Browsing by Author "Sewry, David"

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    An Elaboration of Critical Success Factors for Rural ICT Project Sustainability in Developing Countries - Exploring the Dwesa Case
    (Taylor & Francis, 2014-09-12) Pade, Caroline; Mallinson, Brenda; Sewry, David
    Rural development is significantly enhanced and supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the use of which is highlighted by the emerging importance of information and knowledge as key strategic resources for social and economic development. An investigation of the use of ICT by rural people suggests that there are a number of barriers and constraints that are faced when taking advantage of these technologies in developing countries. These include access to infrastructure, limited formal education, insufficient training and capacity building, financial and political constraints, and social and cultural challenges. These challenges threaten the success and sustainability of rural ICT projects. Sustainability is key to the effectiveness of a rural ICT project, therefore it is important to understand the concept and categories associated with ICT project sustainability in rural areas. The categories of sustainability which include social and cultural, institutional, economic, political, and technological reveal critical success factors that need to be considered in the implementation and management of rural ICT projects. An exploration of the Dwesa Case study reveals the extent of the application of these critical success factors of sustainability.
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    An exploration of the categories associated with ICT project sustainability in rural areas of developing countries: a case study of the Dwesa project
    (Association for Computing Machinery, 2006-10) Pade, Caroline; Mallinson, Brenda; Sewry, David
    Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a significant role in enhancing rural development in developing countries. However, rural ICT projects are confronted with challenges that result in projects that are not sustainable, or fail altogether. These challenges include access to infrastructure, limited formal education, insufficient training and capacity building, financial and political constraints, and social and cultural challenges. Sustainability is key to the effectiveness of a rural ICT project, therefore it is important to understand the concept and categories associated with ICT project sustainability in rural areas. The categories are social and cultural, institutional, economic, political, and technological sustainability. An exploration of the categories of sustainability is undertaken on an ICT project in rural Dwesa.
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    In Exploration of the Critical Success Factors for the Sustainability of Rural ICT Projects – The Dwesa Case Study
    (Springer, 2008-09-14) Pade, Caroline; Mallinson, Brenda; Sewry, David
    Rural development can be enhanced and supported by information and communication technology (ICT), the use of which is highlighted by the emerging importance of information and knowledge as key strategic resources for social and economic development. The use of ICT presents a number of constraints which threaten the sustainability of rural ICT projects. Sustainability is key to the effectiveness of a rural ICT project. The categories of sustainability reveal critical success factors that need to be considered in the implementation and management of rural ICT projects. An exploration of the Dwesa project reveals the extent and effect of the application of these critical success factors of sustainability.
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    The Practice and Need for Rural ICT for Development Evaluation: An Experience of the Siyakhula Living Lab Baseline Study
    (International Development Informatics Association, 2009) Pade, Caroline; Sewry, David
    Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been identified as essential tools in supporting rural development as information and knowledge are key strategic resources for social and economic development. A number of cases exist where ICTs are known to have beneficial effects in communities. However, there are also cases where ICTs have made little difference, or have actually worsened the development status in a rural community. The benefits and challenges associated with ICTs in rural areas need to be questioned in terms of the relevance and actual impact of such programmes on rural development. Fundamentally, development organisations should be aware of the need for evaluation and its significance for ICT projects that aim to support development. On the other hand, ICT projects that have attempted to implement evaluation frameworks are also confronted with shortcomings and challenges which influence the reliability of evaluation conclusions. It is essential that these shortcomings and challenges are understood, so as to improve existing evaluation frameworks, and/or to develop frameworks that more effectively address them. A Baseline Study of the Siyakhula Living Lab in the Eastern Cape of South Africa presents an example of an evaluation approach of the first stage of an ICT project evaluation. The practices applied and experience illustrate the benefits and challenges associated with conducting this evaluation approach.
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    Project Management Practice for Rural ICT Project Sustainability in Developing Countries
    (Academic Conferences and Publishing International Ltd, 2008) Pade-Khene, Caroline; Mallinson, Brenda; Sewry, David
    Poverty alleviation by means of rural development has become a priority among developing countries. In turn, rural development may be significantly enhanced and supported by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the use of which is highlighted by the emerging importance of information and knowledge as key strategic resources for social and economic development. An analysis of rural case studies where ICTs have been introduced, suggests that there are a number of barriers and constraints that are faced when taking advantage of these technologies. These include access to infrastructure, limited formal education, insufficient training and capacity building, financial and political constraints, and social and cultural challenges. These challenges threaten the success and sustainability of rural ICT projects. Sustainability is key to the effectiveness of a rural ICT project; therefore it is important to understand the concept and categories associated with ICT project sustainability in rural areas. The categories of sustainability which include social and cultural, institutional, economic, political, and technological, reveal critical success factors that need to be considered in the implementation and management of rural ICT projects. The project management discipline acknowledges the importance of understanding the project’s environment, particularly environmental factors associated with rural communities. The complexity of the environment requires that a project be undertaken in phases comprising the project life cycle. Project management practice for rural ICT project sustainability can be examined, adapting the traditional project life cycle to a rural ICT project. This paper proposes a Rural ICT Project Life Cycle (RICT-PLC) that is sensitive to the critical success factors (CSFs) of sustainability. The CSFs contribute to the project management practices that should be incorporated into the life cycle phases of a rural ICT project. The RICT-PLC model developed sets sustainability guidelines for ICT project management in rural areas and identifies the people, environments, technologies, systems, and requirements for ICTs to support rural development activities.
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    Proposed stages of a rural ICT comprehensive evaluation framework in ICT for rural development projects
    (Association fro Computing Machinery, 2011-10) Pade-Khene, Caroline; Sewry, David
    The evaluation of rural ICT for development projects is indispensable as it determines the need, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and extent of the awareness of the contribution such projects or programmes can make in poverty alleviation and development. Evaluation in this case, needs to be comprehensive to capture relevant impact and effectiveness throughout the life of these projects in marginalised communities. This paper presents a high level description of the Rural ICT Comprehensive Evaluation Framework (RICT-CEF). The RICT-CEF is comprised of 1) An Overall Evaluation Plan, 2) An Evaluation Lifecycle consisting of seven domains of evaluation, and 3) An Iterative Design. These all encompass the key components essential for a comprehensive evaluation of rural ICT projects in developing countries.
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    The Rural ICT Comprehensive Evaluation Framework: Implementing the First Domain, the Baseline Study Process
    (Wiley, 2017) Pade-Khene, Caroline; Sewry, David
    ICTs are continuously emerging as key tools to support development activities. However, with the growing implementation of such technology requires the need to account for such implementations and assess the need, process, outcome and impact of ICT projects in developing countries. Most evaluations in ICT4D tend to focus on impact assessment, yet assessing the impact of a project relies on interdependent assessments that should be conducted throughout the life of a project; especially to gauge the actual contribution of an ICT project to specified impact in a rural community. This paper presents a Rural ICT Comprehensive Evaluation Framework (RICT‐CEF), which encompasses the key domains of evaluation that should be applied throughout the progression of an ICT for development project. The scope of this paper, specifically elaborates on the first two stages of the framework: 1) The Overall Evaluation Plan, and 2) The Baseline Study. These stages are explored in the Siyakhula Living Lab, an ICT4D project in South Africa, to reveal the shortcomings and suitability of the framework through lessons learned, and contribute to the continuous revision of the RICT‐CEF.
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    Sustainable Rural ICT Project Management Practice for Developing Countries: Investigating the Dwesa and RUMEP Projects
    (Taylor & Francis, 2011-06-21) Pade-Khene, Caroline; Mallinson, Brenda; Sewry, David
    An analysis of rural information communication and technology (ICT) case studies suggests that there are a number of constraints which threaten the sustainability of rural ICT projects. Sustainability is key to the effectiveness of a rural ICT project. The categories of sustainability reveal critical success factors (CSFs) that need to be considered in the implementation and the management of rural ICT projects. The project management discipline recognizes the complexity of a project's environment and therefore suggests that projects be undertaken in phases comprising the project life cycle. Project management practice for rural ICT project sustainability is examined with the intent of adapting the traditional project life cycle to propose a rural ICT project life cycle (RICT-PLC) that is sensitive to the CSFs of sustainability. In order to further investigate the phases and the related practices throughout the life cycle of a rural ICT project, two case study investigations are explored in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: the Dwesa ICT project and the Rhodes University Mathematics Education Project. Finally, an initially enhanced RICT-PLC model is developed, that sets sustainability guidelines for ICT project management in rural areas and identifies the people, environments, technologies, systems, and requirements for ICTs to support rural development activities.
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    Towards a Comprehensive Evaluation Framework for ICT for Development Evaluation – An Analysis of Evaluation Frameworks
    (Academic Publishing International Limited, 2011-04) Pade-Khene, Caroline; Sewry, David
    Information and communication technologies (ICT) can support rural development activities through providing supportive information and knowledge, and creating essential interconnectivities between rural areas and more developed regions. However, rural ICT for development (ICT4D) is still at best a ‘working hypothesis’, faced with barriers and challenges associated with implementation and use in the rural environment; which threaten the success, sustainability or relevance of ICT interventions in developing countries. The evaluation of rural ICT projects is indispensable as it determines the need, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and extent of the awareness of the contribution such projects or programmes can make in poverty alleviation and development. Even so, existing ICT for development evaluations are confronted with shortcomings and challenges which influence the reliability of evaluation conclusions. These shortcomings highlight the need to embark on a more comprehensive evaluation approach, sensitive to the rural environment. The paper adopts a theoretical multi-method approach to determine the multiple variables and components associated with rural ICT evaluation, and then to determine how these variables interrelate. The approach is founded on programme evaluation, ICT for development evaluation, and information systems evaluation. Programme evaluation informs this research study of the fundamental domains of evaluation and the structure that shapes an evaluation. An analysis of ICT for development evaluation frameworks and information systems frameworks compares and contrasts key characteristics that form the structure of a comprehensive evaluation that can be applied in ICT for development projects. The analysis and a review of programme evaluation enables the development of a Rural ICT Comprehensive Evaluation Framework (RICT-CEF) that encompasses the key components essential for a comprehensive evaluation of rural ICT projects. The theoretical framework aims to inform ICT intervention to improve and support rural development, through the application of fundamental and interconnected evaluation domains sensitive to the rural environment, throughout the project’s lifecycle.