Dear GKD Members,
Welcome to the discussion on "Empowering Local Communities and Improving
Local Government Through ICT".
In recent years, many developing countries have embraced
decentralization - devolving power to local governments - in hopes that
it will produce a wide range of benefits: broader political
participation, greater transparency and accountability, better use of
local knowledge, more efficient government services. Yet these hopes
pale beside the realities: Decentralization has largely failed to
achieve its goals.
"The key to effective decentralization is information flow."
- Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector
Without ready access to information, citizens cannot hold their local
governments to account any better than they could the national
government. Worse yet, local elites can capture the lion's share of
benefits without any concern for accountability. Take Zambia, where
hopes for improved governance through decentralization were dashed. The
problem: Local populations relied on community leaders for information
about political options and corruption, and those leaders provided only
the "information" that benefited them. Although local officials
understood local conditions better than did the national ones, they did
not act on local needs, but rather for personal benefit.
Yet some communities have managed to improve information flows by using
ICT, making their local governments more responsive, transparent, and
efficient. What did those communities do right and how can we learn
from them in order to use ICT to empower local communities and improve
local governments?
This discussion seeks to answer this question with concrete examples,
specific cases, guidelines drawn from experience and recommendations
that can guide local communities, local governments, ICT practitioners
and decentralization experts. We also seek examples of specific
technologies that work -- and those that don't. We encourage those in
developing countries to contribute their experience and perspectives.
Agenda
Week 1: What are the 'critical success factors' for using ICTs to
support successful decentralization and improve local governance?
Week 2: How can local communities (e.g., businesses, NGOs, media,
schools, etc.) use ICT to participate more effectively in local
decision-making?
Week 3: How can local governments use ICT to improve the efficiency of
service delivery to local citizens and businesses?
Week 4: Where do we want local governments to be in three years, and
what should we be doing now, using ICT, to help realize that goal?
Additional Information:
The DOT-COM Alliance website provides additional information, including
the archives of this discussion as well as past discussions organized in
collaboration with the GKD list; and information on other projects using
ICT to support development.
http://www.dot-com-alliance.org
The DOT-COM Archive of this discussion (as of May 2nd) is available at:
http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
The GKD database provides an easy way to search messages of this and
other GKD discussions:
http://www.GKDknowledge.org
This discussion is sponsored by the DOT-COM Alliance and hosted by GKD,
with the generous support of Education Development Center, a Non-Profit
Organization.
For more information about the DOT-COM Alliance, please contact:
Barbara Fillip
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more information about GKD, please contact:
Janice Brodman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------
This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative
Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides
more information.
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