Enabling Environment

The enabling environment refers to the national policies, laws, physical infrastructure (roads, electricity, etc), and other infrastructure (access to education, access to banks, etc) that need to be in place for people to be able to use ICTs to their advantage.

Guiding questions

• What enabling environment is necessary and what is sufficient for pro-poor use of ICTs in rural areas, particularly with regard to affecting cost of and access to ICTs?
• What evidence is there and what recommendations can be drawn regarding the appropriate enabling environment for the implementation of ICT-related policies, especially with the aim of having a positive impact on rural livelihoods?

Current knowledgebase

What we believe, what we know – and what we don’t
On a national enabling environment:

• The most suitable setting for ICT policies and strategies is unclear. A number of countries now have national ICT strategies (Various 2007a). These have tended to focus on ICT adoption in education, health, government and business and do not always distinguish rural needs explicitly, though many do outline plans for Universal Access subsidies and funds. Some countries have included ICT strategy components in the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), in an attempt to mainstream and to focus the overall effort on poverty alleviation.
• Without advocacy, communication and localisation, national strategies remain ineffective. Some studies have shown that despite the presence of national ICT policies, ICT initiatives have gone ahead in relative isolation and without the benefit of central and local coordination (Etta & Elder 2005). This finding was supported by our country assessments in Argentina and Tanzania (see the Argentina Report and the Tanzania Report). This highlights the need for policymaking agencies to also be actively involved in networking and coordination. Such coordination would, in turn, help to avoid the overlap between projects coming from different sources but geared towards the same area or public.
• Universal Access Funds are at an early stage, face bureaucratic and political hurdles and require support in implementation. Spurred by WSIS discussions, several countries are introducing Universal Access Funds aimed at subsidising rural ICT infrastructure provision and sourced through public, private and donor contributions. These have not been implemented well in some cases, due to problems over urban price capping leading to an unwillingness of the private sector to contribute towards rural access (as in Argentina; see the Argentina Report) or due to the application arrangements not yet being clear (as in Tanzania; see the Tanzania Report).
• Good communication skills of actors at all levels can enable ICT to support rural livelihoods. Inculcating open communication and trust can be a factor in ICT effectiveness (Beardon 2004) and this may be culture-specific. The importance of advocacy at all levels to enable policy coherence is also recognised (Gerster & Zimmermann 2005). This is also related to the projects themselves, where there seems to be a separation between “rural experts” and “ICT experts”. Good examples of how to overcome these are In Co’s project in Uruguay and CDI in Argentina (these are briefly described in the section on examples/case studies below).
• Facilitating information exchange among stakeholders. The Bangladesh study highlighted the gap that exists between Quality Management Systems (QMS) service providers and demand side players, i.e., small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Dhaka. Interactions between suppliers and buyers rarely take place, and as a result there is a mismatch between buyers’ needs and the service providers’ offers. A relatively successful intervention, KATALYST, has helped to aid this. KATALYST is briefly described in the section below on examples / case studies.
• The legal framework: The legal framework determines the extent and viability of public-private coordination and deregulation. Licensing laws and tax regulation can either enable or disable ICT enterprises in rural areas. One example of a barrier to innovation can be business registration (see e.g. the World Bank site about costs and time of doing business: http://www.doingbusiness.org).

On preconditions and basic constraints:

• Basic needs: Before ICT can be positioned in the context of rural livelihoods, other basic needs need to be mentioned. These are usually literacy, infrastructure and cost related.
• Literacy: Levels of (both functional and IT) literacy remain low in many rural communities and this needs to be tackled before ICT can really make a difference. Literacy in Bangladesh remains at 62% – 52 million illiterate adults – with much of the illiteracy in rural areas. This means that people lack choices and independence when it comes to accessing information (see the Bangladesh Report). The choice of media and the way ICTs are presented to rural people needs to be tailored to known literacy levels. Understanding the literacy environment is seen as a necessary precondition for ICT-enabled programmes (see the Donor Review).
• Infrastructure environment: Lack of general infrastructure, notably water, electricity and housing remain the most pressing needs for many rural people. Technology appropriation can only follow when these needs are met. This point was highlighted in all the country studies (see especially the Argentina Report). Unreliable and underdeveloped power supplies hamper the spread of ICT (Garai & Shadrach 2006; Rave & Wetzer 2005). There are still many uncovered knowledge needs in relation to the infrastructure environment (see areas for further investigation, below). There are, however, some examples in which these difficulties have been addressed in a fairly successful manner (see the section on examples / case studies, below).
• Affordability issues: Even where available, telephones, internet access, television sets and so on are sometimes too expensive to be considered for household connectivity. This tends to restrict ICT use to middle or high income sections of society (see the Bangladesh Report). In Bangladesh, for example, the concentration of income and the distribution of ICT accessibility show that the latter is highly skewed towards the urban wealthy population. There is a growing concern that, due to the asymmetric processes of information sharing, marginalised people are falling further behind in the competition for jobs, market shares, and common resources. For more information, see the case study on Affordability in Bangladesh.
• Licensing: Especially with regards to radio frequency allocation, licensing regulations can sometimes be a real impediment, depending on the government or regulator’s requirements.
• Data availability and content: Most of the country studies and the literature highlight the need for high quality data that enables the identification of the beneficiaries’ priority needs. This is vital as a precondition for a favourable enabling environment, both for the donors and for the government and CSOs working in this area. Having said this, there might also be a trade-off between defining a set of high data standards across all contexts, and accounting for specific local content. This was highlighted, for example, in the Argentinean workshop (described in the Argentina Report, Appendix 3).

Comments

General comments

• Debate: Mainstreaming ICT policies. The conviction that ICTs should be tools towards achieving an end have led some countries to incorporate ICT development policies and strategies into poverty reduction strategies and other sector programs in order to “mainstream”. Pro mainstreaming: Focus on objectives of enhancing livelihoods rather than technocentric priorities; policy decentralised to allow sectoral agencies to concentrate on their specialisations; and appreciation that ICTs are part of a wider system. Con mainstreaming: Diffusion of responsibilities and lack of ownership; poor coordination of initiatives on the ground; and more difficult to evaluate. Compromise position?: Decentralisation and mainstreaming of strategies but with some centralised coordination and knowledge sharing
• Debate: Subsidy or self-financing? Differences of opinion remain over whether certain aspects of access to information should be funded by the state or external support in perpetuity, or whether more “sustainable” financing models will allow subsidy to be phased out in time. Pro subsidy: Access to information is a fundamental human right, and it is the duty of the state to provide this; and the poorest are the most likely to be excluded by market pricing of access. Con subsidy: Lack of ownership and lower perceived value of externally-funded information; access costs likely to fall with time; and sustainability more assured by financial independence (risk of state or donor funding withdrawal). Compromise position?: Fair pricing systems with accompanying long-term subsidy by state (e.g. similar to public library financing in many countries). A good discussion about this was raised in the Uruguay workshop, see conclusions of the Uruguay Report.
• Participation in formulating and implementing national ICT strategies: In order to scale up the role of ICT in poverty reduction, it is vital to develop national ICT strategies. This is of particular relevance in the Latin American region, characterised by a highly unstable political environment, with regular changes in governments. A long-term national ICT strategy can provide the necessary continuity in the overall strategic direction and implementation of programmes (van der Krogt 2005). A national ICT strategy needs to take the government’s poverty alleviation policy and strategy as the key reference point. This would allow it to address its contribution to poverty alleviation. However, in many cases, ICT strategies focus on ICT infrastructure instead, and are developed in isolation from overall national development plans. This limits the interest and support of key national policymakers and, often, the international donor community. The integration of the ICT strategy into national poverty reduction plans needs to take account of the needs and values of the different stakeholder groups that are participating in formulating the ICT strategy. The strategy should be clear about how it will address urban-rural differences in ICT access. It also needs to take account of links between the different sectors. In this way the strategy can provide both continuity and integration of existing and future ICT projects and programmes. A participatory approach to formulating and implementing ICT programmes and strategies is a basic pre-requisite for the effective application of ICT to poverty alleviation. Responsibility should be seen as shared between civil society, the private sector and government (van der Krogt 2005).

Examples / case studies

• Universal Access Funds. Chile is often cited as a successful example of the implementation of Universal Access Funds, which started back in 1995. It seems that some of the key aspects for its success have been clear parameters and detailed telecommunications acts in order to guide regulators when monitoring the Universal Access Funds’ system implementation (Regulatel 2006). Further vital elements seem to be a sufficient degree of flexibility that allows the adjustment of the programme according to the circumstances of the time and its administration by an independent agency. Chile has even started to subsidise broadband services as opposed to telephony.
• Legal framework. South Africa’s Value Added Network Services exemplify a way in which the interpretation of the same law can override previous elements found as obstacles. This allowed, for example, metropolitan councils to start providing telecoms services to residents or to extend internet access through optical fibre. See the case study on South Africa – Value Added Network Services for more details. Another example in this field is the change in regulation triggered by the mapuche community in Argentina, which allowed them to broadcast in their native language (which had not allowed in the past). See the Argentina Report for more details.
• Basic infrastructure. South Africa’s Government Access Initiatives constitute “second-best” initiatives towards solving basic infrastructure problems. Through the establishment of Public Information Terminals (PITs), E-School Cyberlabs, and Multi Purpose Community Centres, the South African government seems to have partially addressed some of these problems.
• Communication skills among actors at all levels. The Computing Institute (In Co) in Uruguay has started a project which tries to address the obstacle of the separation between rural versus ICT skills by forming a multidisciplinary group. This group consists not only of experts on community and local issues, but also experts who have the skills to set up and repair the technology being applied. This is a vital element, especially when applied to areas where access is restricted or subject to weather conditions (for more information see the Uruguay Report, section 3.7, and http://www.fing.edu.uy/inco/proyectos/wan/presentacion.html). Another example of this is Escuelas CDI project in Argentina, which includes a technician as part of their setting-up team (see the Argentina Report, section 4.3). Furthermore, Bolivia’s Ministry of Agriculture played a coordinating role in the sector with regard to information exchange for ICT policy and strategy in agriculture. This followed the recognition of the need for a concerted effort to link up ICT projects undertaken by the civil society and the private sector to government policies at sectoral level. See the brief example of ICT Policy in Bolivia's agriculture sector.
• Facilitating information exchange among QMS stakeholders. In Bangladesh, the Quality Management Systems (QMS) service market is in its infancy, and a strong disconnection exists between QMS service providers and demand side players, i.e., small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Dhaka. Given that information was not flowing freely and regularly between the buyers and suppliers of QMS services, KATALYST designed an intervention to facilitate interactions amongst QMS stakeholders, i.e., consulting houses including freelance consultants, certification bodies, and enterprises as clients of QMS services under an information exchange platform. See http://www.katalystbd.com/admin/downloads/20060507045112.pdf for more details.
• Literacy and social barriers: Social barriers also come in the way of implementing ICT projects. For example, in Bangladesh, infomediaries at the telecentres of Nilphamry and Sittakund said that many of the villagers are not yet convinced that the information available at the telecentres can improve their livelihoods. Social barriers can be overcome through increased literacy and ability to use the technology, awareness building programmes such as issue-based camps to link villagers with the service providers, training the information workers to become efficient infomediaries, and providing relevant information that demonstrably improves livelihoods and incomes (see case studies in Annex C in the Bangladesh Report). Also in Bangladesh, DNet (the Development Research Network) has developed a unique approach called Pallitathya Kendra (PK), a rural information centre created to improve access to relevant information for rural communities. The objective is to link the target beneficiaries with information providers through a combination of mobile phones and computing. DNet, in partnership with other organisations, the local government, universities, and experts, has generated user-friendly Bangla content. This content is divided into laws and legal issues, education, health, agriculture, awareness raising, sustainable technology, rural employment generation, disaster management, and other rural nonagricultural issues. For more information see the case study on Bangladesh – Telecentre Intermediaries.

Areas for further investigation and research

• Knowledge sharing on national-level initiatives is needed, perhaps in the form of a clearing house for ICT-related funding sources. Our country needs assessment in Argentina (see the Argentina Report) revealed confusion over in-country donor funding programmes and priorities, and a requirement by practitioners for a central, probably web-based, location for this type of information. Related to this there is a need for generating good quality data in order to help stakeholders in their determination of the priority areas and sectors to focus on.
• Are there any robust success stories on how government can create an enabling environment for private sector ICT / livelihood enterprises in rural areas? (A possible example is SONATEL in Senegal.)
• How can stronger integration between national policies and supra-national policies (e.g. of the African Union) be encouraged, and would this strengthen the national enabling environment?
• How can the cost of cross-border telecom exchanges be reduced, especially in Africa?
• If Universal Access Funds are “old-fashioned”, should national governments still be striving to implement them? (Possible success story: The Universal Access Fund in Chile). What further guidance can be given to national-level governments on the establishment and use of Universal Access Funds?
• Are there any available guidelines on how to use ICTs in projects operating in environments without (regular) electricity supply? Can kiosk-type initiatives (e.g. South Africa’s Government Access Initiatives) help alleviate basic infrastructure problems?
• What are the locally appropriate infrastructure requirements in different areas? (e.g. not all areas need broadband)
• Which local solutions for power production are most realistic (e.g. biogas, windmills, etc), and should these be advocated instead of a centralised power / electricity grid supply?
• As governments have lots of information, including national data which could be helpful to develop content but is not easily accessible, would it be relevant for donors to look at ways to encourage government to digitalise the information?

References

1. Etta, F. E. and Elder, L. (2005) 'At the crossroads: ICT policy making in East Africa', East African Educational Publishers /IDRC.
2. Gerster, R. and Zimmermann, S. (2005) 'Up-scaling pro-poor ICT-policies and practices: a review of experience with emphasis on low income countries in Asia and Africa', SDC. Available from: http://www.livelihoods.org/static/rgerster_NN343.html
3. IICD (2006) ‘ICTs for agricultural livelihoods Impact and lessons learned from IICD supported activities’. Available from: http://www.iicd.org/articles/booklet-impact-agric
4. KATALYST. 'Intervention Report ME-1: Supporting Radio Metrowave to Develop Business Programs', Bangladesh. Available from: http://www.katalystbd.com/admin/downloads/20060507032135.pdf
5. Rave, P. and Wetzer, A. (2005) 'ICTs – enabler for rural development?', GTZ. Available from: http://www.rural-development.de/fileadmin/rural-development/volltexte/2005/05/ELR_dt_18-19.pdf
6. Regulatel (2006) ‘New Models for Universal Access in Latin America’ Available from: http://regulatel.org/miembros/publicaciones/ESTU%20DIOS/SERV%20UNIV/PPIAF/informe%20final/draft%20vf/New%20Ch.V%20UA%20Prog%20.v.12.pdf
7. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP), Bangladesh. Available from: http://www.erd.gov.bd/iprsp/iprsp.jsp
8. van der Krogt, Stijn (2005) ‘ICT for development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Scaling up projects to national level’, Information and Communication Technologies and large-scale poverty reduction, Lessons from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, International Institute for Communication and Development. Available from: http://162.23.39.120/dezaweb/ressources/resource_en_25250.pdf
9. Various (2007a) National ICT policies. Available from: http://www.comminit.com/ict.html#ictpolicydocuments

Recommended resources

1. APC Women’s Networking Support Programme (2005) 'Gender Evaluation Methodology for Internet and ICTs: A learning tool for empowerment. Association for Progressive Communications'. Available from: http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/
2. Development Research Network (2003) 'Access to Information for Improvement of Rural Livelihood', in collaboration with Research Initiatives in Bangladesh. Dhaka, October 22. Available from: http://www.pallitathya.org/en/pallitathya_research/palli_research/information%20need%20identification%20research.pdf
3. Disaster Report – Storm in the Coastal-belt September 19, 2006: Crises in the Life and Livelihoods or Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh.” November 27, 2006. Available from: http://www.coast.net
4. Harris, R and Rajora R. (2006). Empowering the Poor. Information and Communications Technology for Governance and Poverty Reduction: A Study of Rural Development Projects in India. Available from: http://www.livelihoods.org/static/RHarris_NN370.htm
5. ITU (2006). 'Acceso Universal en Latinoamérica: Situación y desafíos'. Available from: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/material/Acceso_universal_2006.pdf
6. National Information and Communication Technology Policy (2002). Available from: http://www.bccbd.org/html/itpolicy.htm
7. Raihan, A & Hasan M (2005) 'Peoples’ Report on MDG: Bangladesh, Information and Communication Technology'. Available from: http://www.dnet-bangladesh.org/MDG_ICT_final.pdf Regulatel (2006). “New Models for Universal Access in Latin America”. Available from: http://www.regulatel.org/miembros/ppiaf2.htm
8. Raihan, A., Hasan, M. & Chowdhury, M. U Pallitathya (2005) 'Help Line, A Precursor to People’s Call Center', D.Net (Development Research Network). Available from: http://www.dnet-bangladesh.org/Pallitathya_pcc.pdf
9. Richardson D., R. Ramirez, and M. Haq (2000) 'Grameen Telecom’s Village Phone Programme in Rural Bangladesh: a multi-media case study' Telecomms Development Group for CIDA. March 17. Available from: http://www.telecommons.
10. Sultana, Nazneen (2005) 'ICTs for Poor Women – Grameen’s Experiences' Prepared for Gender Perspectives on the Information Society South Asia Pre-WSIS Seminar 2005. April 18–19. Bangalore. Available from: http://www.itforchange.net/WSIS/gis/papers/nazneen-sultana.do
11. Various. The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID). Available from: http://www.un-gaid.org/en/node/88
12. Various. United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. Available from: http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/showdoc.pl?area=enab
13. Various. Investment Support for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies to Reduce Rural Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. Available from: http://www.e-forall.org/projects.php
14. The World Bank (2003) 'Bangladesh: Review of Public Enterprise Performance and Strategy, Key Issues and Policy Implications', May.