Notes from the Fourth IPID ICT4D Postgraduate Symposium 2009, held in the Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United Kingdom, on September 11-12th, 2009. More notes on this event: ict4d_symposium_2009.
eGovernment: Understanding the dynamics between adoption, social inequality and empowerment
Mishra Gaurav
Most of the eGovernment debate nowadays is, surprisingly, more focused on data than on citizenship, the citizenry or empowerment. Indeed, research has focused in impact assessment, sustainability or the digital divide.
Research gaps? Impact assessment in terms of development, understanding adoption and usage in developing country perspective; coordination and transformation process; quality and efficiency of services; empowerment related issues of disadvantaged groups. In general, eGovernment has been focussing in itself rather than in impact.
Goals
- Factors influencing adoption and use of eGovernment services by rural people: how do SES, type of government, etc. determine eGovernment adoption
- How eGovernment addresses the issue of social inequality, how does eGovernment affect social inequality
- To examine the role of eGovernment in empowering people: what type of eGovernment fosters empowerment
Theoretical framework:
- Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) Venkatesh et al. (2003)
- Capabilities framework-motivated from Sen (1999)
More information
V. Venkatesh, M. G. Morris, G. B. Davis, and F. D. Davis, User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view MIS Quarterly, vol. 27, pp. 425-478, 2003
eRebellion: The role of ICT on changing government policies and regimes
Amara Thiha
The web 2.0 has enabled several new ways for information to circulate and citizens to state their opinions publicly. But it also has enabled amplification of propaganda issued by extremist and minority groups that just seldom represent e.g. the people inside a country (Myanmar case). We don’t have to take for granted that “2.0 agencies” are more neutral than traditional news agencies.
Research questions
- What is the boundary between Democratic and Undemocratic with self amplified information and news?
- How to control this participation which lead to undemocratic situation in democratic manners
- What is this process and what is the common model of this participation in web 2.0
Towards Open Government in Morocco
Asmae El Mahdi
There has been a rapid expansion of ICTs in Morocco, but they have still to hugely impact both the Administration and the citizens. Indeed, research has been done about enabling the shift from manual to automated service delivery of public services, dealing with issues like labor intensive and paper-based back offices, the integration of back-office and front-office, the provision of citizen-friendly instant service delivery, etc.
A second kind of research was focussing in the adaptation of the electronic front-office to illiterate end-users.
Open ICT4D is the use of new ICTs to engage in “open ” processes to achieve developement goals
, IDRC.
A third research, eFES, focused on the impact of these new technologies applied to the Administration, on assessing ICT influence on development, while shifting towards open government:
- Fez Municipality: shift away from telecom operators towards city-wide wireless open spectrum: joining up
- Local Public Administration: shift away from mere comsumption to prosumption: user-driven innovation
- Civil Servants: shift away from closer practices to encouraging open practices: self-service touch-screen kiosks
- ICT4D team: shift away from proprietary software to free software: per-poor model of development
Results: efficiency gains evidenced in several indicators. Indeed the scheme has been replicated so far in 50% of the administration offices.
Challenges: institutional weaknesses, severe deficit in capacities; policy matters: human choices weakening innovation systems.
Downloads
- Video of the session
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