Book 09 2008

Abstract

This Infokit deals with a research approach known as Rural ICT Participatory Appraisal (RIPA), which aims to support the assessment of sustainability aspects of information and communication technology (ICT) projects in rural communities. It has been designed and implemented by ICS UNIDO to verify the feasibility of ICT projects in rural communities within the framework of the ICT for Sustainable Rural Development (ISRD) initiative. RIPA aims to identify the priorities in rural communities that could be resolved with ICTs. RIPA was first used by ICS in a project for the Government of Malawi involving three rural communities settled in three 5km radius catchment areas with a total estimated population of 22,000, to perform an appraisal of the economic, social and environmental aspects such as service demand, revenue, gender and age preferences, savings, needs, key problems and management model. RIPA is based on community participation in identifying projects, and in formulating and monitoring them, thus changing the control from top-down to bottom-up, which should increase sustainability and expectations. Because it is mainly based on graphics, the participatory research approach facilitates contributions from illiterate people, and tends to be less expensive, take less time and be more suited to understanding complex community related dynamics than questionnaire surveys alone. Moreover, the participatory approach enables the checking of findings directly with beneficiaries, and in real-time, i.e. as they are collected. Combination and triangulation with quantitative methods is possible and is often recommended. The ICS RIPA capitalises on other combined participatory appraisal experiences and introduces: (1) a demand analysis by stakeholders rather than households, which, together with information on age and gender, can increase the knowledge profiles of beneficiaries; and (2) an analysis of cost and time savings for the community based on ICT use. Such an approach supports ICT facilities’ managers in business planning and evaluating support. However, there is room for improvement in the areas of awareness building and the definition of sample representativeness.