The focus of this paper is on improving governance through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in delivering services to the poor, i.e., improving efficiency, accountability, and transparency, and reducing bribes in delivery of services.
India and a few other developing nations are home to a very large number of experiments in the use of ICT for sustainable development. These initiatives have been launched by different types of organizations, including government organizations, private sector enterprises, civil society organizations, and cooperatives. However, very few of these experiments have been scaled up and therefore the impact of such experiments on the broader society remains marginal. Policy makers need to identify scalable initiatives and design institutional mechanisms that can help in wider replication of successful experiments.
This paper analyses some projects that are operational on a reasonably large scale and have contributed to the empowerment of the poor and inclusive development in the domains mentioned earlier. The paper draws lessons from the success of these projects.
Governments are the largest provider of information and services that are important for the poor. Methods of service delivery have not changed for decades, making them inefficient and corrupt. There is sufficient evidence that well-designed e-governance projects with process reforms that target enhanced transparency and accountability reduce the discretion of civil servants, enhance efficiency, and can lower corruption. However, very few such projects have been implemented to their utmost potential. There is a need to accelerate the pace of implementation of e-governance and build capacity to reform the process of service delivery.
With the current levels of access to ICT among the poorest of the poor living in remote areas, the benefits are likely to trickle down very slowly. In large and diverse countries with low levels of ICT literacy, larger numbers of citizens may face problems because their service requests do not conform to standard. Mechanisms need to be designed to handle such cases.
The limited impact of ICT on governance and empowerment in developing countries is a result of the failure to scale up and replicate successful pilots. A proactive approach is needed to spot scalable and successful ICT innovations and to support the organizations involved to replicate such experiments.
