Presentation at the University of Washington Information School - February 4, 2013 Research Conversation

1. Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA)
@ the University of Washington Information School
tascha@uw.edu
Do Public Access ICTs have an Impact on
Socio-Economic Development?
Findings of the Global Impact Study

2. The solution to
development!
Invest, invest,
invest!
HISTORY OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO ICTS
High
expectations!
 peregrinari
 Mark Surman
 Mark Surman
 CSC India

3. PUBLIC ACCESS ICT RESEARCH
Top ICT4D research focus in the 2000s, but…
 Inconclusive evidence
 Anecdotal impact evidence
 Scattered, isolated studies
 No studies on indirect impacts or impacts on non-users
 Claims “disadvantaged” populations not being reached
 Conflicting claims about public access ICT models

4. ARE PUBLIC ACCESS ICT VENUES…
failures?
 make_change
frivolous?
 mikekogh
needed?  digital.democracy
irrelevant? DFID

5. THE GLOBAL IMPACT STUDY
 Goal: To answer the question: do public access ICTs
impact people’s lives?
• Generate evidence
• Produce policy and program recommendations
• Advance open research
 Global five-year $5 million research project
 Funding from the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
 Led by the Technology & Social Change Group with over 30
research partners around the world

6. this is a blank slide for photos or graphics
Lithuania
Ghana
Botswana
South Africa
Bangladesh
Philippines
Chile
Brazil
THE LARGEST STUDY OF ITS KIND

7. libraries telecenters cybercafés
EXPLORE DIFFERENT MODELS OF PUBLIC ACCESS

8. RESEARCH DESIGN

9. WHAT DID WE FIND?
 Digital inclusion
 Social and economic impacts
 Value of public access

10. DIGITAL INCLUSION
 Dorian V.

11. THE CRITICAL FIRST TOUCH
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bangladesh Brazil Chile Ghana Philippines
%ofusers
First use of computer at public access venue First use of Internet at public access venue
 For more than half of the user survey respondents, a public access
venue provided them with their:
• first ever contact with computers (50%)
• first ever contact with the Internet (62%)

12. ONLY OPTION FOR ACCESS
 Public access venues were
the only source of access
to the Internet for at least
a third (33%) of survey
respondents
 The majority of
respondents (over 55%)
would see a decrease in
their use of ICT if public
access venues were no
longer available
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
To get help from other users
To get help from venue staff
Better equipment than home or work
No other option for computer access
To work or be with friends or other
people
No other option for Internet access
Main reasons for using public access
venues

13. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF ALL KINDS
 Users see public access
venues as places where a
broad range of
information needs can
be met
 Almost half of users
(47%) had come to the
public access venue on
the day of the survey to
look for specific
information
0 20 40 60 80
Culture & language
Health information
Government services
News
Employment & business
opportunities
Entertainment
Education
Type of Information Sought

14. DIGITAL LITERACY – ICT SKILLS
Users identified public
access venues as the
most important place
for development of their
computer (40%) and
Internet (50%) skills
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Public
access
venue
Home School
Computer
Internet

15. VENUE STAFF SUPPORT DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR
NOVICE USERS
 7% of all users use public
access mainly to get help from
venue staff
 quinn.anya
 22% of users in Bangladesh use public
access mainly to get help from venue
staff
 Users in Bangladesh have lower
computer/Internet skills and
experience
 Staff empathy is more important than
ICT skills for novice users
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
%ofusers

16. DIGITAL INCLUSION – NON-USERS BENEFIT TOO
 18% of non-users surveyed were former public access users
 30% of ex-users first used a computer at a public access venue
 35% of ex-users first used the Internet at a public access venue
 Information search trends similar to users
 Digital skills development more important for ex-user-computer
non-users

17. SOCIAL & ECONOMIC IMPACTS

18. IMPACTS VARY ACROSS CATEGORIES
 Highest proportions of perceived positive impacts in social, leisure, &
education
 Lowest proportions of perceived positive impacts in many of the
priority domains
 No perceived impact in many categories
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Communication with family & friends
Education
Pursuing interests & hobbies
Meeting new people
Pursuing other leisure activities
Time savings
Access to employability resources & skills
Financial savings
Access to government information & services
Local language/culture activities
Health
Income
Sending or receiving remittances
Positive
None
Negative

19. DOMAIN USES
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Communications
& Leisure
Education Employment &
Income
Culture &
Language
Health Governance
% of users engaged in domains in the last 12 months
All Venues

20. USER NEEDS DRIVE USE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Didn't have the
need
Didn't think of it No specific
reason
Security of my
information
Privacy Some other
reason
%ofusers
Why didn’t you use public access for…
Employment & Income Education Health Governance Culture & Language

21. Did you
search for a
job? (57%)
Did you find
information
to apply?
(89%)
Did you
apply?
(91%)
GOAL ACHIEVEMENT
Did you search
for info on how to
use government
services? (64%)
Did you find
information
you were
looking for?
(94%)
Do you
feel more
knowledge
able on
how to
use? (95%)
Employment & Income
Governance

22. INDIRECT IMPACTS
 60% of non-users have family or friends who use public access
 10% of nonusers have asked someone to use public access
venue on their behalf
• For specific tasks as well as information searches
 Up to 63% perceive positive impacts from family/friend’s use in
13 impact categories

23. THE VALUE OF PUBLIC ACCESS
 Ryan McFarland

24. WILLINGNESS TO PAY
 People want access, regardless
of where it is: Where users
don’t have a variety of venue
options, they are prepared to
pay to get to whatever venue is
available
 Non-users value public access:
Non-users are willing to pay for
other people to have public
access
 IMTFI

25. LIBRARIES ARE HIGHLY VALUED…
WHERE THEY EXIST
Where people do have a choice of venues, public libraries
are highly valued where they exist
 Chris Blakeley

26. MOBILE PHONES ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE
 Almost all users surveyed have a
mobile phone (96%)
 The majority (88%) of public access
users use a mobile phone daily or
almost daily
 Only 4% of non-users don’t use a
public access venue because of
mobile phones ICT4Gov.net
• Researchers in South Africa found
that mobile phones complement,
rather than replace, public access
venues
• Teens have developed practices to
maximize use of both mobile phones
and public access computers &
Internet  Marion Walton

27. COMMUNICATIONS & SOCIAL NETWORKS
25%
21%
17%37%

28. MORE THAN FUN & GAMES
94%
6%
Has using public access
computers for
communications and leisure
improved your overall ICT
skills?
Yes No
Non-instrumental uses (gaming,
social) can lead to instrumental
(employability) skills
Public access can
help keep families
connected when
separated by
migrant work
 KC Wong

29. POINTS TO PONDER
 What we can expect from public access
• Digital inclusion – technology access, first touch, ICT skills
• Opportunity for social & economic impacts
• Benefits extend to non-users
 Public access is a part of a larger information ecology
• People use a variety of tools and resources for communication &
information needs
• New technologies don’t always supplant older ones
 Communications is a critical asset for economic, social, and personal
well-being
• Use of technology for communications is important and can lead to
better overall ICT skills
• People need to feel connected to friends and family – public access
fills this need

30. MORE…
Much more to say…
 Survey instruments, methodology
 Open data, open research
 User demographics, behavior
 Services offered & used
 Venue characteristics & comparisons
 Impacts by gender, age, occupation, education level, income
 Country breakdowns
 In-depth study findings

31. Technology & Social Change Group
tascha.uw.edu | @taschagroup
globalimpactstudy.org | @ictimpact
Thank You
Araba Sey
arabasey@uw.edu

32. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

33. USER SNAPSHOT
Majority of users are:
 Young (68% under 25 years old)
 Male (65%)
 Highly educated (82% high school +)
 Students (44%)
 Employed (39%)
 Proficient in English (74%)
 Below poverty level (51%)
Majority of users:
 Have +3 years computer & Internet experience
(+60%)
 Have medium or high computer skills (80%)
 Have medium or high Internet skills (69%)
 Own ICTs:
• Computers (56%)
• Internet access (28%)
• TV (95%)
• Radio (83%)
• Mobile phone (96%)
 Jewish Agency
 Corycam