1.    Introduction

The IT Enabled Community Center at SRC-N is committed to the charter of the SRC-N, which states that: “The SRC-N shall promote alternative development models and strategies for the development of appropriate technologies and promotion of products, processes and services in programs relating to environmental management; livelihoods generation through asset-based and market-creation approaches; renewable energy technologies; shelter technologies; information and communications technologies.”

2.    What is an ‘ITECC’?

The ‘IT-Enabled Community Center’ (ITECC) services the requirements of the target beneficiary village community in general, and addresses the primary requirements of the Sankalpa Pyramidal Model, as shown below ^[1]:

Figure 1: A conceptual model of an ITECC, showing typical asset-based applications.


Click image to download/view enlargement in [itecc.pdf](~ 390 kb)

Each ITECC is specifically equipped and resourced to not only disseminate the knowledge and information requirements in its focus area to its target rural community, but it is also responsible for the participatory design and dissemination of the community building and continuously testing the implementation approach of the ‘Rural Convergence Program’ model, which is described in our TRD website.

Additionally, ITECCs are equipped to provide:

     (a) Telemedicine and basic/preventive health care services;

     (b) State-of-the-art in educational and training programs for the beneficiary village community members;

     (c) A ‘Building Center’ for live models in the field of shelter products and services,

     (d) A ‘Renewable Energy Training Center’ for live models in the field for renewable energy products and services;

     (e) In general, handle all knowledge, information and program design requests for all the six focus types from ‘A’ to ‘F’ of the RCP model; and

     (f) More specifically, to design, implement and disseminate information for the four foundation-level sustainable programs: Information, Livelihoods, Energy and Shelter defined under the ‘Sankalpa Pyramid Model’.

2.1   Operating roles of an ITECC

The operating roles of the ITECC are to:

§     Implement the goals and objectives of the RCP model —based on a mainly four-way communications pattern between the RCP Secretariat (RCPS), the ITECC, the Village Information Center (VIC) and the Information Consultants (ICs), including:

§     Receive RCP program instructions and guidelines issued by the RCPS

§     Provide continuous feedback to the RCPS, based on their interaction with the ICs and the village community members.

§     Receive feedback from the VIC about the performance of the ICs and grassroots activity at the VIC premises;

§     Continuously provide the VIC with new information and educational materials that are received from the RCPS, as well as those that are generated by the ITECC staff, and authorized for circulation to the target community by the RCPS;

§     Interact regularly with village community elders and children, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Panchayat leaders and teachers, business persons, academia, other local NGOS, media, and in general everyone who can have an impact on the RCP;

§     Provide educational and training opportunities for ICs, village community members, especially to empower women and children, but also to provide greater livelihoods and networking opportunities for the men, women and children of the community—the major objectives being to enhance livelihoods opportunities and environmental awareness.

§     Initiate and implement scientific management techniques—such as ‘Quality Function Deployment’ (QFD) methodologies to measure program deployment strengths and weaknesses, and to implement corrective actions and enhance the quality of services provided to the villagers, and other such scientific problem solving and management programs.

§     Implement the programs for transformation in moral stance and values for all stakeholders, including the target rural community.

§     The Lead IC will be stationed at the ITECC in order to design the IC programs and facilitate communication between the RCP and the ICs.

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3.    Goals and Objectives of an ITECC

The primary goal of an ITECC is to develop an Information Systems that promotes (a) an asset-based and (b) the market creation approach for village development—by, of and for the village-based community, primarily for getting sustainable livelihoods, while preserving Mother Nature for future generations.

The objectives of the proposed ITECC project at Village Baidyapur may be summarized as follows:

     a) Build an IT-enabled knowledge center that will enable all community members to build capacity for self-development, engage in rural commerce and to communicate and network globally;

     b) Develop an alternative village education model, especially ‘primary’ education, that uses local knowledge extensively and instills a sense of pride within the community;

     c) Develop a decentralized ‘Telemedicine Center’ for enhancing community-based health services, modeled on the lines of Aravind Eye Hospital’s hugely successful rural ‘Vision Center’ programs;

     d) Develop a decentralized ‘Building Center’ for disseminating information and services for promoting sustainable shelter products, technologies and services.

     e) Develop a decentralized ‘Renewable Energy Training Center’ for disseminating information and services for promoting sustainable energy products, technologies and services.

     f) Develop methods and systems for cost recovery of services provided through user fees.

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4.    Holistic Community Development/Livelihoods Generation Model

The ITECC project promotes an awareness of environmental protection, particularly the village-based target beneficiaries impact on global warming and reduction of ‘Green House Gas’ (GHG) emissions, as climate change impacts tropical countries more negatively than temperate zones ^[2].

On the basis of these needs and baseline studies, we have developed a conceptual “Holistic Community Development/Livelihoods Generation Model”, as a framework for designing the ITECC, as shown below in the generic figure for village-based communities everywhere:

Figure 2: A conceptual model and framework for designing the ITECC


Click image to download/view enlargement in [itecc.pdf](~ 390 kb)

The above conceptual model explains how the interventions being proposed by building an ITECC in a village would synthesize the desired socioeconomic, sociotechnical and sociocultural changes. It clarifies the inter-relationships between the needs, intervention strategies, the expected results and the goal of our project by demonstrating the linkages between them.

4.1   Enterprise Promotion

The focus of the ITECC is ‘Enterprise Promotion’, which may not reach the poorest directly. Not everybody is and can be an entrepreneur. However, ‘Enterprise Promotion’ is a necessary strategy to promote rural growth, and it can be complemented by measures which are more directly empowering the poor, such as basic education, health services, and in general the provision of a rural infrastructure. Asset creation for improving the household’s livelihood security is a necessary complement to enterprise promotion and must be part of a strategy for rural income generation. How this may be achieved through the agency of the ITECC is reviewed in the following sections.
See Section 6 for more details on processes.

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5.    Operating Model of the ITECC

The ‘MAN Operating Model’ of the ITECC, shown below, uses the analogy of a human being—and for emotive clarity, Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ as the central motif—to model the operational characteristics and the three-tiered structure of the ITECC, as (a) The ‘Think Tank’; (b) The Community; and (c) The ‘Resource Access Center’ (RAC).

Figure 2: The Operating Model of the ITECC


Click image to download/view enlargement in [itecc.pdf](~ 390 kb)

The sustainability of the ITECC is exemplified by the collaborative working of the head, body and legs in order to provide the motive power for village-based sustainable development; the function of the key elements may be explained as follows:

     1) Visionaries (The Head – thinking ability): The community elders and children, teachers, media, business persons, NGOs and the Panchayat leaders, who will design and formalize the rules for running and operating the ITECC, sustainably.

     2) The Community (The Body – denoting action): All men and women of the community constitute the right and left hands - to do the main work of community building through participatory approaches, and at the heart of the body are all the children of the community—for they are the future not only of the rural community, but the nation and the world at large;

     3) The Resource Access Center (RAC) (The Legs – motive power for carrying the community forward): The community volunteers, NGO staff and academicians, social workers and Visiting Fellows comprise (a) the “Learning Center (LC)” (left leg) and (b) the “Total Community Development” (right leg); the left/right marching analogy shows the community learns first and then implements community development programs, in a continuous cycle to achieve sustainable community development.

The essence of Maury’s Participatory Practices for Sustainable Development (PPSD) is evident in the ‘MAN Operating Model’, which embodies the principle that (a) ‘The Learning Center’ (left leg) and (b) ‘Total Community Development’ (right leg) provides the motive force for sustainability. These two basic processes provide an effective strategy for developing seminars and discourses in ITECCs for implementing participatory practices for sustainable community-based development, as discussed below.

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6. Integrating ‘Participatory Practices’ in training and education

The operating principles of ‘MAN Operating Model’ shall be developed in continuing education and training programs in terms of the cyclical P-D-C-A approach for continuous improvement, shown below:

Cyclical Procedure for Continuous Improvement in Design and Dissemination of Sankalpa/ARTS Educational and Training Programs


Click image to download/view enlargement in [itecc.pdf](~ 390 kb)

A. The Learning Center helps to develop the techniques for Participatory Practices for working with communities on a day-to-day basis. The seminars and training activities will engage the participants in assessing the community situation, developing a strategic plan and monitoring the development efforts to improve performance. The experiences gained by practicing professionals and development organizations are shared. Some of the topics that will be covered are (a) participatory rural appraisals (PRAs); (b) participatory learning and action (PLAs); (c) technology applications for participation, visioning, action planning, regular monitoring processes, documenting and disseminating monitoring data.

At the end of these seminars, training and education programs, participants will be able to:

§     Facilitate an appraisal and inventory of a community.

§     Analyze information collected during an appraisal for use in strategic planning.

§     Lead a group to develop a vision that everyone will support and aspire to.

§     Effectively facilitate the discovery of obstacle to achieving a vision.

§     Enable development of strategic directions and action plans.

§     Establish an assessment, monitoring, and evaluation process that will lead to meaningful improvements and evaluation of outcomes, rather than measuring the performance of the activities

§     Build community support for using open communication policies and practices.

B. Total Community Development requires a thorough understanding and knowledge of the theory and techniques of sustainable community-based development. These practices are based on participatory, bottom-up approaches to community empowerment and mobilization in order to (a) create resource access structures; (b) identify and overcome obstacles to sustainability; (c) select appropriate resources; and (d) establish economic self-sufficiency. Some of the topics in the seminars and training and education programs will compare different development approaches and debate the basic features of sustainable development, for designing, implementing and monitoring participatory community-based projects.

At the end of these seminars, training and education programs, participants will be able to:

§     Plan the necessary steps to initiate a sustainable development project.

§     Organize a community mobilization team.

§     Facilitate the formation of bottom-up oriented organizational structures.

§     Develop a plan for sustaining development in a community.

§     Create a structure for accessing the resources needed to support a development effort.

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7.    Building an IT-Enabled ‘Learning Center’ at Baidyapur Village

In conclusion, we will elaborate on a ‘Learning Center’ project proposal for Village Baidyapur, Nadia, that was submitted to USAID—which is based on the proposed ITECC.

In this one-year project, the IT-Enabled ‘Learning Center’ and the ‘Health & Education Center’ (HEC) are proposed to be built with USAID funds. In conjunction with the ‘Livelihood Center’, ‘Building Center’ and ‘Renewable Energy Center’ that will be built by the coalition partners—based on the participative/market creation approach—the Village Baidyapur community will then have access to modern ICT tools and appropriate technologies to help them to create assets and develop the following:

     a) A ‘Knowledge Center’ for alternative education & capacity building programs;

     b) Improve the knowledge-base and health of their community and

     c) Network with the global community for ‘Total Community Development’.

The funds requested from USAID will be used to build and operate the ITECC and the ‘Health & Education Center’. Health care services will be provided through capital-intensive Telemedicine services.

The coalition partners—with Sankalpa Trust as the Lead Partner—will set up and operate the ‘Livelihoods Center’, ‘Building Center’ and ‘Renewable Energy Center’.

These five centers, working in tandem for the benefit of the village-based communities, will effectively comprise a fully functional ‘Learning Center’. The specific aims of this Learning Center are to:

§     Assess learning needs and the impact of ICTs for community development and lifelong learning in target communities;

§     Develop gender sensitive and locally produced ICT application packages for community development and lifelong learning; and

§     Share knowledge and experiences about the application development process, which contributes to the creation of open learning communities.

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8.    Steps for building an ITECC

The following is a general workplan for developing a village-based ITECC for ‘Total Community Development’ (TCD):

PHASE 1: Review and finalize the ‘MAN Operating Model’ with local community elders, including Panchayat leaders

     (a) Three-tiered structure:

     a. Visionaries: who will design and formalize the rules for running and operating the ITECC, sustainably.

     b. The Community: All men, women and children (who are at the ‘heart) of the community; forms the body, heart and soul of the ITECC;

     c. The Resource Access Center (RAC): Comprises of the “Learning Center” (left leg) and the “Total Community Development (TCD) Cell” (right leg); left/right marching analogy – incrementally learn first and then implement the related development program, in a continuous cycle to achieve TCD.

     (b) The ‘Visionaries’ will determine the way the ITECC will function: (a) rules and principles of operation; (b) membership criteria; (c) way to financial stability and self-sustainability, (d) learning tools; (e) development programs

     (c) The entire ‘Community’ has to be mobilized and involved in the successful participatory functioning of the ITECC.

     (d) The ‘Center’ provides only the legs for carrying the community forward, with vision from the ‘Visionaries’ and participation from ‘The Community’.

PHASE 2: Explain the ‘MAN Operating Model’ to the ‘Community Elders’ in a series of formal meetings:

     (a) The physical ITECC is only the ‘legs’ – the ‘brains’ and the ‘body’ will have to come mainly from the community in order for the ITECC project’s success.

     (b) The ‘Visionaries’ will have to raise the initial ‘seed capital’ funds needed for starting the ITECC – from community well wishers and philanthropists, for: (i) Cleaning up approximately 4 acres of free land; (ii) Providing basic support facilities (like chairs and tables, black/white board, stationery, poster materials, etc.) (iii) Telephone connection (iv) Watchman’s salary.

     (c) Equipment donated by philanthropists and also the ‘Visionaries’ will have to raise funds by organizing fund raising events within the community and in local cities, in order to serve as demonstration projects at the ITECC; this will enable sustainable livelihoods “learning” to begin with minimum costs;

     (d) The ITECC’s “Total Community Development (TCD) Cell” will arrange through govt./quasi-govt. sources for external funding of projects, such as:

     (i) An Eco Kiln (VSBK) Project (about Rs 30 Lakhs)

     (ii) Micro-concrete doors and windows (about Rs 50K to Rs 5 Lakhs)

     (iii) Micro-concrete Roofing Tiles (about Rs 3 to 5 Lakhs)

     (iv) “Solar Shop” dealership with Tata BP Solar (about Rs 2.5 Lakhs)

     (v) Biomass briquetting project (about Rs 3 Lakhs)

     (vi) Bamboo/handmade paper/jute handicraft (about Rs 50K to Rs 8 Lakhs)

     (vii) ‘Pot-in-Pot’ Vegetable Cooler Project (about Rs 1 Lakh)

     (viii) Telemedicine and ICT related projects (about Rs 5 to 25 Lakhs)

The ITECC will function as a ‘Consultant’ and retain a nominal percentage of the earnings, to be determined by the ‘Visionaries’/Community Elders.

The funds that flow into the community from these projects will enable TCD and also provide for the sustainability of the ITECC.

PHASE 3: Mobilize the entire community, start the “Learning Center” and promote TCD.

     (a) Promote training programs and workshops on ‘Participatory Practices for Sustainable Development’ (PPSD)

     (b) Develop a suitable ‘Wallchart’ for TCD programs

     (c) Monitor and Evaluate the performance of the TCD activities

     (d) Publish results obtained.

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9.    Conclusions

The attainment of sustainable livelihoods for the beneficiaries while preserving Mother Nature for future generations are twin objectives of developing and implementing an ITECC project.

It is believed that such an ITECC model, when fully developed, can be replicated anywhere in India, and indeed globally. The project design, implementation methodology and cost estimates are location specific; however, the detailed project reports for specific projects will be made available on request.

10.    Contact details

Contact Person: Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee, PhD,MBA

Designation: Managing Trustee—Sankalpa Trust; Director—SRC-N

Address: P6: Cluster 2, Purbachal, Salt Lake, Calcutta 700097, India.

Mobile: + 91 94330 19821 ; 93392 59812

eMail: [subra@engr.colostate.edu] ; [subra@sankalpacmfs.org] ; [subhrankar@gmail.com]

Website: [www.sankalpacmfs.org]

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References:

[1] S. Mukherjee, ‘Total Rural Development—A New Paradigm for Sustainability—Introducing object orientation for the development of reusable models for rural development’, Sankalpa Research Center, Ref # SRC/SLD/TRD07, Revision 3.5, 25th September 2007.

[2] Malini Mehra, ‘Climate Change- Why India needs to take leadership’, Center for Social Markets, Aug 2007.

[3] Ashok Khosla, ‘Innovation and Poverty Eradication’, Editorial, DA Newsletter, Vol 10 No 9 Sept 2000.

[4] Mission 2007: ‘Every Village a Knowledge Centre’, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation

[5] ‘Using an Asset Base Approach to Identify Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America’, World Bank LAC Rural Strategy Learning Event, March 25, 2004.

[6] Dr. Urs Heierli, ‘The Market Creation Approach to Development - poverty alleviation as a business for the poor’, DA Newsletter, Vol 10 No 10; October 2000.

[7] Oto J. Okwu, C. P. O. Obinne and O. N. Agbulu, ‘A Paradigm for Evaluation of Use and Effect of Communication Channels in Agricultural Extension Services’, J. Soc. Sci., 13(1): 31-36, 2006.

[8] “Dental Rural Programme: New Concept Dentistry; Auroville – 2007”; Project holders: Jacques Verré, Dental-Surgeon and H. Suriyagandhi.

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