Table Of ContentArul Chib
Julian May
Roxana Barrantes Editors
Impact of
Information Society
Research in the
Global South
Impact of Information Society Research
in the Global South
Arul Chib • Julian May (cid:129) Roxana Barrantes
Editors
Impact of Information
Society Research in the
Global South
Editors
ArulChib JulianMay
WeeKimWeeSchoolforCommunication InstituteforSocialDevelopment
andInformation UniversityoftheWesternCape
NanyangTechnologicalUniversity Bellville,WesternCape
Singapore SouthAfrica
RoxanaBarrantes
InstitutodeEstudiosPeruanos
Lima,Peru
This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development
ResearchCentre,Ottawa,Canada.Theviewsexpressedhereindonotnecessarilyrepresent
thoseofIDRCoritsBoardofGovernors.
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Foreword
The contributors to this volume make a crucial and forceful point. There are
numerous theories and methodologies that can be used to yield research findings
aboutthepotentialofinformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs)tomake
a positive difference in people’s lives. Whether the findings in any particular
researchprojectactuallycontributein this way dependson multiple factors,some
affectingresearchersthemselves,othersonwhetheractorsbeyonduniversity-based
research communitiesare interested and have the resourcesthat are necessary for
learning. It is not only researchers for whom capacity building is essential. It is
essentialthatalltheactorswhohaveaninterestinwhetherdigitalICTsareproduced
andusedinbeneficialwayshavethe capacityto learnabouthowtheycanmakea
differenceinpeople’slives.Theneedtobuildcapacityforlearningfromarangeof
typesofevidencedevelopedbybothresearchersandpractitionersappliesasmuch
togovernmentactorsasitdoestothoseintheprivatesectorandrepresentativesof
civilsociety.Thisvolumeillustratesthisextremelywell.
TheSIRCAII(StrengtheningInformationSocietiesResearchCapacityAlliance)
programme involved researchers in research capacity building focusing on ICTs
in contemporary information societies in the African, Asian and Latin American
regions. The first part of the volume is concerned with research on ‘impact’; the
secondsetsouthowresearchintheglobalSouthiscontributingtoourunderstanding
of the information societies in these regions. The results of this second SIRCA
programme offer varied reflections on how learning has accumulated within this
communityofresearchers.Intheopeningchapter,ArulChib(‘Researchonimpact
of the information society in the Global South: An introduction to SIRCA’) says
that ‘impact, even during the process of evaluation of the proposals [for SIRCA
II], was difficult to define, describe, or agree upon, leading to contested debate’.
There is a multiplicity of voices, methodologies and theoretical traditions in the
interdisciplinary fields of research that investigate the role of ICTs ‘in’, ‘for’,
andsometimes‘and’development.Thisvolumeincludesmanyillustrationsofthe
richness of approaches within the social sciences. In this case, there is also an
v
vi Foreword
emphasisoncriticallyevaluatingwhatdevelopmentmeansforthosewithaninterest
in the social, economic,politicalor culturaloutcomesthatmaybe expectedwhen
ICTsareinvolved.
The coherenceof this volume (and of the research programme)lies not in any
specific theory or method that is privileged but in the way research questions are
posed and the rationale for undertakingthe researchprogrammein the first place.
We find a strong commitment to several core principles. The first is that under-
standingtheimpactofICTswithininformationsocietiesrequiresacommitmentto
the analysis of developmentalchange in a way that extends beyondthe economic
dynamicsofthemarketplace.Thesecondisacommitment,regardlessoftheoretical
or methodologicalstance, to participatoryresearch and especially to participatory
actionresearchthatinsistsonlocalstakeholdersbeingabletoengagewithchoices
that are made in the process of implementing ICTs. Linked to this, is a third
principle.Thisisensuringthatresearchisasmuchaboutdiscovery(i.e.thecauses
ofthings)as itis aboutmakingchangeinthe worldin a waythatis inclusiveand
consistentwithvaluesofjusticeandequity.
Debates in universities about what should be understood as the ‘impact of
research’areunlikelytoabate.Asiswellemphasizedinthisvolume,when‘impact’
is set as a criterion for judging the excellence of research, it inevitably creates
incentives that shape both the topics that are researched and the way researchers
undertaketheirwork.Becausethereissomuchcontroversyabouthowtomeasure
the impact of academic research, measures of impact are in constant flux. This
suggeststhatthehighestpriorityforresearchersthemselvesistoworkouthowtheir
owncommitmentstoenablingpositivechangethroughresearchcanbeenhancedby
exploitingopportunitieswithinthe‘impact’agendasofothers.Whentheylearnhow
toproceedinthisway,theyhavethepotentialtomakeanevenbiggerdifferencethan
they might otherwise have made. Building capacity within research communities
forthestrategicexploitationofanalwaysshiftingimpactagendaiscrucial.Thisis
especiallysoinregionsoftheworldwithrelativelyfewerresourcesfortheconduct
ofresearchthanisthecaseintheUnitedKingdom,forexample.
The second part of this volume displays a rich research evidence base. The
SIRCAscholarsaddresstheimplicationsofthedevelopmentandimplementationof
ICTs for povertyreduction,mobile financial and education services development,
thereductionofcybercrime,strengtheningwomen’sentrepreneurship,andcreating
new online spaces for public consultation and the expression of public opinion.
The results illustrate the value of a collaborative effort that provides mentoring
for researchers and supports their initiatives through dialogue with each other
and,crucially,with interestedothers. Each of the chaptersin this partsucceedsin
advancingbothconceptualandappliedknowledge.
The question remains nevertheless:Does this work demonstrate ‘impact’? It is
worthpausingtoreflectonwhatresearchersandvariousstakeholdercommunities
meanbythisterm.Forsome,itmaymeanthatthereisademonstrablestrongeffect
of the research on someone or something. For others, it may mean that it can be
claimedthattheresearchhashadaninfluence,onethatmaybeperceivedasbeing
positiveornegativedependingonwheretheassessorwhomakesthisjudgementis
Foreword vii
situated.Differentactorswillhavecontradictoryviewsaboutwhatcanbeclaimed
as‘impact’evenincaseswhenthereisagreementaboutthevalueofparticipatory
research.Thisisunavoidablebecausethereisoftenprofounddisagreementamong
different communities of actors about what development means and, therefore,
aboutwhatkindof changeresearchersinvestigatingthe impactof ICTsshouldbe
encouraging.
Even if impact assessment tools detect that change has happened and that
ICTs are implicated in that change, it matters whether that change is consensual
or achieved through external enforcement. We might imagine a world in which
dialogue among all the stakeholders leads to a consensus about what would
constitute positive change in information societies in the global South or, indeed,
in all parts of the world. However, in reality, the process of achieving a dialogue
abouthow ICTs can be introducedin a way thatis inclusive,just and equitableis
a struggle becauseit involvescompetingnormativeframeworks.The resultis that
‘impact’–howeveritismeasured–willberegardedaspositive,negativeormixed
bythosewithdifferentinterestsinthedevelopmentalprocessanditsoutcomes.
Thecontributorstothisvolumeavoidthecommonpitfallofopposingcuriosity-
drivenacademicresearchtosocialproblem-drivenresearch.Instead,theyacknowl-
edge that learning thrives on both. When considering the ‘impact’ of research, it
is helpfulto recall Latour’s (2013) point that inquiry and change require an open
and negotiated sharing of new knowledge, however it is produced. Albagli and
Maciel (2010) argue, similarly, that in considering how information societies are
developingintheglobalSouth,itisimportanttounderstandthatthereisnosingle
modelofchangethatappliesuniversally.DiverseICTapplicationsarelikelytobe
welcomedwhenlocalactorsseetheirnormativecommitmentsbeingtranslatedinto
arrangements for the design and implementation of these technologies in a way
thattheyregardasjustandequitable.Aimingtoachieveparticipatoryinvolvement
in ICTs ‘for’ development is as good a guide as any for fostering research that
demonstrateshowICTsbecomeembeddedinsocietiesinwaysthatareempowering
notforthefewbutforthemany.Thisvolumeisexemplaryinmakingexplicitthe
needforresearchthatcanempowerthewidestpossiblenumberofstakeholders.The
SIRCA IIprogrammehasbeena vitalstep alonga pathwaytowardsensuringthat
thereisaproductivedialogueabouttheassumptionsthatunderpinresearchonthe
roleofICTsintheprocessofbuildinginformationsocieties.
TheLondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScience RobinMansell
London,UK
References
Albagli,S.,&Maciel,M.L.(Eds.).(2010).Information,powerandpolitics:Technologicaland
institutionalmediations.LexingtonBooks.
Latour,B.(2013).Aninquiryintomodesofexistence.Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress.
Contents
Researchonthe Impact ofthe InformationSocietyinthe
GlobalSouth:AnIntroductiontoSIRCA..................................... 1
ArulChib
PartI ImpactofResearch
TheImpactofResearchonDevelopmentPolicyandPractice:
ThisMuchWeKnow ............................................................ 21
RogerHarris
ConstructingTheoriesofChangeforInformationSociety
ImpactResearch ................................................................. 45
AlexanderFlor
ANewSetofQuestions:ICT4DResearchandPolicy ....................... 63
AndreaOrdóñez
ProgressTowardsResolvingtheMeasurementLinkBetween
ICTandPovertyReduction..................................................... 83
JulianMayandKathleenDiga
The Impact of mFinance Initiativesin the GlobalSouth:
AReviewoftheLiterature...................................................... 105
ArulChib,LauraLeón,andFouziahRahim
An Analytical Framework to Incorporate ICT as
anIndependentVariable ........................................................ 125
MatíasDodel
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