“What do others think?” An emic approach to participatory action research in Bangladesh

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The purpose of this article is to provide lessons from the field about an Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) project (Participatory Research and Ownership With Technology, Information and Change [PROTIC]) concerned with the use of mobile phones by women in remote villages in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government considers that the role of ICT in social and economic transformation is significant for the country’s development. International nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also regard ICT as important but are challenged as how to use them effectively for their programs and how to deal with long-term sustainability, digital divides, gender, and cultural issues. This article considers the PROTIC project as a modeling force for innovation and pressure on established sociotechnical structures. In this analysis, we follow what Donner defines as the “interrelationship” perspective, as applied to ICT4D. In particular, the notions of niche, regime, and landscape will be used to frame the changes that a village-level project may activate or respond to at the micro, meso, and macro levels of sociotechnical interaction. A mixed methods approach has been implemented during the 4 years of the project to monitor its outcomes, including interviews with project participants, reports of monthly consultations and training with villagers, extensive surveys, analysis of the Facebook profile of the project, and field notes and interviews with local NGOs and international NGO staff. Results show that the women villagers have undergone a transformation in attitudes, skills, and practices associated with mobile phone use. Transformations at individual and community niche levels have in turn influenced the conceptual framework of local and international NGOs and have also contributed to the reorientation of other regime actors, such as universities, major NGOs, and the government. Methodological constraints as well as the complexity of conducting international fieldwork with multiple actors will also be discussed.

Section: Mixed Methods Approach and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociotechnical Transformative Effects of an ICT Project in Rural Bangladesh

Stillman

Sarrica

Anwar

et al. 2020

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“…Looking at Figure 2, this means advocating for blurring the ICT versus Development axis. There is a dearth of middle-range theorization capable of providing broader interpretative frameworks (Sarrica et al, 2017). Indeed, cross-fertilization is needed between CI, ICT4D and broader theories on ICTs to generate stronger interpretative frameworks.…”

Section: The Nonexistence Of Users the Link Between Theory And Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ICTs for Community Development: Bridging Conceptual, Theoretical, and Methodological Boundaries

Comunello

Mulargia

Sarrica

2020

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The aim of this special issue is to collect and put into dialogue theoretical, methodological, critical, and applied contributions dealing with the variety of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) uses in community development. In this introduction to the special issue, we first provide the readers with a quick overview of the field, conducted by analyzing the lexicon of titles and abstracts published in the past few years in information and communication technology for development journals. We will then briefly elaborate on the concept of “users” as a pivotal dimension that can shed light on the complex interlinkages between technological artifacts and sociocultural factors involved in ICT usage. The focus on user, in fact, highlights some relevant issues concerning the relation between ICT, people and communities. Drawing on these premises, the papers collected in the special issue will then be briefly described. These contributions come from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, include the uptake of innovative technologies as well as top-down interventions, and focus on different regions of the world. The cross-fertilization and the range of disciplines included in this special issue result in a kaleidoscope in which different facets can be mixed, showing the individual, community, and societal aspects of community use of ICT for development.

“…Not stripping the concept of agency down to rational choice and optimal use of (ICT), is pertinent for efforts that seek to infuse research and development praxis with a focus on gender equality and women empowerment. Discussing the importance of emic and self-reflective approaches next to community engagement and technical results, Sarrica et al (2017) also emphasize how essential it is to be sensitive to research life as experienced by partners, which are culturally situated differently (Sarrica et al, 2017).…”

Section: Women Empowerment and Community Informaticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Informatics and Women Empowerment: Opening the Black Box of the Female Self-in-Transformation

Büskens¹

2020

This article explains a conceptual tool that was used in the Gender Research in Africa and the Middle East into ICT for Empowerment (GRACE) Network, to map journeys of personal and social change toward a self-determined purpose of transformation. Named the Personal Trajectory Map, it was initially intended as a self-management tool for the GRACE members to help clarify thinking, manage emotions and stay focused on project purposes, but its use got extended over time. This article is a moment in the ongoing theorization of this conceptual tool and the approach it was an intricate part of. Its usefulness can be theoretically explained through the interlinkages between the concepts of agency, intent, conation, and the capacity to aspire. Illustrating how it was used in some of the participatory action research processes, this article argues that it is worthwhile to open the black box of the female-self-in-transformation since it will clarify for female participants as well as for their researchers, what they are up against when they want to empower themselves in a male dominated world. Furthermore, offering women a deeper understanding and more guidance in their processes of personal and social change, will not only support female participants, it will enhance research quality and the chances for project success.