group discussions among officials and opinion leaders. For continuous information needs assessment, different methods should be undertaken. These include: • Maintenance of registration forms of information seekers • Maintenance of suggestion books at each information centre • Periodical consultations with the steering committees of the CIN • Establishment of e-communities among target groups • Identification and continuous focus groups of small entrepreneur
Methods of assessing the information needs of the poor It is vital for the CIN to maintain a suggestion book at each information centre. Steering committees could play a very crucial role in operating and sustaining a community-driven and needs-oriented CIN. The steering committees should be constituted of community leaders, officials working with the poor, NGOs, and representatives of the people. Information seekers of a community could be categorized into different subgroups or areas of interest where each sub-group is seeking similar type of information. Mr. Gunawardena said the leading challenge in operating and sustaining a CIN in rural communities is that customers do not regularly visit the centres. Most people come once for a specific information on an irregular basis. However, it is possible to identify certain groups and motivate them to visit regularly. For example, there are small entrepreneurs engaged in activities such as mushroom cultivation, or sale of handicrafts. These small entrepreneurs could be encouraged to use the CIN and visit the community information centres regularly to acquire information on production capabilities and marketing information. In closing, Mr. Gunawardena said that in order to determine specific information needs of specific target groups among the poor, social innovations in the form of appropriate information needs assessments are vital. Once the information needs of a target group are assessed adequately, it is feasible to provide ICT services relevant to poor communities. In the discussion session that followed, Mr. Gunawardena was asked how to encourage rural people to provide information on their needs and consider the use of community information centres. Mr. Gunawardena replied that well trained investigators and simple questionnaires can successfully convince people to take part in the development of an information centre. A participant mentioned that there can be two types of assessments: one conducted by the private sector or vendor, and the other by the community or government. Mr. Gunawardena replied that the assessment should be conducted by the party who will prepare the services, and provide the information network in the future. However, if the community has already identified their needs, then these can be incorporated into the focus groups. A participant asked what type of information was most frequently demanded by rural communities in Sri Lanka. Mr. Gunawardena said that based on previous experience and research, information relating to employment opportunities was most in demand. A participant asked how many private companies were involved in developing information centres. Mr. Gunawardena replied that private companies were not involved in the kind of information centres discussed in this presentation because these were pilot projects. Another question raised 39
Page 3 and 4: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR
Page 5: PREFACE Preface In recent years, th
Page 8 and 9: vi Contents Contents (Continued) Pa
Page 10 and 11: viii Abbreviations Abbreviations AB
Page 12 and 13: x Abbreviations Abbreviations (Cont
Page 15: PART ONE Summary of the Workshop
Page 18 and 19: 4 Organization of the Workshop C. O
Page 20 and 21: 6 Organization of the Workshop 22.
Page 22 and 23: 8 Enabling local governments to off
Page 24 and 25: 10 Maximizing participation: design
Page 30 and 31: 16 Stakeholder participation in des
Page 32 and 33: 18 Stakeholder participation in des
Page 34 and 35: 20 Developing local e-government po
Page 36 and 37: 22 Citizen-centric e-government: em
Page 38 and 39: 24 Citizen-centric e-government: em
Page 40 and 41: 26 Preparing a project proposal for
Page 42 and 43: 28 Preparing a project proposal for
Page 44 and 45: 30 Job training and job placement s
Page 46 and 47: 32 E-government and the digital div
Page 48 and 49: 34 Building e-government in Japan g
Page 50 and 51: 36 Building e-government in Japan T
Page 54 and 55: 40 Conducive policy environment for
Page 56 and 57: 42 Conducive policy environment for
Page 58 and 59: 44 The challenge of implementing e-
Page 60 and 61: 46 Public key infrastructure initia
Page 62 and 63: 48 Public key infrastructure initia
Page 65: PART TWO Summary of Country Reports
Page 68 and 69: 54 Summary of Country Reports B. Ca
Page 70 and 71: 56 Summary of Country Reports Howev
Page 72 and 73: 58 Summary of Country Reports G. Mo
Page 74 and 75: 60 Summary of Country Reports Likew
Page 76 and 77: 62 Summary of Country Reports L. Sr
Page 78 and 79: 64 Summary of Country Reports serva
Page 81 and 82: WORKSHOP AGENDA Annex I: Workshop A
Page 83 and 84: 15:15 - 15:30 Coffee Break 15:30 -
Page 85 and 86: Annex I: Workshop Agenda • Farm e
Page 87: Annex I: Workshop Agenda • Sell i
Page 90 and 91: 76 Annex II: List of Participants M
Page 92 and 93: 78 Annex II: List of Participants R
Page 94 and 95: 80 Annex II: List of Participants M
Page 96 and 97: 82 Bangladesh Title: Technical Link
Page 98 and 99: 84 Bangladesh • An integrated net
Page 100 and 101: 86 Bangladesh Communication Technol
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88 Bangladesh Title: Agrobangla-net
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90 Bangladesh Design Performance Mo
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92 Bangladesh II. ISSUES • Lack o
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94 Bangladesh Items Quantity Cost T
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96 Cambodia Title: Government Admin
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98 Cambodia The Project Steering Co
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100 Cambodia Design Performance Mon
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102 China • Electronic system for
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104 China Design Performance Monito
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106 India • All information needs
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108 India Design Performance Monito
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110 Indonesia Title: E-on-lending i
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112 Indonesia Financing plan It is
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114 Indonesia The online system wil
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116 Indonesia Title: E-learning in
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118 Indonesia • 200 scanner - whi
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120 Indonesia • Miscellaneous adm
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122 Lao People’s Democratic Repub
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134 Mongolia Title: Mongolian e-gov
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136 Mongolia B. Cost estimates and
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138 Mongolia C. Benefits • Increa
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140 Myanmar population lives in rur
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142 Nepal Title: Decentralized mana
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144 Nepal • Prepare e-government
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146 Nepal E. Risks The following fa
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148 Nepal Design Performance Monito
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150 Nepal • Government services
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152 Nepal Design Monitoring Assumpt
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154 Pakistan • Public (i.e. resid
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156 Pakistan (c) Standard template/
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158 Philippines Title: Database of
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160 Philippines Component/item Gran
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162 Sri Lanka Title: E-land service
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164 Sri Lanka build the relevant la
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166 Sri Lanka • Increases capacit
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168 Sri Lanka Design Performance Mo
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170 Thailand III. THE PROPOSED PROJ
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172 Thailand Design Performance Mon
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174 Thailand Title: Local initiativ
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176 Thailand C. Implementation arra
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178 Uzbekistan Title: E-government
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180 Uzbekistan During implementatio
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182 Viet Nam Title: E-government in
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184 Viet Nam C. Implementation arra
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