In Topic 5 we presented an introduction to ICT4D or Information and communications technology for development. Here, we discuss some of the links between ICT4D and the myriad public service, cultural, and commercial applications that broadband infrastructures and services make available to people living in Indigenous communities.
In his 2011 book Transforming Government and Building the Information Society: Challenges and Opportunities for the Developing World, Nagy Hanna provides an overview of broadband-enabled applications. Hanna’s work is based on 35 years of experience at the World Bank and other international aid agencies. Drawing from many different countries, he looks at how governments use broadband in areas like governance, public service delivery, and economic development. His work highlights how ICTs can transform government institutions and public services to empower communities and support grassroots innovation. While Hanna acknowledges this is a long-term undertaking, he argues it can be achieved through strategic partnerships among policymakers, reformers, innovators, community leaders, ICT specialists, and development experts.
Some authors are quite vocal in their criticism of the World Bank. The video below from 2011 features political scientist Susan George. George argues that the World Bank is operating in the interests of rich nations at the expense of poor ones. She cautions that its work can privatize formerly public services like health and education. Learn more about Susan George on Wikipedia.
(uploaded May 5, 2011)
In the last decade, proponents of ICT4D have responded to critique, acknowledging weaknesses in the original approach and seeking to re-frame ICT4D in a more reflexive way. For example, Zehng et. al (2018) state: “There is now broad consensus that ICTs are no silver bullets providing simple and linear solutions to complex… social problems”, going on to recognize that “ICTs may even exacerbate inequality” in a relatively high consumption of resources and time. They suggest therefore conceiving the term ICT4D as a research question: “what does ICT mean for development?”, in order to reflect a focus that prioritizes “understanding the implications of ICT’s for development” over their mere implementation.
Kondowe and Chigona’s 2019 paper Rethinking Theory and Practice of ICT4D presents a Critical Discourse Analysis of the 2016 World Bank Report in order to identify some of the assumptions inherent in the asymmetrical power dynamic described above. In this paper, the World Bank’s report represents the hegemonic assumption of the neo-liberal paradigm and discusses how that relates to concepts of economics, technology and development when applied uncritically.
Despite their finding that the World Bank’s report over-emphasizes the positive contributions of ICT4D, the authors applaud it for not taking development merely as a market related process but “as a holistic process covering other socio-economic development issues like poverty eradication, human development and human dignity” (Kondowe and Chigona, 2019). This, they argue, reflects a major shift in ICT4D thinking from the technocentric view of the early 2000’s to an increasingly critical view.
It is important to keep these kinds of critiques in mind when studying the use of broadband for community and economic development. As we go through this unit’s materials, think about the benefits and challenges that accompany this work. How do they resonate with the criticisms raised by George, Kondowe and Chigona, and others?
These kinds of questions are being explored in various development initiatives, including through UN agencies, such as through the work of the ITU’s Development Sector (as discussed in Topic 6). The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also consider the role of ICTs and connectivity. The short lecture below connects the SDGs to work undertaken by Indigenous Nations and communities in Northern Canada. It focuses on SDG 9 : “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”.
Building the Internet from the Ground-up (SDG 9)
(Uploaded Jul 7, 2020)