TY - JOUR
T1 - Sociotechnical transformative effects of an ICT project in rural Bangladesh
AU - Stillman, Larry
AU - Sarrica, Mauro
AU - Anwar, Misita
AU - Sarker, Anindita
AU - Farinosi, Manuela
PY - 2020/11
Y1 - 2020/11
N2 - The purpose of this article is to provide lessons from the field about an Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) project (Participatory Research and Ownership With Technology, Information and Change [PROTIC]) concerned with the use of mobile phones by women in remote villages in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government considers that the role of ICT in social and economic transformation is significant for the country’s development. International nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also regard ICT as important but are challenged as how to use them effectively for their programs and how to deal with long-term sustainability, digital divides, gender, and cultural issues. This article considers the PROTIC project as a modeling force for innovation and pressure on established sociotechnical structures. In this analysis, we follow what Donner defines as the “interrelationship” perspective, as applied to ICT4D. In particular, the notions of niche, regime, and landscape will be used to frame the changes that a village-level project may activate or respond to at the micro, meso, and macro levels of sociotechnical interaction. A mixed methods approach has been implemented during the 4 years of the project to monitor its outcomes, including interviews with project participants, reports of monthly consultations and training with villagers, extensive surveys, analysis of the Facebook profile of the project, and field notes and interviews with local NGOs and international NGO staff. Results show that the women villagers have undergone a transformation in attitudes, skills, and practices associated with mobile phone use. Transformations at individual and community niche levels have in turn influenced the conceptual framework of local and international NGOs and have also contributed to the reorientation of other regime actors, such as universities, major NGOs, and the government. Methodological constraints as well as the complexity of conducting international fieldwork with multiple actors will also be discussed.
AB - The purpose of this article is to provide lessons from the field about an Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) project (Participatory Research and Ownership With Technology, Information and Change [PROTIC]) concerned with the use of mobile phones by women in remote villages in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government considers that the role of ICT in social and economic transformation is significant for the country’s development. International nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also regard ICT as important but are challenged as how to use them effectively for their programs and how to deal with long-term sustainability, digital divides, gender, and cultural issues. This article considers the PROTIC project as a modeling force for innovation and pressure on established sociotechnical structures. In this analysis, we follow what Donner defines as the “interrelationship” perspective, as applied to ICT4D. In particular, the notions of niche, regime, and landscape will be used to frame the changes that a village-level project may activate or respond to at the micro, meso, and macro levels of sociotechnical interaction. A mixed methods approach has been implemented during the 4 years of the project to monitor its outcomes, including interviews with project participants, reports of monthly consultations and training with villagers, extensive surveys, analysis of the Facebook profile of the project, and field notes and interviews with local NGOs and international NGO staff. Results show that the women villagers have undergone a transformation in attitudes, skills, and practices associated with mobile phone use. Transformations at individual and community niche levels have in turn influenced the conceptual framework of local and international NGOs and have also contributed to the reorientation of other regime actors, such as universities, major NGOs, and the government. Methodological constraints as well as the complexity of conducting international fieldwork with multiple actors will also be discussed.
KW - multilevel perspective
KW - sociotechnical regimes
KW - ICT4D
KW - transformative effects
KW - ICT and gender
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090168650&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0002764220952126
DO - 10.1177/0002764220952126
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85090168650
SN - 0002-7642
VL - 64
SP - 1871
EP - 1888
JO - American Behavioral Scientist
JF - American Behavioral Scientist
IS - 13
ER -