Dear Davis, I can't offer an existing program, but can suggest some elements of a holistic approach to your problem.
I'm assuming that you have little influence over the roads and power supply. I wonder where you currently email from, and what the local situation is regarding distance from cyber cafes and phone networks - perhaps you will have to arrange your own VSAT. You also mention the President, so I wonder if what you are doing might be some kind of pilot project. If so, that could influence some of the decisions you might take regarding building your local ICT4D initiatives. If in the long run you would be serving a wider area than just your local district then you could have more ambitious ideas for developing local skills and your general approach to technology transfer and your ICT4D programme - too big an issue for this mail but important to consider. I'm assuming you want: * Effective use of ICTs/digital technologies at the district headquarters, so that the administration is efficient, appropriate and transparent. * Improved communication "upwards and across" with central government and other district offices * Improved communication and administration of local services such as health and education. * Improved communication and administration regarding individuals in the districts you serve. * Maximum local economic benefit i.e. investments in ICTs should as far as possible impact positively on the local economy rather than draining resources to outside suppliers of goods and services. This means that you should be looking carefully at developing such local provision. These are suggestions: Before you place any orders for equipment you should set up a mechanism for informed debate amongst key stakeholders about the adoption of ICTs/digital technology in the district. (From now on I'll just call it ICTs for short - but I mean it in its wider digital sense - i.e not only computers). Start with some awareness training for local government officials and other key players, such as representatives from education, health, and local community groups. The training should: * "Break the ice" regarding operating a computer (give participants enough hands on experience to feel that "If I need to use a computer and I am given more training then I am confident about doing so".) * Demonstrate key applications and their relevance (so people can see how these relate to the kind of information processing and communication issues relevant to their personal responsibilities and tasks and to those of their staff and others involved.) * Introduce other issues relating to Total Costs of Ownership (such as staff training, software, maintenance and replacement of equipment, electrical power and generators, costs of going online ) * Start the informed debate and lay plans for continuing it. * Use the need for continuing the debate as a focus for a short needs analysis and planning project, to help participants to analyse what tasks go with what applications. You will have done your homework before hand and will have a "stock cupboard full of information for reference". (We are preparing an online one for an LGov course in Nigeria, so you are welcome to dip into that as well as your own). Don't just replicate the solutions that people have adopted elsewhere. Find out what they choose *and why*. You may want to achieve the same ends but in a different way. People often buy what they are used to, or what their technical team prefer to work on, or what is compatible with existing equipment. You aren't used to anything yet and you haven't got a technical team so your starting point is rather different. You are not tied into the past like other people are, so explore all the options. You have already heard the Simputer discussed. Find out all you can about unconventional solutions. I don't know about the Simputer, but I have been with the Solo during field tests. It was with the second generation prototype, which, along with its little solar panels was carried in a small suitcase - not much bigger than a modern generously sized briefcase/pilot's bag. We never needed to think about electricity supplies and we were able to send and receive emails wherever we went - way out in rural areas with no telephones or cyber cafes. Do look at all the new ideas that are becoming available. I haven't seen the latest version of the Solo, but I have seen a photo of it being put through its paces by Fantsuam Foundation in Kafanchan. You could learn a lot by visiting there, as they are rural , with problems similar to your own. I don't know if you will need to arrange your own communications - but if so you would also find it useful to see what they are doing in Kafanchan with their VSAT and discover their plans for rolling that service out into the wider community. There is far too much to discuss here in any detail, but i am happy to be contacted off list. I hope this has been some help. Pam Pamela McLean CawdNet Convenor (for a flavour of CawdNet go to www.cawd.net and click on CawdNet) On Friday, May 27, 2005, Davis Weddi wrote: > After consuming all the enormous amount of information on this List, I > am now convinced that given the live examples I have discovered, ICTs > for LGs could bail out the rural area I come from. > > I hail from a remote County that is currently seeking to be elevated to > district status in Eastern Uganda. The problem in this place is that > there are very few, if any, facilities save for buildings to house > district headquarters. The roads are really very bad, and health > facilities are very basic, though there is one big hospital and a few > dilapidated health centers, clean drinking water is rare. The population > is growing very fast and yet more than 90% of it is grouped among the > poorest in the country. > > There are great chances that the area will be given district status, at > least from the gestures and words of President Museveni. > > The place that is being fronted as a district headquarters has an > erratic connection to the national electricity grid (Hydro-powered). > Though it is in the center of the proposed district, it is believed that > if good hands are not deployed to manage the offices, it will be run > down. > > Given the information I have read here, can anyone volunteer information > on how one can help a start-up district and township to develop fast > using ICTs. If possible, an entire program. In general, the new > district, if granted, will have an urban center that will need an ICT4D > program. > > I can see a few examples on this List, but if there is anyone out there > with a detailed project that has seen a new district start from scratch, > using ICT4D, possibly this new district's LG could emulate such > examples. ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For past messages, see: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
