International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

This 61-page independent evaluation examines the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) initiative, which was conceptualised as a potential solution to mitigate the digital divide in marginalised communities around the world. Launched in 2001, this initiative, which is a flagship activity of UNESCO's Communication and Information Sector, promotes sustainable local development through community-based facilities that combine traditional media like radio, television, and print with new information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as computers, the internet, and mobile devices. At the time of this evaluation, UNESCO had established more than 87 CMCs in over 22 developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean (with major funding provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, or the SDC).

As detailed here, this initiative involves promoting equitable and expanded access to ICTs in a variety of ways, such as through subsidised training for those with special requirements and/or marginalised groups; close work with schools, small businesses, and the independent sector; and the provision of information to more remote communities through radio. UNESCO has also worked to provide networking opportunities and support tools for management, multimedia training, offline access to internet content, and action research and evaluation.

The process of evaluating the CMC initiative (a process which is detailed within this report) involved a review of documentation, in addition to field research, interviews, questionnaires, an online survey, and case studies. This process led to various findings, which are explored in depth within the document. To highlight what is characterised as the initiative's main achievement: "The CMCs are accepted by and fully integrated into the communities and can in many cases be sustained beyond the pilot phase without core operating grants. The effort and funding that UNESCO has channelled into this transformative initiative have been exceeded by the hard work and commitment of the CMC staff and the communities where they are based." Among other key findings, the evaluators acknowledge the contribution of UNESCO's CMCs to local development, noting that "[l]onger term benefits are already being realized within individual communities, such as the gradual removal of barriers to social inclusion, the stimulation of poverty alleviation through access to knowledge of better health, resource management, agriculture practices and the creation of new livelihoods opportunities." In part, these successes are linked, according to evaluators, to the fact that CMCs are recognised as critical tools for local communities to mediate changes brought on by globalisation and the advent of new technologies: "The CMC role in fostering cultural resilience - the capacity of a community to retain critical knowledge and at the same time adapt to external influences and pressures - is particularly remarkable."

The evaluation also explores challenges faced by the CMC initiative, including the strategic use of CMC networks as delivery mechanisms for development services - from projects and programmes of United Nations (UN) agencies and national governments, to those of local civil society groups. Many challenges relate to sustainability of local facilities in low-income and least-developed localities. As the evaluators explain, because CMCs depend on volunteers for the delivery of training, radio programming, and other services, they face difficulties in finding appropriate incentives for volunteers and struggle with managing volunteer turnover. Another challenge relates to opportunities for networking and staff development, which, to date, have been limited. The evaluators point out the need for CMCs to learn from and access expertise more easily and systematically from each other in order to be sustainable.

A series of recommendations for this particular programme (which may be applicable to other telecentre-focused efforts) is included. Among them is the suggestion that advocacy - creating "enabling" national policy environments - is a key strategy for the development and sustainability of CMCs, and information and communication for development (ICT4D) more broadly. The evaluators explain that sudden changes in national policies on connectivity charges can destabilise CMCs, and that broadcast licensing restrictions or restrictions on press freedom can prevent CMCs from being able to communicate freely and to a broader constituency. By accelerating efforts with its member states to prevent such sudden policy shifts, UNESCO (or others undertaking similar initiatives) can proactively act, using the strategy of partnership, to accomplish such positive impacts as the following: stable charges for rural connectivity; provision of reliable, affordable energy supply; easier licensing for community radio stations; freedom of the press; advancements in e-government so that CMCs can provide access to government services to their communities; stronger commitment to the use of CMCs as a matter of policy for the delivery of agriculture, health, and education extension services; and the smooth integration of development courses into tertiary computer, engineering, and other technology-oriented educational programmes.