Information and communication technology for development initiatives has increased manifold over the last few years with efforts directed towards community development. This increase has highlighted the need for effective evaluation mechanisms of ICT for development programmes to depict a real picture of their benefits.
Lennie et al in their paper Building community capacities in evaluating rural IT projects: Success strategies from the LEARNERS Project has shared the outcomes of a project that aimed to build capacities of people in two Australian rural communities to evaluate communication and information technology (C&IT) initiatives.
The project's participatory action research and participatory evaluation methods were effective in increasing skills and knowledge, and facilitating various forms of empowerment. However, some limitations and disempowering effects and barriers to participation were identified. Based on the researchers critical reflections, the paper presents strategies for successful community capacity building projects and sustainable C&IT initiatives in rural areas.
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