ICT4D initiative
Strengthening ICTD Research Capacity in Asia (SIRCA)
Brainstorm Bangladesh awarded a two years competitive international research grant under the SIRCA project in December 2008.
Research Title: An impact assessment framework to evaluate the effectiveness of Information Communications Technology (ICT)-led development project at micro (community) level in a developing country; Bangladesh.
Synopsis:
Research in the multi-disciplinary domain of ICT and Development indicates there is potential for information and communication technologies (ICT) to contribute to a nation's socio-economic, socio-technical and socio-cultural development. With this in mind, developing countries have been rushing to implement ambitious ICT for Development (ICT4D) projects in rural areas through the direct/indirect supervision of institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) and other donor/local agencies. These interventions aim to provide positive developmental impacts on people's lives at an individual, group or community level. Interestingly, the main focus of the interventions has been on the implementation of ICT4D projects themselves, rather than on understanding their impacts at the recipient or community level; and such lack of understanding has led to many failures of ICT4D projects as reported. This proposed research (two years in duration) will develop and test a conceptual framework to investigate ICT-led developmental impact in rural areas in the developing country, Bangladesh. The framework highlights some important perspectives on research into ICT and Development while understanding the intentions behind the adoption and implementation of ICT interventions in developing countries.
Our framework will encourage further investigation into ICT-led development projects which explicitly acknowledges the perspectives of the to-be-affected community/ies. The nature of this research is explorative because little research has been undertaken within the socio-economic context of rural Bangladesh. While conducting the empirical study, we will focus on complex social actions in order to understand ICT-led development from the actual beneficiaries' perspectives. Further, understanding ICT-led development is subject to social interpretation by different groups in different ways. Hence, this research employs an interpretive approach with the qualitative tradition for data collection and analysis.
Impact Assessment of Rural Technology Center
Brainstorm Bangladesh's key leading researcher was appointed and conducted an impact assessment study during March 09- May 09 jointly managed by Bangladesh Institute of ICT in Development (BIID), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Bangladesh and Practical Action ( a local NGO). The Rural Technology Center (RTC) was the focal study of that impact assessment study. RTC was a project under FoSHoL program which disseminates technologies identified by farmers to help improve their food security. These will also include technologies generated under the IRRI-PETRRA project. FoSHoL project is funded by the European Commission (EC), implemented by 3 international NGOs namely ActionAid Bangladesh, CARE Bangladesh and Practical Action Bangladesh (former ITDG) and coordinated by IRRI.
Rural Technology Center (RTC) project under Practical Action- FoSHoL is a pilot that includes two technology based centers in Sharishabari and Rajoir Upazila. The centers were meant to be developed into rural hubs of technical knowledge, giving small-scale farmers the chance to learn practical ways to improving their productivity. RTCs have been providing technical services and supplies to rural communities in the coverage area. This Research Report reviews performance of Rural Technology Centers (RTCs) and assess impact at several levels to arrive at recommendations for structured approach to developing services and management/operations model.
ICT for all
Under this project Brainstorm Foundation Inc. Australia is going to provide computers and computer accessories to different schools and madrashas of Bangladesh where there is not a single computer in action. Brainstorm Foundation Inc. will collect the discarded computers and accessories from the University of South Australia. Then, with the help of Brainstorm Bangladesh (Strategic Partner) and Shelter (Project Partner) Brainstorm Foundation will select the educational institutions both traditional and religious to donate the computers and accessories. The project aims to build capacity among the students of the schools and madrashas through orientation with the information and communication technology.
Objectives:
- a) To create access for the rural students to information and communication technology (ICT)
- b) To promote uses of computer among the teachers and students
- c) To mitigate potential risks of terrorism among the students of Madrashas
- d) To expose rural students to new and modern technologies (computer, internet) to develop skills and capacity
- e) To give special attention to the female students to make them familiar with the uses of modern technologies
ICT and Health
Not only the rural people in Bangladesh but also the rural people of other developing countries suffer severely due to poor health. In Bangladesh a large portion of poor people live in villages and poor health condition of these people is really a great obstruct towards development. BrainStorm has recognized that besides other factors, barriers between the health care providers and the patients is also an important reason of this poor condition, as most of the rural people are physically remote from the qualified health care providers. In Bangladesh, as in many other developing counties, medical practitioners often operate in relative isolation. Worldwide there is difficulty in retaining specialists in non-urban areas.
Brainstorm Bangladesh believes that telecommunication technologies are a powerful tool to break the barriers of time and space. With the introduction of high-bandwidth, digital communication technologies, it is possible to deliver audio, video, and waveform data to wherever and whenever needed. It will not only remove the barriers between patients and health care provider but also reduce the knowledge gap between the doctors of Bangladesh and that of other developed countries. For this purpose Brainstorm Bangladesh has started to reveal the potential of employing ICT in health sector to remove this barriers for ensuring proper health service in rural area and ultimately for increasing the contribution of rural people in the total development of Bangladesh.
GreenIT (Green Information Technology)
With rising amount of data centers with big servers, increasing amount of IT wastes, power-hungry software, rising energy consumption and carbon-di-oxide emission, IT has to go green meaning environmental friendly. GreenIT is the concern about the environmental impact of IT. The concept starts with the design of environment friendly IT equipments, that would consume less energy and will have less harmful elements like Cadmium, Nickel, Lead etc that would be disastrous to be disposed in the environment. It also includes simple practices like switching your computer off when not in use. Proper disposal and recycling is also a part of GreenIT as with ever changing and upgrading new models of IT equipments are hitting the market, the old ones are hitting the garbage. The amount of IT wastes is increasing in an alarming rate. Brainstorm believes that IT has already expanded in Bangladesh throughout the country and there is a great need to do extensive research on GreenIT in aspect of Bangladesh.
Brainstorm Bangladesh has recognized the need to research the topic GreenIT in Bangladesh to understand the awareness and practices in the IT practitioners/adopters/users at individual/organisational/national level and policy of different organizations regarding GreenIT. For example, Brainstorm Bangladesh intends to find out the causes behind the lack of awareness and to find out the intentions behind adoption of GreenIT in cases where it is intended so.
Impact Assessment of ICT projects
Brainstorm Bangladesh awarded a one year research grant by the Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh for the year 2009-2010.
Research Title: An impact study of information and communication technologies (ICT) intervention/project in rural areas of Bangladesh’ institutional research grant 2008-09.
Synopsis:
In recent time, ICT interventions are springing up in developing countries with the objective of bringing the benefits of new communication technologies to the rural poor. As well as, numerous researches have been carried out that ICT interventions improve development in third world countries. This research is an attempt to develop an impact evaluation framework for understanding the processes of the adaptation and implementation of ICT-based initiatives towards development in rural areas of Bangladesh. To conduct this research, we have espoused an interpretive qualitative research style within a case study context. Amarta Sen’s ‘Capability approach’ as a theory is used to guide the research design and preliminary interpretation of field data. Data was collected by personal interview, focus group discussion and participant observation from the MPRC operators and then the field results have been analyzed through MSC technique. Our findings demonstrate that this ICT intervention has had significant impacts on communities' five freedom counting economic, political, social, informational and protective security. It contributes a lot to create micro-entrepreneur in rural areas that provides capabilities to the community that indicates the ability to do something for their lives and livelihoods. This research concludes that an ICT4D intervention has momentous impact on socio-politico-economic development at the community level including income, empowerment, knowledge, awareness, social status and decision making capacity on the MPRC operators. Therefore, this research has potential to contribute knowledge of ICT4D research in a particular social context of Bangladesh since ICT4D impact research at the micro or community level in rural areas of Bangladesh is almost non-existent.