Re: [GKD] RFI: Cost of Bridging Digital Divide?

[Mikolajuk]

Further to Vikas's question on the cost of "bridging the global digital
divide" and comments from Pamela and Nikhil I would like to present a
concrete example of setting up 4 Multipurpose Community Telecentres in
Northern Mindanao . The total cost of the
project was about $200,000 USD plus in-kind contributions of village
communities. The issue is not the cost of technical equipment as
calculated by Nikhil. Not every household needs a computer. Village
centers would by quite enough for now. (As a TV set for the whole
village in the old days.) The main cost is the training (computer skills
development) and production of information materials relevant to people
who will work with computers. The connectivity is also not the most
important at the beginning, but computer literacy is. (As Pamela
mentioned there are many useful standalone applications). We must think
about the whole process of introducing the new technology and its cost
in the context of social, cultural and technical aspects .

I think that the discussion on the cost of bridging the digital divide
is much needed and we should also identify sources of financing.

I prefer to talk about digital unite and I have plenty of examples of
digital technology uniting not dividing people.

Zbig Mikolajuk




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Re: [GKD] RFI: Cost of Bridging Digital Divide?

[John Lawrence]

To Nihil Desai...
you raise  interesting issues in your laconic treatment of the
numbers. which connect to Remigio Achia's zinging criticism of
expensive western consultants, in the following way not only do they
(we) come in with expense accounts and a marked reluctance to venture
forth from the eastern US seabord or national capitals in order to
articulate influential policy advice, but (they) we come in with a heavy
western 'numbers' bias, based on extensive graduate exposure to western
professors of statistics, theories of central tendency, and a form of
analytical mechanics which may perhaps turn out to be as limiting to
understanding human behaviour as Newtonian theories did to physics.
the issue of information as a public good has been thoughtfully adressed
(eg OXFAM ) and
technologies also, though tangentially, in the new UNDP Human
Development Report (e.g. p95, 96)...



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[GKD] Equal Access: Using ICT to Empower People

[Equal Access]

Dear GKD Members,

We would like to inform you about a new initiative, Equal Access, which
uses ICT to empower people in developing countries as they face the
challenges of globalization.

It is now clearly understood that the ability of individuals to improve
their economic and social conditions in the global economic environment
is based as much on access to information as access to economic and
social assets.  The Equal Access initiative aims to provide information
and education to underserved rural and regional areas in the developing
world. Our mission is "To Utilize Information Communications Technology
to Build Global Learning Networks and Sustainable Communities."

Equal Access is incorporated as Global Equal Access, which is a not for
profit 501(c)(3) organization.

**Overview**

HIV/AIDS affects the poor disproportionately. Of the 36 million people
currently living with HIV/AIDS, ninety percent are in developing
countries. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is inextricably entwined with issues of
disempowerment of women and girls; vulnerability of children; lack of
basic resources like clean water, food and sanitation; high rates of
illiteracy; and lack of pertinent and critical information.

**UNDP-Equal Access HIV/AIDS Prevention and Women's and Girls'
Empowerment Project**

Equal Access has developed a thorough plan for a compelling pilot
project that is partially funded. The project aims to establish 800
community-based broadcast sites in Nepal, India and two other Southeast
Asian countries. Locally produced content addressing HIV/AIDS prevention
and the empowerment of women and girls will be broadcast by utilizing
the WorldSpace Digital Satellite System.  This technology and essential
services are made available through a partnership between the WorldSpace
Foundation (WSF) and Global Equal Access. This partnering expands the
efforts to bring information and education for development to remote
regions of Asia. WSF has agreed to provide two 24/7 audio channels in
Asia to support this project. The technology allows a clear digital
audio signal to be received by an inexpensive portable receiver.  Equal
Access will add solar systems to provide power to project sites in
remote regions that lack reliable access to electricity.

Future plans for the project include the use of the multimedia aspect of
the technology, which allows the receiver, when linked to a computer, to
download large files of data, video imaging, text and graphics direct
from the satellite, without the need for telephony.

**Project Implementation**

The Content Group, comprised of a coalition of NGO's, community leaders
and local media have produced culturally appropriate and engaging
content in local languages.  Community based organizations will conduct
outreach to orient participants to the program, establish listening
groups and learning centers and conduct regular discussions following
the broadcasts. Participants will provide feedback on the effectiveness
and pertinence of the content.  The Assessment Team will independently
assess the efficacy of the project.

**Achievements to Date**

Equal Access, in collaboration with UNDP, helped to conceive, design and
plan the implementation of this comprehensive Project.  The first
component is about to be launched in 200 community sites in Nepal.

Equal Access, in conjunction with UNDP, has secured funding for the
Nepal phase of the Project from the United Nations Foundation and is
actively working to raise additional funds to match a further UNF
Challenge Grant for expansion to India and two other Southeast Asian
countries.

Equal Access has been working closely with UNDP, local media
contributors, writers, community based organizations, local recording
artists and people living with AIDS to plan for the content production. 
The Content Development Group Workshop for the Digital Radio Initiative
was held in Katmandu earlier in the year.

A Project Assessment Team comprised of University of California, San
Francisco Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, and a Nepal Monitoring
Agency has been assembled by Equal Access and the UNDP.

**Lessons Learned**

Before designing our project, we considered various approaches of
providing pertinent information to communities who need it the most.  It
quickly became apparent that the Internet is not always a viable or an
appropriate technology, particularly as it is limited in its ability to
reach areas with little or no telephony or power infrastructure.
Alternative technologies, like community radio and satellite based audio
and multimedia, are often more effective as they provide wireless
access, are inexpensive, readily available and are inclusive of the rich
oral traditions of many rural communities.

ICT is merely an enabling tool, the effectiveness of which depends
largely upon engaging the talents and skills of the communities being
served. Collaborative, bottom-up approaches that place the needs,
abilities and voices of local community members at t

Re: [GKD] RFI: Cost of Bridging Digital Divide?

[Sam Lanfranco]

With a similar smile/smurk I want to take Nikhil one step forward and
one step backward at the same time.

It is worth recalling that the language of the Digital Divide sprang
into our vocabulary after the Group of Eight meeting in Japan counld not
reach agreement on their key agenda item, that being debt reduction for
heavily indebted poor countries. Like schooling fish following a crazed
leader the entire development  community re-set its compass to that new
navigational star.

This of course came as quite a shock to those of us who had been working
on the challenges of ICTs and Development for the previous two decades.
But, we had seen it before and there was no surprise. There is also
little surprise to realize how little serious reflection has taken place
with regard to what the digital divide means. Do we close it by closing
the gap, by bridging the gap, by what and why?

To keep this short and simple, consider the following. What is the cost
of closing the "transportation divide", the fact that some people have
access to  transportation and its benefits and that others do not. Does
this mean "Cars  for All?" Of course not. Does it mean "Bus Tokens for
All?" Of course not. What does it mean. It usually means what can be
done with transportation, as in intermediate instrument variable, to
improve the conditions of life for some  groups, usually the poor.

The same applies to the digital divide. Does it mean "Computers, Access
or Connectivity for All?" It shouldn't but for some it seems to. If we
measure success by access and connectivity we comit the mistake, well
recognized in medical research of confusing efficacy with efficiency.
They goal is to make  the lives of some (usually the poor) better. If we
try this by placing  computers in the schools where the poor are not
even students our efficacy may look great, and our costs will be high,
but our efficiency in terms of the  degree to which we attain our
ultimate goal will be low. If we ask how might we use computers to
increase the eductional achievements of the poor, a question where the
answer might be to put them in telecentres where groups of local
teachers are brought together for skills training, our costs are much
lower but our efficiency is much higher.

Just as "Cars for All" doesn't make sense to solve the problems of
physical distance and the poor, anything that confuses efficacy with
efficiency in the  deployment of ICT for development doesn't make sense.
It also costs a lot more. Lastly, if we can justify our ICT deployment
at the micro-level, project by  project, we don't need to worry about
what it will cost. We will carry the costs project by project and - if we
wish - aggregate those costs if someone is interested in the totals. On
the other hand, if we estimate costs at some macro level and ignore the
micro-level evaluations, costs will always be greater than benefits,
unless of course you are the seller of equipment, or of consulting 
services, to the projects in question.


Sam Lanfranco
Distributed Knowledge
York University
  



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