How do you define the success of the telecenters?

[gener]

hi everyone, there is something in my mind lately that i feel it is very much for everyone to determine how do we gauge the success of the telecenters?

1. is it in terms of the number of people who has undergone training and using the telecenters?
2. is it in terms of continued sustainability through its ability to generate income on its own?
3. is in in terms of the ability of the center to attract donors for its continued sustainability?
4. is in terms of the ability of the telecenter managers to expand the facilities and services offered by the telecenter?
5. or the impact of the telecenter to increase the web presence of a particular community that will bring about changes in the social and economic conditions through ICT?

we will need a parameter to work with in determining a standard to determine the success of a particular telecenter no matter what part of the world to which it belongs.

[Sandra Nassali]

Hello Gener, i would personally define the success of a telecentre by 2 parameters;

Financial Sustainability; Telecentres are seen as a tool to bring the benefits and potential of ICTs to locations that have so far been suffering from their remoteness and lacking connectivity to the world's information society. A common problem that has been experienced in the course of many telecentres projects is a lack of financial sustainability that prevents telecentres from successfully staying operational in the long run and becoming independent from external support and subsidies. This is mainly because a portfolio of issues that makes it difficult for the centre to operate profitably, such as the developmental mission of community telecentres and a weak spending power of the target customers.

Financial sustainability is a key factor for telecentre sustainability, as it is a condition for achieving sustainability of other project components and the survival of the telecentre. However, it is an output of all other sustainability dimensions at the same time, which are thus turned into the most important long term driving factors for financial sustainability. Moreover, financial sustainability is based on a given minimum purchasing power and sufficient density of potential telecentres customers. In addition to budgeting, bookkeeping, and strict financial discipline, telecentres should establish financial controlling mechanisms keeping them informed of the status of planned vs. actual expenditures, earnings, and cash flows. Wherever possible, telecentres should also invest time and effort in actively trying to attract financial support with clever marketing, relationship building, and lobbying activities.


Telecentre ability to bring about social change and economic empowerment; Beyond the issue of connectivity, telecentres provide an opportunity for accessing and using appropriate digital technologies to solve problems and to promote human development. For instance by supporting the community's economic, educational, and social development so as to bridge the digital divide, promote health issues and create economic opportunities.

Their main focus is not installing equipment and connections, but rather organising a community so that it can resolve its specific problems, which may vary from one setting to the next.

Other profit motivated ICT access points like internet cafes frequently offer basic training on how to use e-mail, how to surf the web or how to chat so that their customers keep coming back. In community telecentres however, training goes much further and involves helping users to understand how digital technologies can contribute to problem solving and to human development.

With those 2 in place, i believe any telecentre would be considered a success.

Sandra

[gener]

financial sustainability so that the telecentre could expand its resources to ensure that more people would be accommodated so that social changes would take place through ICT thank you

[Niranjan Meegammana]

In an evolving Telecenter Networs, The Terms Success and Sustainability have different meanings. In this context we base Telecenter evolution on the "Telecentre ability to bring about social change and economic empowerment" as sandra writes. In our research experience, we found "financial sustainability follows Social sustainability" and belive it as a hyphothesis.

We have developped a methodology to assess success of Telecenters and presented this as a paper in National IT Conference organized by CSSL. This evaluation model starts from individual telecenters and designed to build to local, regional and National, World networks. We researched it at local and regional level and found that it really helpful in developing sustainability.

[Niranjan Meegammana]

http://telecentrecommunity.ning.com/profiles/blogs/applied-methodol...

[Benjamin Kwasi Addom]

But also who defines the success of the telecenter - the user, the donor, or the operator?

Ben

[gener]

i guess its the donor and the operator that should provide strategic direction that will determine what for them is successful or not

[Martin Kinyua]

In my view, the centre is only successful if it meets the needs of the user. Therefore, success should be determined by the user and to some extent the Government especially for Government led initiatives.

[gener]

so the telecenters must aim first for sustainability to follow social success?

[Mohamed Naazim]

3. attract the donors for its continued sustainability

and we have to implement various services with the innovation.

[gener]

i guess this is one problem with regards to continued sustainability which is attracting donors. the telecenter operators must really market their telecenters in such a way that the donors would be attracted to them.

[Bijaya]

Success of a Telecenter depends on its sustainability & service delivery mechanism.

[Partha Sarathi Kuntal]

From my point of view sustainability issue is totally depend on the community perspective. If the community is educated, curious, mobile and heterogeneous the more the center would sustained. Community ownership is the key point. sustainability of Financial and social both are essential for the telecenter's. But first of all we have to ensure the accessibility of all.