IICD supported project: Community Information Centre Initiative - Ghana

Countries: Ghana [GH]
Sectors: livelihoods

Summary

Ghana’s Ministry of Communications, through its agency GIFTEL, Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications, is constructing 230 Community Information Centres (CICs) as hybrid for profit and non-profit community resource centres to provide business services and community development information for remote communities with the aim to provide community information needs and enhance national integration; create ICT awareness in the rural areas; disseminate information to the rural communities especially in areas of education, agriculture, environment, health, local government; provide opportunities for ICT training in the communities; support business activities in the rural communities and support community-based organisations. Depending on the requirements of the particular District Assemblies, the support from IICD will target ten centres while providing strategic advice to Ministry and Assemblies in terms of the technical, organizational and financial sustainability of the CICs and further providing technical and business development training for CIC staff members, advising on connectivity solutions, deploying monitoring and evaluation tools, as well as facilitating knowledge sharing through the national ICT4D network GINKS.

Update

Updated: 2008-06-09

Through local consultants/trainers the District Assemblies, and herewith in particular the staff of the CICs in Yendi, Salaga and Bimbilla, have received technical training and on-site technical and organisational support. Currently feasibility studies are being conducted in Bolgatanga, Navronga and Zebilla; consequently an up-dated implementation plan will be developed in order to consider the findings in the future activities. In the meantime preparations are on the way to showcase the shared connectivity model in Salaga.

Introduction

The project is operating within the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The MDGs have set very ambitious targets to address structural concerns that impede economic growth and human development. Ghana’s own Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) represents comprehensive policies, strategies, programmes and projects at macro and micro levels to support economic growth and poverty reduction. Within these broad frameworks ICT is being deployed within the CICs as an integral tool

Objectives

The vision of the Community Information Centre (CIC) initiative is to create rural access centres and use ICTs to promote community-based ICT applications that will promote operational efficiency, through effective and timely availability of information.
IICD’s specific objectives, as part of the larger initiative, are to:

• Complement the CIC initiative with activities that will enhance the development impact and the sustainability of the centres;
• Deploy the experiences and lessons-learned from similar IICD-supported projects, with specific regard to content development and the utilization and mobilization of user groups at community level.

Development Impacts

The different target groups such as District Assembly members and government officials, farmers and traders, teachers and students will be able to access the internet to communicate in a two-way process in which data and information are sent and received between two and more parties, each within an inherent knowledge and understanding about how the data and information is to be used. Consequently this will empower them and will improve their livelihoods.

Project Owner : Ministry of Communications and the governmental Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications (GIFTEL)

Project Contact : IICD