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’