This document discusses the relationship between development communication and technology. It argues that while technology has increased access to information, an over-reliance on technology as the solution can create a problematic and "unfair alliance" if local contexts are not considered. Specifically, it notes that many communities in India still lack basic infrastructure and the demand for technology has not come from local people. Therefore, development communication should view technology as a means rather than an end, focus on communication that is locally relevant, and emphasize interaction over simple transmission of information.

1. Impact /
Influence of
Technology on
Cultural
Perspectives/
Practices

2. Marriage of
Development communication with
Technology: Unfair Alliance
Mira K Desai
Associate Professor
University Department of Extension Education
SNDT Women’s University
Juhu Campus, Mumbai

3. DevCom…..Terminology!
Media for
Development
Social Change
Communication

4. Development Perspectives
• Economic growth: Gross National Product
and Income per capita
• Improvement in Quality of Life: PQLI (Infant
mortality, death rate, life expectancy, literacy
rate)
• Distribution: social-economic-politicaltechnological-gender Equality
• Liberation from dependency and
exploitation: Human rights and social justice

5. DevCom….evolution
• It is widely accepted that development
communication is an art and science of human
communication for ‘speedy transformation of a
country’.
• The name Development Communication’ (DevCom)
in 1971 and formally in 1975 by Nora Quebral
• Her own modification of definition in 2008 by
adding words, ‘linked to planned intervention’,
• The objectives of any Devcom intervention are
‘greater economic and social equality and larger
fulfilment of human potential’.

6. Development Communication?
• Not only a nomenclature debate about DevCom,
C4D, M4D, ICT4D….!
• Not only about mere behaviour or practice change of
the people
• Not mere Monitoring and Evaluation of outcomes
BUT also
• Change in the quality of life of human societies
• Building up communities and helping them to help
themselves
• Making a world a better place to live not only for
present but also for future

7. 7 Threads of DevCom
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
and Erskine Childers
• Extension
• Community participation
• Population IEC (Information Education
Communication) and health communication,
• Social marketing
• Institution building
• finally the ICT (Information Communication
Technologies)

8. ICT4D…..as a term…is:
• conceptualised mostly as a monolithic and
homogeneous entity (http://www.ict4d.org.uk/)
• consists of hardware, software, networks, and
media for collection, storage, processing,
transmission, and presentation of information
(voice,
data,
text,
images)(http://info.worldbank.org)
• used to seek, receive, create and impart
information and ideas by anyone, at any time and
for any purpose. This makes it possible for users
to bypass traditional and official channels of
information
and
communication
(http://www.cprsouth.org)

9. ICT4D gets defined….by:
• e-Gov
(e-governance),
digital
LEARNING
(online/open learning) eHEALTH, mServe (Mobile
technologies), Tele-centre forum, e-Agriculture, and
municipal IT with multiple applications.
• Funded by Government, private corporations, multilateral agencies or philanthropic organizations and
Non-Government Organisations (NGO), most being
multi-party or multi-stakeholder projects.
• G2G, G2B, G2C, and B2C. G being Government, C
is Citizen and B being private player.
• Sectoral like education, health, agriculture,
governance, livelihood, employment generation,
and so on.

10. Secondary sources…….
• Bhatnagar and Schware (2000) (ed.) Information
and Communication Technology in DevelopmentCases from India, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
• Harris and Rajora (2006) Empowering poorInformation and Communication Technology for
governance and poverty reduction, A Study of rural
development projects in India, UNDP-APDIP
ICT4D series, Elservier, New Delhi.
• Agarwal (2007) (ed.) E Governance Case studies,
Universities Press India (Pvt.) Ltd., Hyderabad.

11. Bhatnagar and Schware (2000)
• 14 projects/programmes into 4 categorizations:
• projects for decision support to public
administrators in planning and monitoring of
development programmes
• improving services to citizens and bringing in
transparency
• empowering citizens through access to
information and knowledge
• use of ICT for training in rural areas

12. Harris and Rajora (2006)
• 18 development projects using ICTs in the form of
community tele-centre for poor
• Evaluating key constructs relating to their
potential for scaling up; these were Project
Design, Community Participation, Project
Outcomes, and their contextual Political Economy.
• 2,156 users of the tele-centre completed
questionnaires and interviews were conducted
with project stakeholders and personnel.

13. Agarwal (2007)
• 41 on-going e-Governance projects entered for the
Computer Society of India- Nihilent e-Governance
Awards 2005-06 from 11 States and 3 union
territories out of 28 States and 7 union territories.
• Majority represented six States- Andhra Pradesh
and Kerala (6 each), Gujarat (5), Karnataka and
Maharashtra (3 each), Haryana (2) and
Government of India (6).
• One case study each from 5 States (8 NorthEastern States treated as one, Chattisgarh, West
Bengal, Uttaranchal, Assam) and three Union
Territories (Delhi, Chandigarh, Luckshdeep).

14. National e-Governance Plan of
Government Of India (NeGP)
• 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and 10
components approved on May 18, 2006
• NeGP as a part of its National Common Minimum
Program has been aimed at improving the quality,
accessibility and effectiveness of Government
services with the help of ICT with total estimate cost
of approx. 1276 million US$ using Public Private
Partnership model.
• The project suggests creation of Community
Information Centres (CICs) to provide various kinds
of community information, State Wide Area
Networks (SWAN) and State Data Centres (SDC).

15. Unfair Alliance……global
• MDG task force report of 2012 by UN
(www,un.org) remarks that Internet penetration
in the developing countries stood at 26.3 per
cent of the population in 2011 compared to 74
per cent in developed countries.
• Even with the rapid spread of ICT, the challenge
of making the technologies easier, more
accessible and more affordable continues.

16. Households in India……
49%
without
Drainage
33%
without
electricity
42% do not have
bathroom facility
within the house
Source: Census 2011
Half (53%)
Without
latrine/toilet
facilities
67 % use firewood,
only 29 % use LPG
for cooking, 55% has
kitchen in house

17. Unfair Alliance……local
•
•
•
•
Has the demand for ICTs come from people?
Are ICTs part of day-to-day life?
Are ICTs solving day-to-day problems?
Can scaling up help in the given diverse contexts
if India? Language-culture-gender dimensions!
• Does ‘access’ resolve the challenge of ‘control’?
NO
Is this not the Dominant Paradigm…?!

18. DevCom allied with technology
• Where technology remains only as means to
delivery and not the end
• In place of techno-centric to human-centred
perspective
• Locally relevant technologies and not
technology for vested interests
• Emphasis on ‘communication’ and not on
‘transmission’

19. What is Communication TODAY?
• Technological connectivity does not guarantee
communication
• Connectivity does not guarantee interaction
• Interaction does not mean TWO parties
• Two parties does not necessarily mean both
are listening to each other
• Listening does not mean understanding of
each other
• Understanding may not mean acceptance

20. What is Communication?
Ideology
Technology
Process

21. Communication also means…….
Acknowledgement
Understanding
TRUST
Respect
Sensitivity

22. Thank you for
YOUR
time and
patience
Feel free to connect
drmiradesai@gmail.com