Research papers

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.

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. The 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.

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.

This case study is part of a research project that sought to analyse how different telecentre models approach development on the ground, proceeding to elaborate a typology based on the cornerstones of participation and equity. To conduct this assessment, four telecentre projects were examined: the Gujarat government’s e-Gram project, the corporate-led venture by ITC called e-Choupal, the private enterprise model of Drishtee, and the community-owned telecentres of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).