The small group subtlety of using ICT for participatory governance : a South African experience

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dc.contributor.author Twinomurinzi, Hossana
dc.contributor.author Phahlamohlaka, Jackie
dc.contributor.author Byrne, Elaine
dc.date.accessioned 2012-06-13T06:31:36Z
dc.date.available 2012-06-13T06:31:36Z
dc.date.issued 2012-04
dc.description.abstract The greater number of government efforts to stimulate participative governance in communities using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) often fall short of expectations. In South Africa extending egovernment to communities has been in the form of more and/or better equipped ICT-enabled community centres, called Thusong Service Centres. In this paper, based on action research experiences, we report outcomes of interpretive research into ICT-enabled approaches to participative governance in communities. Using the Diffusion of Innovations theory as an analytic lens, the findings reveal a subtlety that is not often mentioned in the call for participative e-governance; people from communities prefer to work in groups rather than individually. The collectiveness inclination is a common denominator of many developing countries where people choose to come together to leverage the few available resources. Individuals become apprehensive when made to work on their own using the ICT. The research reveals the necessity to re-design ICT to suit small groups as part of participative e-governance rather than the normative ICT design that suits individual work styles. Additionally, the research reveals that by working in groups, communities are more willing to accept the government initiatives that are being energised with the use of ICT. Methodologically, the research revealed the ethical issue that arises from action research in its raising of unrealistic expectations in a community. en_US
dc.description.uri http://www.elsevier.com/locate/govinf en_US
dc.identifier.citation Hossana Twinomurinzi, Jackie Phahlamohlaka & Elaine Byrne, The small group subtlety of using ICT for participatory governance : a South African experience, Government Information Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 203-211 (2012), doi: 10.1016/j.giq.2011.09.010 en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0740-624X (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1872-9517 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1016/j.giq.2011.09.010
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/19164
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Elsevier en_US
dc.rights © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. en_US
dc.subject Participative e-governance en_US
dc.subject E-collaboration en_US
dc.subject Collaboration engineering en_US
dc.subject Public service delivery en_US
dc.subject Multi-purpose community centres en_US
dc.subject South Africa en_US
dc.subject Diffusion of innovations en_US
dc.title The small group subtlety of using ICT for participatory governance : a South African experience en_US
dc.type Postprint Article en_US


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