Table Of Contente-Governance for Development
TECHNOLOGY, WORK AND GLOBALIZATION
The Technology, Work and Globalization series was developed to provide policy
makers, workers, managers, academics and students with a deeper understanding of
the complex interlinks and influences between technological developments, including
information and communication technologies, work organizations and patterns of glo-
balization. The mission of the series is to disseminate rich knowledge based on deep
research about relevant issues surrounding the globalization of work that is spawned by
technology.
Also in the series:
GLOBAL SOURCING OF BUSINESS AND IT SERVICES
Leslie P. Willcocks and Mary C. Lacity
ICT AND INNOVATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Francesco Contini and Giovan Francesco Lanzara
EXPLORING VIRTUALITY WITHIN AND BEYOND ORGANIZATIONS
Niki Panteli and Mike Chaisson
KNOWLEDGE PROCESSES IN GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED CONTEXTS
Julia Kotlarsky, Ilan Oshri and Paul C. van Fenema
GLOBAL CHALLENGES FOR IDENTITY POLICIES
Edgar Whitley and Ian Hosein
OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING OF IT WORK
Mary C. Lacity and Joseph W. Rottman
OUTSOURCING GLOBAL SERVICES
Ilan Oshri, Julia Kotlarsy and Leslie P. Willcocks
BRICOLAGE, CARE AND INFORMATION
Chrisanthi Avgerou, Giovan Francesco Lanzara and Leslie P. Willcocks
e-GOVERNANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT: A Focus on Rural India
Shirin Madon
e-Governance for
Development
A Focus on Rural India
Shirin Madon
Senior Lecturer in Information Systems,
London School of Economics and Political Science
© Shirin Madon 2009
Foreword © Geoff Walsham 2009
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Contents
List of Illustrations vi
Preface vii
Foreword ix
1 Introduction 1
Part I Conceptualising e-Governance
for Development
2 What Do We Mean by Development? 9
3 Linking Governance and Development 33
4 e-Governance for Development 53
Part II Case Studies
5 Researching e-Governance for Development 73
6 India: Development, Governance and e-Governance 81
7 MIS for Rural Self-Employment Programmes in Gujarat 104
8 Telecentres for Rural Outreach in Kerala 121
9 Health Information Systems in Rural Karnataka 136
Part III Reflections and Implications
10 Conclusion 159
Notes 168
Index 173
v
Illustrations
Tables
7.1 SGSY reporting formats 108
7.2 Total number of SHGs over past 6 years in 3 talukas of Surat 110
7.3 Number of SHGs at various stages of the Sakhi Mandal
programme, March 2008 111
7.4 New SHGs formed under Sakhi Mandals by government
staff versus NGOs since the scheme started in 2007 113
9.1 PHC reporting formats 144
9.2 Results of household survey on health-seeking behaviour 147
Figures
4.1 e-Government project success appraisal model 58
4.2 Conceptualising e-governance for development 63
7.1 Gujarat’s rural self-employment programmes 114
8.1 Kerala’s Akshaya telecentre project 129
9.1 Karnataka’s health structure 148
vi
Preface
The idea for this book developed long before the coining of the term
‘e- governance for development’. Indeed, it all started about twenty years ago
when I first started my research on the role of ICT for development planning
and administration in India. At that time, I was confronted by many import-
ant issues regarding the process of managing development programmes and
providing welfare. In particular, I noted at that time how the management of
development programmes involved a complex process of interaction between
the implementing agency and the community involving numerous adminis-
trative, social, legal (regulatory) and political issues. These issues are as relevant
now as they were then. However, many of the issues have been consistently
sidelined over the years while a growing policy focus among the international
development community and country governments towards new techno-
logical and managerial solutions to problems of development dominated dis-
cussion and policy formulation. My more recent field visits to India made
me decide that the time was right for a book which unpacked the notion of
e-governance from a developmental perspective given the lack of scholarly
material in this area.
As I started planning my approach for the book, I was increasingly drawn
to literature from development studies. In particular, I gained inspiration for
this book through the work of those scholars who have taken a sociological
approach to development and governance as this provides me with a ‘lens’
through which to discuss many of the issues I continue to confront during my
ongoing empirical work in rural India. This theoretical lens also provides an
antidote to the vast amount of literature that has appeared over the past few
years regarding India’s emergence as a major player in the global marketplace.
No doubt, the country has progressed in terms of achieving high rates of eco-
nomic growth and is often discussed as a future ‘superpower’ in this regard.
Most of this growth is propelled by global software outsourcing activity in
major Indian cities while at least one quarter of the Indian population – the
rural poor – remains untouched by this progress. This poses a challenge for
overall development in the country – a challenge that has been acknowledged
as a priority in the July 2009 Indian budget announcement according to which
rural India will be the focus of the current government’s five-year term in
office.
This book addresses critical issues related to development and governance
which are fundamental when implementing e-governance projects in rural
India. While a lot of scholarly effort has accumulated regarding how to study
vii
viii Preface
the cost and service improvement impact of e-governance projects on citizens
and implementing agencies, my approach has been different. I have purpose-
fully decided to adopt an approach that is more grounded in the conditions
faced by different rural poor groups. In this way, my study approach emulates
the way in which both early and more contemporary sociology of development
scholars favour ‘depth’ of analysis over time. Indeed, there are times when col-
leagues ask me whether I am ‘still’ carrying out research in rural India. To that,
my reply has been that even a lifetime of research may not be enough to under-
stand how societies develop and the role played by ICT in that process.
There are many people who have helped me to complete this book. First
and foremost, I am deeply grateful to Frank Land for reading several draft
versions of the book and for providing me with valuable comments and sup-
port over the past few months. Over the years, I have appreciated the many
useful exchanges I have had with colleagues from the Information Systems &
Innovation Group regarding my research, particularly Chrisanthi Avgerou,
Susan Scott, Kiran Gopakumar and Matthew Smith. The continued assistance
and cooperation of government officials in India are gratefully acknowledged.
In particular, officials from the Surat District administration, the Kerala IT
Mission and Malappuram District Akshaya Office, and Gumballi PHC and
the Karuna Trust. I must also thank the Nuffield Foundation and the British
Council who have provided me with funds to travel to India over the past few
years.
Finally, I owe thanks to my dear family for always supporting and encour-
aging me in my research, particularly to Edwin and my daughter Priya who
regularly accompanied me on field trips during their summer vacation.
Foreword
I first met Shirin Madon about twenty years ago when she was working on her
PhD on the role of computer-based information systems (IS) in rural devel-
opment administration in India. I was impressed with the thoroughness and
dedication of her work, at a time when in-depth field studies of this sort were
not common, and certainly not in contexts such as rural India. She has contin-
ued this dedicated focus on the role of information and communication tech-
nologies in the development of India ever since that time and has produced a
series of thoughtful and interesting publications based on careful and detailed
field studies. Three of them are reported on in this book, under the label of
e-governance projects: MIS for rural self-employment programmes in the state
of Gujarat, telecentres for rural outreach in Kerala and health information sys-
tems in rural Karnataka.
However, this book is not just about in-depth case studies, but reflects a more
ambitious project to link the study of e-governance to broader literatures on
governance and, crucially, development. A key argument of the book is that
technology-based projects aimed at development goals in specific contexts
should not be studied in isolation but in conjunction with a deep investigation
of the historical processes of development and governance that have evolved
over time in that context. There is an increasing recognition among those who
study information and communication technology for development (ICT4D)
that the development part has been underemphasised and under-theorised in
much of the work to date. Madon’s book is a timely and significant contribu-
tion to correcting that imbalance.
In order to write this Foreword, I read the whole text, and I found many
learning points. Every reader will have their own take on this, but here are just
a few of the ideas and messages which I found valuable. At a time when much is
made of public-private partnerships and the role of non-governmental organi-
sations (NGOs) in the development arena, the book reminded me of the crucial
importance of the role of the state in order to ensure that broader social objec-
tives are foregrounded, not just economic goals. A related point that comes out
strongly from the book is the vital role of the frontline fieldworker, such as
the local health worker, in ensuring that broad programmes are implemented
in locally relevant ways on the ground. From a research perspective, Madon’s
work makes it clear that there are no short-cuts to understanding what is hap-
pening in rural India, but rather that we need the kind of painstaking studies
which she has carried out over such an extended period. Finally, on the role
of computers, they should not be seen as primarily useful for monitoring and
ix
