SUSTAINABILITY OF UNION DIGITAL CENTRE IN BANGLADESH: HAS IT GOT INSTITUTIONAL ROOTS?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v0i0.425کلمات کلیدی:
Union Digital Center, sustainability, institutional roots, viability, e-serviceچکیده
In Bangladesh, Union Digital Center (UDC), an ICT (Information & Communication Technology) based telecenter, began its operations in 2009 in only 30 Union Parishads through partnership between Local Government Division and the Access to Information (A2I) program under the Prime Minister’s Office, presently operating at all 4,547 Union Parishads of the country. It is a one-stop service outlet operating under the Public-Private-People’s Partnership modality, run by local entrepreneurs, hosted by Union Parishad and supported by Central Administration. But stakeholders and observers frequently question the sustainability of these UDCs especially those in rural areas where telecommunications and electricity are problematic. The purpose of the study is to examine the sustainability whether the UDCs got institutional roots or not. It also attempts to find out the factors having influence on the sustainability of UDCs and also the challenges and the possible remedies for ensuring sustainability. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. It has been found that having high potentiality UDC’s sustainability is affected by various factors like Entrepreneur’s Qualification such as professionalism and technical skill, Infrastructure such as electricity and internet, Location such as accessibility and availability of needed services and Government Intervention such as governmental support and political will.
Article visualizations:
مراجع
Access to Information, (2015a), “Union Digital Center”, Dhaka: Prime Minister’s Office, available at: http://www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd/content/union-digital-center (Accessed 18 March, 2017).
Access to Information, (2015b), “Union Information and Service Centre (UISC): Bringing Services to Citizen’s Doorstep, Dhaka: Prime Minister's Office, available at: http://www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd/content/union information and service centers (accessed 18 April, 2017).
Access to Information, (2016a), “Access to Information”, Dhaka: Prime Minister’s Office, available at: http://www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd/content/union-digital-center (accessed 18 August, 2017).
Access to Information, (2016b), “Union Digital Center”, Dhaka: Prime Minister’s Office available at: http://a2i.pmo.gov.bd/content/a2i-components (accessed 26 February 2016).
Ahsan, H., Roy, P.K., Akbor, S.U., Mahmood, M., Monon, S.S.A., Uddin, D. R. and Rahman, A. (2010), “Union Tathayo o Sheba Kendra, Guidebook”, Dhaka, Prime Minister's Office.
Akbar, S.U. (2004), “ICT and social transformation in rural Bangladesh”, Information Technology in Developing Countries, 14(3), pp. 16-18.
Asad-Uz-Zaman, (2011), “Union Information and Service Centre (UISC): ICT enabled one-stop service outlet in Bangladesh”, UISCs blog, 12 June, available at: http://community.telecentre.org/profiles/blogs/uiscs- in-bangladesh-e-service-access-points-for-the-marginalized (accessed 19 March 2017).
Asad-Uz-Zaman, (2012), “Union Information and Service Centre”, UISC Blog, 18 August, available at: http://community.telecentre.org (accessed 12 June 2017).
Baark, E. and Heeks, R. (1998), “Transfer Projects in China: A Life-Cycle Approach”, Development Informatics Working Paper Series, Working Paper No. 1, Manchester: Institute for Development Policy and Management of University of Manchester.
Badsar, M., Samah, B. A., Hassan, M. A., Osman, N. B. and Shaffri, H. A. (2011), “Predictor factors of telecentres outcome from the users perspectives in rural communities”, American Journal of Applied Sciences. 8(6). pp.617-627.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, (2016), “Census Report on Union Information and Service Centers (UISCs)”, Dhaka: Ministry of Planning.
Bell, D. (1979), “Communication technology: For better, for worse”, Harvard Business Review. 57(95). pp. 4.
Bhatnagar, S. (2004), “E-Government: From Vision to Implementation – A Practical Guide with Case Studies”, New Delhi: SAGE Publications, available at: https://www.aabss.org.au/.../reaching-unreached-assessment-union-information (accessed 24 June 2017).
Bojan R. (2007), “The Four Capital Model, Matrix and Accounts”, Slovene version in Casopis za kritiko znanosti. Ljubljana, 34(227), available at: http://www.studentskazalozba.si/si/knjiga.asp?ID_knjiga=996, (accessed 23 November 2017).
Ekins, P. (1992), “A Four-Capital Model of Wealth Creation. In: P. Ekins, M. Max-Neef, eds.1992”, Real-Life Economics: Understanding Wealth Creation. London: Routledge. pp. 147-155.
Ekins, P. (2000), “Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: the Prospects for Green Growth”, London: Routledge.
Ekramuzzzaman, M. M. (2015), “Union Information Service Centers (UISCs) and Its Impact on Educational Information System in Rural Bangladesh”, M Phil (Part 2). Dhaka: National Defence College.
Farhadi, M., Ismail, R., and Fooladi, M. (2012), “Information and Communication Technology Use and Economic Growth”, available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048903 (accessed 25 October, 2016)
Faroqi, M. G. (2014), “Reaching the unreached? An assessment Of Union Information and Service Centres (UISC) in Bangladesh from Beneficiary Perspective”, Australian Academy of Business and Social Sciences, available at: https://www.aabss.org.au/.../reaching-unreached-assessment-union-information (accessed 24 June, 2017).
Hanna, N.K. (2010), “Transforming Government and Building the Information Society: Challenges and Opportunities for the Developing World”, New York: Springer.
Hudson, H. (1999), “Maximizing Benefits from New Telecommunications Technologies: Policy Challenges for Developing Countries”, In: Jussawalla, Meheroo, eds. 1999, Global Telecommunications Policies: The Challenge of Change. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press.
Jauernig, C. (2003), “Review of Telecenter Sustainability Criteria for the Establishment of Sustainable Rural Business Resource Centers for SMEs in Developing Countries”, In: Rinus, N. J., ed. 2014, Factors Influencing the use of information technology in telecentres in the rural setting of Kiambu County, Kenya. Nairobi: University of Nairobi.
Mahmood, K. (2005), “Multipurpose Community Telecenters for Rural Development in Pakistan”, The Electronic Library. 23(2). pp. 204-20.
Minges, M., Raihan, A. and Raina, R. (2015), “Bangladesh: Access to Information (A2I) Evaluation”, Dhaka: Prime Minister's Office.
Norizan, A. R., Zaharah, H., and Rosseni, D. (2010), “Bridging the Digital Divide: An Analysis of the Training Program at Malaysian Telecenters”, Greece: Athens.
Okiy, R.B. (2003), “Information for rural development: Challenge for Nigerian rural public libraries”, Library Review. 52(3). pp. 126-131.
Rahman, S.M.A. (2016), “Prospects of PPP in Expanding ICT Services in Rural Bangladesh: A Case of Union Digital Center”, International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education. 8(2).
Raihan, A. (2007), “Community Access Points or Telecenter Movement in Bangladesh”, available at: http://bangladeshictpolicy.bytesforall.net/ (accessed 2 July 2017).
Rakib, M. H., Mukta, N., Islam, M. M., Uddin, D. R., Chakma, K. B., Sharmin, R., Saha, P. and Azad, A. (2015), “The Union Digital Center (UDC) in Bangladesh: Present Status and Future Prospects”, Bangladesh: Business Review. 4(2).
Roman, R. and Colle, R. D. (2002), “Themes and issues in telecentre sustainability development informatics”, Working Paper Series, Paper No. 10. Manchester: Institute for Development Policy and Management.
Sarker, A. K. (2013), “Digital Bangladesh: Swapna Puroner Ovijatra (A Journey to fulfil Dreams)”, Lalmatia, Dhaka: Tothyoseba Barta Songstha Publisher.
Siddiquee, N. A. and Faroqi, M. G. (2013), “A Road Far Too Long? E-government and the State of Service Delivery in Bangladesh”. In: Halpin, Francis, E., Griffin, D., Rankin, C., Dissanayake, L. and Mahtab, N., 2013. Digital Public Administration and E-Government in Developing Nations: Policy and Practice. Dhaka: University of Dhaka. Available at: https://www.igi-global.com/book/ digital-public-administration-government-developing/72163 (accessed 12 December 2017).
Whyte, A. (1999), “Understanding the role”, In: Gomez, R. and Hunt, P., Eds., 1999. Telecentre Evaluation A Global Perspective: Report of an International Meeting on Telecentre Evaluation. Canada: International development research center.
Zahurin, M. A., Huda, I., Khairudin, K.M., Iadah, Y.N., Affendi, M.Y.S., and Zulkhairi, M. D. (2009), “Management Practice in Sustaining Telecentres”, Proceedings of National Seminar on e-Community 2009 on 18 – 19 March, Malaysia: Hotel PNB Darby Park, Kuala Lumpur. pp. 273-280.
Zaman, H. (2015), “Service delivery process innovation: insights from Digital Bangladesh”, Innovation and Development. 5(1). pp. 165-168.
