Digital Inclusion Projects in Developing Countries: Processes of Institutionalisation

Presented at the 9th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, this 13-page document focuses on processes of institutionalisation of digital inclusion projects. Three case studies, the Akshaya telecentre project of the a state of Kerala in India, a community-based information and communication technology (ICT) project in rural Siyabuswa, South Africa, and telecentre projects in the mega-city of São Paulo, Brazil, are described and analysed according to a theoretical schema derived from institutional theory. The schema uses four key processes of institutionalisation: getting symbolic acceptance by the community; stimulating valuable social activity in relevant social groups; generating linkage to viable revenue streams; and fostering government support.

The authors' findings emphasise the magnitude of change over time in the three projects analysed. They find that early successes are not always sustainable or scalable. However, they aim to demonstrate the utility of using institutional theory to locate common features of the three projects.

The first process in focus is getting symbolic acceptance by the community. In Kerala State, where the government aims to achieve economic stimulation of rural areas, the project gained initial acceptance through grassroots campaigning and aligning with the local development goals already in place. Success is described as having a high participation in e-literacy courses, particularly by Muslim women, reported to be an underrepresented sub-group. However, as the project evolved to be more entrepreneurial in nature, problems of the exclusion of some economic sub-groups arose. In South Africa, the Siyabuswa project gained acceptance by being perceived as participatory - by and for the people with local leadership. However, an extension of the project to more rural areas failed because of suspicion of 'outsiders' promoting the project. The São Paulo projects only partially achieved community acceptance and are finding increasingly limited participation. They initially were a government-sponsored project intended for local participation and sponsorship. As local councils showed political partisanship in telecentre management, centres came under the purview of partnerships which involved both government and non-governmental organisations (NGO), with the NGO projects gaining centrality (as well as
funding), and local participation diminishing.

For the second measure, stimulating valuable social activity in the relevant social groups, e-literacy
projects in Kerala were reportedly very successful in this respect, with the widespread participation of groups such as Muslim women. Computer training at Siyabuswa spread from school children to the community at large, as was the project aim, though the process did not succeed in the rural extension. The telecentre projects in São Paulo have succeeded in stimulating activity in certain groups such as the underemployed young and, through the centrally-located government telecentres, working adults. The adults use the telecentres for fulfilling government-related business, and though youth remain the largest users outside the city centre, government aims of youth employment and violence reduction resulting from increased technology use may not prove to be viable.

The third process, generating linkage to viable revenue streams, became problematic in Kerala because of the early linking with social inclusion goals, as mentioned earlier. The dilemma of shifting to revenue generation implied exclusion of some populations. In Siyabuswa, the successful generation of interest from classes at this training facility has involved increasing numbers in the community, some of whom use newly acquired technology skills for income generation. The result has been slow growth in use, financial viability, and community ownership. As mentioned previously, this was not successfully replicated in the surrounding rural areas. The Brazilian centres are now supported by government and NGO funding, rather than finding entrepreneurial independence.

A final process was fostering government support, achieved in Kerala through the strong symbolic linking of the project to the state government’s espoused development goals. This alignment has been challenged by attempts at shifting to a commercial model. The small scale in Siyabuswa precluded the need for these linkages, but in extending the scale to rural areas, the authors state that a key reason for failure was inadequate government backing. The enrolment of political forces in the São Paulo case study has been, as stated here, a crucial feature throughout. Government backing is central, though it has wrested control from the local councils and placed it in partnerships with NGOs.

The authors conclude by stating the need for more longitudinal study using this theoretical schema based on institutional theory.