Telecentres, Access and Development: Experience and Lessons from Uganda and South Africa

✍ Scribed by Sarah Parkinson

• Publisher: Practical Action
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 173
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book is an analysis of the rich experience of South Africa and Uganda in their quest for universal access, with particular emphasis on the role of shared access centers (public telephones, cybercafes, telecenters, business centers, etc.) and the factors that affect their performance.It is based on a review of national policy and implementation strategies, case studies of community ICT-access centers, and an analysis of the links between national strategies and on-the-ground experiences from 1996 to 2003. Over fifty ICT-access centers, from both rural and urban settings, were reviewed. The executive summary presents a series of lessons and practical recommendations for policymakers.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 6
Foreword......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 10
List of tables......Page 11
List of figures......Page 12
List of photos and boxes......Page 13
Acronyms and other abbreviations......Page 14
Introduction......Page 17
Key findings and recommendations......Page 18
1 Introduction......Page 26
Key definitions......Page 27
Context and rationale......Page 29
Methodology......Page 31
Conceptual framework......Page 34
2 Access centres and South Africa’s universal access policy......Page 40
National optimism and the emergence of universal access policy......Page 41
Implementing universal access......Page 44
Access achieved? Review of the case in two communities......Page 48
Learning from South Africa’s experience......Page 54
Overview: Universal access policy and implementation......Page 57
Universal access and policy intent in Uganda......Page 58
Implementing universal access......Page 62
Review of the three community case studies......Page 67
Learning from Uganda’s experience......Page 76
4 Start-up and scalability of access centres......Page 80
For-profit sector......Page 81
Not-for-profit sector......Page 90
Analysis and key lessons......Page 104
Livelihoods and priorities in the community cases......Page 111
ICT access and use in the case communities......Page 116
Analysis by livelihood......Page 133
Impact and strategies for maximizing benefits......Page 138
South Africa and Uganda in the broader context......Page 143
Lessons for policy makers......Page 146
Lessons for those implementing access centres......Page 149
Lessons for those supporting access centres......Page 151
Research directions......Page 154
Last words......Page 156
Notes......Page 158
Appendix......Page 160
Bibliography......Page 166
E......Page 170
M......Page 171
S......Page 172
W......Page 173