Chapter from Circumventing the Digital Divide: Lessons from Kerala Experience UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS OF‘DEVELOPMENT’ AND LINKAGES TO DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES IN ICT4D IN INDIA

ICTs have been drawn into the ‘development’ field as potential tools for poverty alleviation and economic and social development. There is not, however, a single accepted definition of ‘development’ in ICT for development (ICT4D) projects. The lack of a single definition has implications for the design, implementation, and evaluation of ICT4D initiatives. Our goal in this paper is to problematize ‘development’ in these projects. Based on our analysis of Indian rural kiosk initiatives, we argue that variations in institutional definitions of development can lead to different strategies for deployment and implementation of projects. We examine the different philosophies of development and project goals of three ICT4D kiosk initiatives, including projects initiated by a nonprofit organization (Datamation Foundation), a private business (nLogue), and a state public-private partnership in Kerala (Akshaya). We emphasize the case of Kerala to highlight the challenges associated with implementing projects under broad definitions of ‘development.’ Through this analysis we conclude that depending on how development is conceptualized and incorporated into ICT4D strategies, there are important social and economic tradeoffs to consider in the achievements of project goals and outcomes. This is important for both policy makers and researchers to consider in their design and evaluation of ICT4D initiatives.