ICT Roundtable Process, The

This booklet is part of a series of studies from the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD). It is an attempt to capture the effectiveness and lessons learned from the Roundtable process; an alternative approach adopted by IICD as part of its Country Programme strategy to empower people through information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled development.

The Roundtable process is a way of bringing local actors from a specific sector together to develop and implement their own ICT projects and policies as part of the Country Programme with support and guidance from IICD.

This booklet is the result of an evaluation of the Roundtable process between 1998 to 2003 based on quantitative and qualitative indicators. IICD believes that the findings are relevant for all those involved in facilitating ICT for development initiatives, particularly decision-makers in organisations for development cooperation, local policy-makers, practitioners in organisations working with ICTs for development, and the donor community.

Following an introduction to the concept of ICT-enabled development and an acknowledgement of the growing recognition in development circles of the important role that ICTs can play in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, the booklet goes on to describe how the Roundtable process works. The Roundtable process is then placed within the context of the seven guiding principles that guide IICD’s holistic approach to ICT-enabled development: Demand-responsiveness; multi-stakeholder involvement; local ownership; capacity development; partnerships; learning by doing; and embedding ICT projects at the sector level. Empirical examples from different countries are also provided throughout the booklet. The main findings of the evaluation of the Roundtable process are then presented, followed by lessons learned and recommendations.

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