Determining the reason why ICT centres fail : six South African case studies

Abstract

It is generally believed that ICT centres will provide developing communities with access to digital information that will place them be in a position to bridge the digital divide. Yet there is little evidence of the successful establishment of ICT centres in South Africa. There appears also to be no evidence of a methodology or structured approach for measuring the effectiveness of ICT establishment. This article discusses the application of a proposed approach and measuring instrument that can be used for assessing the effectiveness of the ICT centre establishment. The outcomes of this first longitudinal study of six ITC centres that were established in South Africa highlight the reasons why ICT centres fail and suggest that there are deeper reasons for this failure.