When IT’s All about Digitial Ecologies...

The past few years have seen an explosion of digital initiatives aiming to
improve the socio-economic conditions of rural communities in developing
countries. However, despite billions of dollars being spent in these programs,
there are surprisingly few examples of information and communication technology
(ICT) projects that have resulted in true sustainable development; and of those
that have succeeded, there are few examples of projects that have scaled.

Till recently, the mantra of development agencies and government bodies has
been: "Bring in the technology and the digital divide will automatically
close." However, when the global economy came crashing down in 2001, it
forced not only companies but also development funding agencies, to look at
their bottom lines; they were obliged to ask if this technology was really
making a difference. Although some organizations have made a brave attempt to
prove that ICTs have indeed been successful ground-level reality checks
frequently prove otherwise. The question is thus raised: If ICTs hold so much
promise, then why don’t they bring about the intended result? The answer to
this pressing question lies less in the tools, rather in the limited approach in
which they are being applied. Perhaps the best way to begin unraveling the
problem of failed ICT for development (ICT4D) initiatives is to consider the
concept of "living systems". Living systems typically consist of
complex interdependent systems and subsystems that interact in sustainable
manners. Such systems can be witnessed in a variety of contexts–organic cells,
schools, governments, the Internet, and even terrorist networks. How such
systems operate is often a mystery, as much as is how they adapt and evolve.
Nevertheless, there are regularities in how these systems function, which can
provide us with enough insight on how to sustain or even, to destroy them.

Applying the metaphor of a living system to a village community, we can
consider the complex relationship that exists related to the village economy–the
environment, social systems, political systems, and so on. These systems
together form larger ecologies within which human beings exist.

As changes are made to a rural ecology, it will respond as any living,
breathing system would. When it comes to a technology being introduced into a
village, its success will depend entirely on how well suited it is for the
ecology. In other words, using the living system or biological system as a
metaphor, we can consider how certain elements that are introduced may be
"metabolized", while others would be treated as "antigens"
and discarded. In this sense, technology introduced into a village community may
be adopted or rejected depending upon its suitability to the ecological climate.

The key to creating sustainable ICT solutions lies in understanding the
existing rural ecologies and then creating digital solutions that harmonize with
them. It is when an existing ecology absorbs and sustains a technology, that a
digital ecology is formed. At the same time, it is important to recognize that a
technology that does not find favor with ecological systems produces
"waste". This may be readily realized as unused equipment, however, it
may also manifest itself in the form of capital waste, industrial pollution, and
even human alienation.

Here’s a real-world example

In one of Jiva’s ICT for development projects, we set out to create a
community learning and information center with a computer serving as an
information kiosk, and also to find ways of using video that connected villagers
and villages. Our early attempts to introduce technology were met with the same
type of resistance as most ICT projects generally face, admittedly owing to a
degree of insensitivity on our part to the existing village ecology. Villagers
were intrigued by the technology at first, but when the novelty wore off there
was little that could be done to maintain their interest–despite our best
intentions. In short, they went back to their lives.

In order to attain a better understanding of why certain things were working
and why others weren’t, we focused more on the basic village ecology–the
living systems and the environment that supported them, observing and dialoguing
more with the villagers. This step provided us with better insights as to how
technology could be successfully employed. At once it became clear that the
community software system we had been building could only be absorbed once the
human systems of the village supported it. The existing systems did not readily
lend themselves to a computerized community information system, and thus,
forcing it upon the village, despite any incentive you could offer, would not
result in a natural adoption and use. We realized that if a community software
system were to have any value, there would need to be certain activities in
place in the offline world that had a genuine need for such a system. We
therefore started working with the villagers to enhance the various systems. For
example, a village committee was established for creating a bazaar to cater to
the needs of villages in the area; an employment notice board was set up; a post
office is being set up; vocational courses are now being offered in the center;
information for government programs are made available, etc. It is our
expectation that as these systems strengthen, there will be a greater role for
technology–to support these human systems.

However, unlike the community software system, the technology activities we
carried out with respect to videography succeeded beyond our expectations. After
a short training program, a team of village boys was shooting local TV news and
short films, which found their way onto the village cable TV. The reason for
this was because the living systems of the village more readily supported these
video activities–video was a technology that villagers have a clear schema
about; 50% of the village households have television; there were quick results
after the video team created its video content and aired it on local cable TV.

Unfortunately, most attempts at ICT for development in India have been, and
frequently still tend to be quixotic at best, with very few achieving impact or
sustainability. Researchers, social leaders, corporations, and others have been
turning up empty handed, as they desperately attempt to "crack the genetic
code" for creating "the sustainable ICT program". But these
failures should come as no surprise when we look at, say, business in developed
countries. In business, there is generally no short cut to go from rags to
riches. For the vast majority of businesses, there is an economic ecology within
which people must operate if they want to be accepted by the community, to
sustain, and grow. The paradigm of digital ecologies offers those of us from the
ICT4D field a lesson from our own living world. By viewing a village as a living
system, we can understand that the introduction of technology may produce a
number of outcomes. In the same way that if we desired to improve the condition
or state of health of our bodies, we would not experiment by ingesting any
random substance; we should also be prudent in understanding the nature,
history, and ecology of a village, and determine appropriate measures to ensure
that technology best suits that community. This approach might not suit all
people’s interests. However, it would certainly create healthier digital rural
environments, and undoubtedly bring us a little closer to achieving the
expectations that the world has invested in ICTs for development.

Steven Rudolph

The author is co-founder of Jiva Institute, and serves as director of ‘Education
and Outreach’