Connecting to Work: Non-Agricultural Livelihood Opportunities for Rural Labour: Sri Lanka (Wage Labour)

This paper sets out an evaluation methodology to understand and assess the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on rural livelihoods - specifically, of wage workers in Sri Lanka. It focuses on an action research project piloting a communication model - a job bank for wage work in rural areas, which matches demand and supply for agricultural as well as non-agricultural work - and describes the research methodology adopted to monitor impacts. The paper is the result of ICT for rural livelihoods research that the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supported under its collaboration with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) - Knowledge Networking for Rural Development in Asia-Pacific (ENRAP).

As the authors explain, in Sri Lanka, poverty is associated with reliance on wage work, with studies showing that households are more likely to be economically poor when household members are engaged in casual employment, often in the informal sector. These livelihood activities are characterised by underemployment rather than outright unemployment, and lack of information about work opportunities is thought to be contributing to this phenomenon. A group often neglected in policy circles, interventions designed to reach wage workers usually take the form of support for entrepreneurial activities, with limited impacts.

Because the project is based on the hypothesis of an information and communication bottleneck, the ICT intervention involved using (mobile) telephony services to obtain information about available labour as well as available demand. The project, implemented by Berendina Development Services (BDS), connects the relevant worker and potential employer through their (mobile) telephones. (Because penetration of telephony services is quite high in Sri Lanka, the initiative did not include providing mobile phones.) BDS conducted household visits and village-level meetings to provide information about the new initiative and how to access the service provided. These activities were supported by a localised advertising campaign, using posters and handbills, which were displayed at natural points of congregation and information exchange in the village, such as popular tea shops, bus stands, government administration offices, community centres, and religious places. Interested persons were requested to register with the BDS by providing basic information such as their skills, work preferences, and how they would like to be contacted. BDS also solicited potential employers in the area, including firms and households. Using a computerised database of potential employees, BDS then matched prospective employer needs with the available rural labour. The employment found was mainly short term, ranging for example from half a day to weed a home garden to 15 days for road construction work. Project staff also follows up with the employers and employees after the work has been completed, to obtain feedback for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and project improvement purposes.

This paper discusses the findings of implementing the intervention for a period of 10 months in the Yatiyanthota DS Division, Kegalle District. A quantitative analysis, the specifics of which are detailed in the paper, was supported by qualitative discussions held with households regarding what activities they would have engaged in if they had not accepted work opportunities provided by the intervention. By August 30 2010, 536 employees had registered with the job matching service. The research findings suggest that the previously limited sources and modes of obtaining information which were available to the intended population have widened over the project period. For example, at baseline most employees relied on a single source of information (e.g., networks of friends and family) to find work. At the baseline, less than 60% of the intended population stated that they use the telephone to find work; 8 months later, 77% said that they get work-related information over the telephone compared to 33% among the comparison group.

While these and other findings discussed in the paper appear promising, the project has had little impact among women, who appear to be more reluctant to share contact details with unknown persons or people outside of their family and friend networks. (This is a privacy issue). In addition, the authors explain that, because of the uncertainty associated with informal work, households prefer to obtain information about work opportunities through trusted sources. If the phone call originates from a trusted source such as a friend, then there is no issue. In the case of the pilot, BDS is well known in the area and trusted, but when the pilot is replicated elsewhere with different implementers, this issue needs to be borne in mind.

The paper ends with a section outlining conclusions and future research directions. There are two main areas of learning described here:

1. Learning in relation to the impact of the specific intervention reported on - e.g., by improving possibilities to connect, ICTs help expand social networks; better access to employment information positively affects livelihoods of the economically poor; polices suited for the economically poor are needed for them to effectively use ICT tools; and people's experiences with ICT tools is helping to evolve their use as a source of information.
2. Learning in terms of the methodology - e.g., using a control group and an intervention group and using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), which emphasises understanding the vulnerability context of the intended population.