IDIA2009 Conference
Bottom Up to Top Down to Bottom Up and Top Down A Practioner’s View
Paul Adams
Martin Wolske
Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
Abstract
The implementation and use of ICT as a community development tool can take many forms. Globally community goals are relatively similar: enhance education, provide job training, foster economic development, and enable richer communications, both within local networks and more broadly through global exposure. Success or failure in achieving these goals can be related to the community’s economic health, its social capital, and its political will. Prairienet, a digital community network at the University of Illinois Graduate school of Library and information Science has been engaged in digital inclusion and equity issues since 1993. This 15-year scholarship of engagement effort has brought together researchers, students, and community to support community-based efforts to use appropriate technologies to enhance development both in terms of individual opportunities and community needs. Through case examples from three distinct communities (two in the United States, one in Africa), this paper will describe how grassroots efforts, governmental initiatives, or a combination have set out to utilize ICT for development. The impact of a community’s economic health and social capital will also be considered. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of bottom up and top down implementations on development informatics themes will be discussed.
