Most non-profit organizations are hesitant to use technology and are ill-informed about the impact it could have on their work.

The existing technology assistance providers are ill-equipped to provide the kind of support necessary to transform the non-profit sector's use of technology.

These organizations are also faced with the lack of insights into project planning, selecting appropriate technologies, the importance of developing and maintaining productive community partnerships. and the challenge of securing long-term financial support for the technology projects,

Funders usually do not understand the implications of technology access for communities, and are reluctant to invest in efforts that seem unrelated to program delivery. This has created a situation of funding instability in this area of the digital divide.

Many under-served communities seem to be more focused on acquiring the technology and less on building social capital. However, building social capital seems to be the most important development factor in the long run.

Even for those who have access to the Internet, the challenge of fully benefiting from it remains. Obsolescence of technology and skills remains a continuous dilemma for community organizations.

Little has been done by policy-makers and community organizations to develop comprehensive theoretical frameworks and to research evaluation agendas aimed at understanding the nature of quality access, especially in the areas of learning and teaching with and/or about advanced technologies in informal settings for under-served communities. Identifying barriers to access for under-served communities is one thing, but designing digital divide programs responsive to community technology needs is totally different.

Enabling Mechanisms

Various mechanisms enabling the expansion of connectivity to under-served areas can be divided into four main categories, namely, Technological, Sociological, Governmental, and Business / Private Organizational. Each of these areas has been crucial in the growth of ICT service-providers around the globe.

Technological

The cost to provide connectivity in undeveloped nations is one of the biggest prohibitive factors. When an area has no underlying infrastructure, the deployment of ICT services can be extremely high, especially when considering the installation of many miles of copper, and the hardware to control it.

Next

Dr. Gursharan Singh Kainth specializes in Quantitative & Development Economics, and is currently Director of GAD Institute of Development Studies, Amritsar, a self-financed research institute. Has been honoured with various awards, including Guru Draunacharya Samman, Vijay Rattan Award, etc.
Ms. Kamalpreet Kaur is Research Scholar at GAD Institute of Development Studies.
Article posted on December 28, 2008.