Research papers

IT for Change was invited by the Journal of Community Informatics to guest-edit a special issue on gender and community informatics, which presents articles from various countries across the world and discusses how information and communication technology have a transformatory impact on gender relations. Please read the journal here.

The study of two large 'ICTs programmes in School Education' (IPSE) programmes of neighboring Indian states reveals some interesting insights. The integrated model followed in Kerala's IT@Schools programme, which focused on developing systemic in-house capabilities anchored around school teachers, has shown considerable success; in terms of higher teacher engagement, integration of computer learning with the regular learning processes, significant cost efficiencies, greater per-learner computer availability, and development of teacher networks and collaborative content creation processes, which support teacher professional development.

The objectives of this study are two-fold: (1) conduct an impact assessment of the project of the Regional resource centre for elementary education (RRCE), and (2) make recommendations for defining future direction of the work and improving its effectiveness.

IT for Change conducted a study on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programmes in schools in the Yadgir and Sedam blocks of Yadgir dis

This paper is a contribution to the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) interactive discussion on the guiding concepts on the notion of the openness in the ICT4D field.

This article, published in the Economic and Political Weekly  (3 October 2009), is a report of the consultation on the 'Misuse of Communication Technology and Its Linkages with Violence against Women' held in Trivandrum (India) in March 2009. The article advocates that policy choices  need to avoid narratives of fear around new technologies, narratives that can effectively constrain women’s freedom to use digital spaces.

This paper frames a critique of India's existing e-governance programme in the context of a market-driven and efficiency enhancing approach. This narrow guiding vision occurs because of a deficit in normative frameworks for governance rooted in principles of governance reform, and in turn a normative model for telecentre-based e-governance. It empirically assesses an e-governance initiative in the state of Gujarat, e-Gram, exploring what kind of development and local governance are served by this telecentre based initiative.

Computer learning programmes in schools (CLPS) in India have largely failed to achieve their goals of positively impacting learning processes and outcomes in schools. Implemented usually through 'PPP' (Public Private Partnership) models, these programmes have been treated largely as  silos. Schools and teachers have not seen  computer learning as an integral part of education, and the overall education processes, which has compromised their ownership over, and engagement with the programme.

This paper is based on a lecture delivered at the Michigan State University (USA) in February 2009. Unpacking the hegemonic neo-liberal and market fundamentalist view on ICTD, the paper details a two-fold discourse, where the utopic preoccupation with technology and an ahistoric conception of the world converges with the construction of ICTD as an engine to propel the marketisation of development.

This case study is a part of the broader research study Locating gender in ICTD projects: five cases from India, undertaken by IT for Change, which sought to understand how principles promoting women’s inclusion and gender sensitivity can be incorporated into Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD) projects through an analysis of five interventions. These specific projects were selected on the basis of their representation of different development typologies, geographical coverage, scale, type of ownership (government or civil society sector) and their stated approach to gender and social justice.