Assessment of the Effectiveness of ICTs for Development in Ethiopia (A case of the SchoolNet Project)

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been expected as a powerful tool for development. However, there is a high rate of project failures of ICTs for Development (ICT4D) projects. This research attempts to discover the reason of ICT4D project failures and solutions to avoid and overcome the failures through analysing a distance education project called ‘SchoolNet’ in Ethiopia. The analysis of the SchoolNet project with the ‘design-reality gap’ (Heeks 1999a; 2002a) shows the techno-centric and the top-down approach without considering the local reality is the cause of several challenges that the project faced. As a gateway to a solution to lessen the design-reality gaps, teachers’ participation is chosen since the participative approach is supported by both scholars in Information Systems (IS) and development studies. After discussing serious constraints to realise user participation, two suggestions, which are to have a long term strategy with flexibility and to upgrade teachers from consumer to producer of their educational contexts, are proposed as solutions. As a conclusion, three suggestions are insisted as solutions to lead future ICT4D projects to success. (1) The socio-technical approach is essential to avoid misleading ICT4D projects as the technology-centred projects. (2) User participation is crucial to minimise the design-reality gaps. (3) Longer term strategy with flexibility and the shift of users’ status from consumer to producer of information are important to encourage real user participation as well as to motivate users to participate in ICT4D projects more willingly and actively.