ICT for Development: Value Sensitive Design & Information Capabilities

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ICT for Development;

Value Sensitive Design &

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ICT for Development;

Value Sensitive Design

& Information Capabilities

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft,

op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. ir. K.C.A.M. Luyben, voorzitter van het College voor Promoties,

in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 5 september 2013 om 15:00 uur

door Malik Aleem AHMED

Master of Business Administration – Information Technology Management, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan

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Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotoren: Prof.dr. M.J. van den Hoven

Prof.dr. Y-H Tan

Samenstelling promotiecommissie:

Rector Magnificus, Technische Universiteit Delft, voorzitter Prof.dr. M.J. van den Hoven, Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor Prof.dr. Y-H Tan, Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor Prof.dr.ir. M.F.W.H.A. Janssen, Technische Universiteit Delft

Prof.dr. W. Veen, Technische Universiteit Delft

Prof.dr. D. Gasper, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

Dr. D. Kleine, Royal Holloway, University of London

Dr. V. Parmar, Technische Universiteit Delft & Ahmedabad

University, India

Prof.dr. P.A. Kroes, Technische Universiteit Delft, reservelid

Ahmed, M.A. (email: excellence_1@hotmail.com)

ICT for Development; Value Sensitive Design & Information Capabilities

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1 Introduction

1.1. Case illustration 1: information poverty and floods in Pakistan A series of monsoonal floods struck Pakistan during July and August of 2010 (The UN Refugee Agency, 2011). Estimated damages were more than 9.5 billion US dollars (Toosi, 2010). An estimated two thousand people died, three million were left homeless and more than twenty thousand cattle drowned. Crops were destroyed, power stations damaged, and bridges and roads swept away. A study by Webster, Toma and Kim (2011) shows that unprocessed information about the predictability of rainfall and flooding was available at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) based in London (American Geophysical Union, 2011; British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011). If the information had been processed and shared, it could have given a flood warning at least 10 days in advance. However, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), a public institution, did not have these systems or an agreement with ECMWF. PMD thus did not have enough information to forecast the floods 10 days in advance (Watts, 2011). Some (see Pakistan Meteorological Department, 2011) have pointed out that PMD had the information and was able to predict the floods 4 days in advance; however, there was no proper mechanism to share that information with people in an effective manner – many people ignored the warning when the information was shared because they thought that it was unreliable.

The above case illustration shows that in certain scenarios citizens depend on public sector institutions for specific information. The information poverty of the public sector translated into the information poverty of Pakistan’s citizens, resulting in serious harm. Webster et al. (2011) suggest that the effects of 2010 floods could have been less catastrophic had ECMWF’s weather forecasts information been processed, if PMD had had access to it and if the processed information had been shared in time with the citizens. This study has prompted many people to suggest that a comprehensive rainfall and flood forecasting system should be set up in Pakistan. This could cost a few million US dollars, but as little as one hundred thousand dollars a year once operational (Watts, 2011). Webster et al. (2011) have proposed that the transfer and implementation of the said system could be aid-supported. They suggest setting up a system similar to the one set up in Bangladesh – which actually faced serious problems (see case illustration 2 – which has mainly been derived from a paper by Webster et al., 2010).

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1.2. Case illustration 2: climate forecast applications in Bangladesh About one thousand people died, millions were affected and two thirds of Bangladesh was submerged for three months due to flooding in 1998 (Del Ninno, Dorosh & Smith, 2003). After this disastrous event, United States Agency for International Development’ office of foreign disaster assistance (USAID-OFDA) funded the CFAB project. The main implementing partner was Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). The primary goal was to set up a weather forecasting system to collect and process data on flooding, with the aim of providing advance information on the probabilities of floods in Bangladesh. The system became operational in 2007 and could forecast the weather 10 days in advance; this was later extended to 15 days (Watts, 2011). The new forecasting system was successfully tested in August 2008 (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, 2008). The information provided in 2008 saved many lives and also helped citizens to make decisions concerning cattle and belongings, which led to saving as much as 450 US dollars per farm – about the equivalent of an average annual salary in that country (Watts, 2011). CFAB’s models and systems were handed to the Bangladeshi government-owned Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) in late 2008. It was hoped that FFWC would use the system and make predictions on its own. However, FFWC could not utilize the system due to soft factor issues, such as personnel problems in FFWC. GIT had to produce the forecasts during 2009 flood seasons. As project scope was over by that time, partial funding was provided by the National Science Foundation and GIT.

The above case illustration shows that aid-assisted interventions can be helpful in reducing the information poverty of public sector institutions in poorer countries, which in turn can result in reducing the information poverty of the citizens in those countries. Much effort was put into transferring and implementing the technical system, i.e. machinery, software and data collection methods. While the project was successful in its technical aims of producing and collecting the information to forecast, the technology transfer was not successful from a soft factors point of view, as FFWC could not effectively utilize the system after the project’s foreign partners left. One of the reasons was the limited attention paid to local capacity building or human resource strengthening. Another reason was the lack of funding commitment by the donors. Furthermore, political agendas, corruption and power struggles could play a role. The closedness, hierarchy and bureaucracy (Abdullah, 2011) that can be found in the public sector institutions of Bangladesh could be yet another reason for the failure. Values are embedded in every aspect of the culture (Laurel, 2001). Based on Hofstede’s onion model of culture (Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010), values can be placed at the core of these soft factors. Value differences, tensions and conflicts are usually overlooked factors in this type of project. Systems developed for the public sector institutions of most developed countries are influenced by the values of openness and the willingness to share information with the citizens, whereas as mentioned in the case illustrations, public sector institutions in Pakistan and Bangladesh value closedness, hierarchy and bureaucracy (Abdullah, 2011; Islam, 2004).

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1.3. Case illustration 3 – Strengthening the parliaments of Pakistan The Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project (PLSP) was initiated by USAID. The aim was to assist the Pakistani bicameral parliament (National Assembly and Senate) and four provincial assemblies (those of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan) in their representation, law making, oversight/accountability and infrastructure/management functions. The project was carried out from September 2005 to May 2010 by Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) as a USAID contractor, with local and international partners (Development Alternatives Incorporated, 2010a; United States Agency for International Development, 2010a). The main value objective was to strengthen and open up the parliaments. Stakeholders who were involved in the implementation undertook various initiatives to improve representation activities, i.e. assisting Pakistani legislatures to provide information to the public and receive input from citizens for legislative purposes. One of the initiatives was the development and implementation of parliamentary telecasting systems. This intervention was only partially successful, however, as the systems were implemented in only two of the legislatures, namely the National Assembly of Pakistan and the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. After the technical implementation, the National Assembly of Pakistan and the Provincial Assembly of Sindh postponed the live telecasting of their sessions.

This partial failure of the implementation of the telecasting systems, and thus of expanding local capacities, can be linked to the existence of values differences at different levels (see Chapter 5). Values came into the picture in the form of the value objectives of the overall aid-assisted intervention, the values supported by the information and communication systems, the values of the different stakeholders, the values of the donor and host countries, and the values of the public sector institution. Values tensions existed especially in relation to openness, transparency and accountability. Live telecasting systems as operated in the USA represent the value of openness, which was also the value objective of the intervention, whereas parliaments in the Pakistan value closedness – leading to the decision to postpone the live telecasting of the sessions. This example shows that if values differences and tensions are not taken into account, the stakeholders can abandon the system even after its successful technical implementation. The acceptance and use of public sector information and communication technology systems thus depends on the values of the intended institutions, users and society.

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Information poverty and the digital divide1_{are receiving ever increasing attention in} public and political debates. This is because of the growing worldwide acknowledgement of the importance and the role of information2_{in people’s lives.} Governments in developed countries have been adopting policies and implementing information and communication systems in public sector institutions to engage, empower and facilitate their citizens through information and communication technology (ICT) interventions (United Nations, 2005, 2008, 2010). Governments in some middle-income countries have also started catching up (International Telecommunication Union, n.d.; United Nations, 2010; Madon, 2006).

The picture is not so bright in poorer countries, however (Dada, 2006; Olesen, Zambrano & Azzarello, 2006; United Nations, 2005, 2008, 2010). Many ICT interventions3_{in developing countries are either total disasters or partial failures} (Heeks, 2002, 2003)4_{. The inability of public sector institutions to implement and} utilize ICTs has serious implications for millions of people in the developing world. This inability results in the information poverty of citizens, especially with respect to the information to be provided by public sector institutions. Many people in developing countries do not have access to ICTs and, consequently, to timely information, even if the infrastructure is available (Dada, 2006). Information poverty can be seen as the lack of the capability to acquire, use and disseminate information.

1_{The digital divide can be seen as the divide with regards to ICTs between those countries that have}

them and utilize them, usually developed countries, and those countries who do not have them or do not utilize them properly, usually developing countries. The digital divide can also be referred to as the divide concerning ICTs between those people who have them and use them and those who do not have them in a given society (see Chen & Wellman, 2004). The digital divide is marked not only by physical access to computers and connectivity, but also by access to additional resources that allow people to use technology well (Warschauer, 2004).

2_{In this thesis, information is seen as a very important resource, which has the instrumental value to}

make decisions to do things or live the life a person values. Availability of the right information is considered to be very important for doings and beings.

3_{The thesis focuses on those ICT interventions that are under taken to strengthen the public sector}

institutions for the purposes of sharing information and improving communication with citizens. They are referred to as PS ICT interventions.

4_{Referring back to case illustration 1, ECMWF is an independent intergovernmental organization.}

Eighteen EU member states and fifteen cooperating states support ECMWF operations. Many of the states are developed countries, which is an indication of the fact that the governments of developed countries have been utilizing ICTs to provide their citizens with better services. Developing countries like Pakistan, on the other hand, are not doing well.

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Information poverty is one of the factors that leads towards overall poverty (Harris, 2004; Ahmed, 2008d) and limits the social and economic development of citizens in poorer countries (Heeks, 2005; James, 2005; Parmar, 2009a). The first case illustration also shows that the information poverty of PMD resulted in the information poverty of citizens in Pakistan. It consequently resulted in poverty for millions of people; for example, people were not able to take their belongings with them or to evacuate their cattle, which resulted in even more poverty.

The availability of information and ICTs to institutions, public servants and ultimately citizens is important for improving the quality of life in developing countries. ICTs are tools that – along with the right policies, willingness, infrastructure and actions – can contribute to expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions and citizens. Information capabilities refer to the freedoms to realize the functionings of acquiring, using and disseminating information.

The theory underlying the concept of information capabilities is the capability approach (CA). The CA stresses that in a given society, citizens should have the freedoms to realize potential functionings5_{into actual functionings and should be} able to live the lives that they deem valuable (Nussbaum, 2000; Sen, 1999). The concept of information capabilities developed in this dissertation is influenced by Gigler’s concept of informational capabilities (Gigler, 2004). Informational capabilities, according to Gigler, refer to a person’s positive freedom to use ICTs within the institutional and socioeconomic setup of a society (Gigler, 2011)6_.

ICT initiatives can improve the situation in developing countries (Ahmed 2008c, 2010a, 2010b, 2010c, 2011a, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c; Ahmed et al., 2012; Madon, 2000; Hamel, 2010). PS ICT interventions can be undertaken to design an

5_{Potential functionings can be seen as the functionings that a person has the potential to perform if the}

right resources and freedoms are available.

6_{See section 1.9.1 for more on the capability approach, Gigler’s concept of informational capabilities,}

and the similarities and differences between Gigler’s concept of informational capabilities and my own concept of information capabilities as presented in this thesis. Gigler first mentioned the term in his 2004 conference paper, but did not precisely define it – other than mentioning some outcome indicators. I started developing my own concept of information capabilities in 2007, and I submitted a conference paper on it in late 2009 (included in the conference proceedings in July 2010 (Ahmed, 2010c), extended and submitted for consideration as a book chapter in 2011 (Ahmed 2012b), now Chapter 2 in this dissertation). Gigler’s later work on the concept of informational capabilities (Gigler, 2011, 2012) gives more details, but was published after the research for this dissertation was already largely completed.

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environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions and citizens in developing countries. This perspective is referred to as the information capabilities perspective. By ‘PS ICT interventions’7_{, I mean} those ICT initiatives and projects that are undertaken to strengthen the public sector institutions via aid assistance channels. They are referred to as interventions because stakeholders from outside public sector institutions are involved. The assumption is that the strengthening of public sector institutions will put them in a better position not only to provide services to the citizens, but also to share correct and timely information. Information capabilities expansion of the public sector institutions can result in the information capabilities expansion of citizens. This viewpoint is referred to as indirectly expanding the information capabilities of citizens.

PS ICT interventions in developing countries require vision, commitment and significant investments. Many of the poorest governments have low capacities to fulfil such commitments, have a history of not keeping their promises, lack basic legitimacy in the eyes of many citizens, may be captured by corrupt elites, or are locked in conflicts that consume their energies and resources (Grindle, 2002)8_{. They} do not focus on providing services to their citizens. The international community has been providing financial and technical assistance to the developing world. PS ICT interventions that involve the international community (e.g. aid donors and international development organizations) are called aid-assisted PS ICT interventions9_{. The international community provides financial and/or technical} assistance to public sector institutions in developing countries via aid-assisted interventions.

7_{The term ‘ICT interventions’ is mainly used to refer to public sector ICT interventions. ICT}

interventions include not only the implementation of tools, but also related policies, procedures and resources.

8_{For example, with reference to the first case illustration, a judicial inquiry found that much of the}

damage caused by the floods was due to corruption and the inefficiencies of the involved public sector institutions (Reporter, 2011).

9_{The focus of the research is on those aid-assisted PS ICT interventions that aim at improving and}

facilitating communication between the public sector institutions and citizens (or other stake-holders). If these PS ICT interventions are taken to improve the government processes, then they are referred to in this dissertation as e-government projects. Similarly, ICT interventions taken in the parliaments are referred as e-parliament initiatives or projects. Different naming conventions were unavoidable as different papers were submitted to different journals, books and conferences. Different names were used for roughly the same concepts to make the papers relevant to the intended journal, book or conference.

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Aid-assisted PS ICT interventions can be aimed at automating and simplifying the internal and external processes and functions of public sector institutions. They can assist in redesigning services and processes, providing support, enhancing service delivery, improving relationships, promptly responding to stakeholders10 demands, exchanging information and improving the two-way communication with citizens (Ahmed, 2010a, 2010b11_{; United Nations, 2008, 2010). I assert that one of} the ultimate goals should be to create an environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions and citizens. The aid-assisted PS ICT interventions research area comes under the broader researcher area of ICT for development (ICT4D) or the e-development research area. Aid-assisted ICT interventions are often part of bigger aid-assisted public sector strengthening projects (see Chapters 2 and 3).

Although the international community has been providing assistance to poorer countries, huge development and aid-related projects have failed to benefit the poor citizens in developing countries. Some of the reasons for this failure are corruption (Cockburn, 2010; Moyo, 2009), poor management (The use of euphemism, 2011), ill-conceived projects (Landingin, 2008; Thomson, 2010) including a focus on resource provision, bad intentions (Polman, 2010), poor communication (Ghana News Agency, 2008), quick-fix approaches and other soft factors (Heeks, 2002, 2003) including differences in values and objectives between the donors and the host entities. In the second case illustration (the development of climate forecast applications in Bangladesh), for example, technology transfer was only partially successful due to a soft factor, i.e. a shortage of skilled people in the host environment.

This dissertation highlights that the information capabilities of public sector institutions in developing countries can be expanded through aid-assisted PS ICT interventions under the public sector institutional strengthening umbrella. As indicated in the first and second case illustrations, the information capabilities of

10_{For the purposes of this research, a stakeholder is an entity or a group that has interests or stakes in}

the process. Many stakeholders are involved from the conception to the usage of the system including, but not limited, to aid donors, governments, international development organizations, public sector institutions, citizens, civil society, unions, media, concerned organizations, other governmental departments, employees and users. By ‘implementing stakeholders’ or ‘stakeholders in the implementation process’, I mean those entities or groups that are involved from the conception to the implementation phase of the project.

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citizens are, in certain scenarios and to some extent, dependent on the information capabilities of public sector institutions; therefore, we can say that the information capabilities of citizens, with respect to government, can be expanded only if information is made available by the public sector institutions in the first place. This can happen if public sector institutions have the mechanisms (tools and policies) to capture, sort, process and disseminate the information, and have the ability to receive and process information from citizens, i.e. they have the opportunities and tools to share information and engage with citizens through proper communication mechanisms.

This dissertation stresses the importance of expanding public sector institutional information capabilities for reducing information poverty, and explicates the concept of the information capabilities of public sector institutions in developing countries, stakeholders in those institutions and the countries’ citizens. The dissertation is divided into four parts.

Part 1 (Chapters 2 and 3) explores, based on the CA of Nobel Prize winner in economics Amartya Sen and philosopher Martha Nussbaum, the significance of the information capabilities perspective for implementing ICT systems in the parliaments of developing countries. It also discusses how the conversion factors view can help implementing stakeholders to choose the appropriate technology. It stresses that aid-assisted PS ICT interventions can be used to expand the information capabilities of citizens, parliaments and members of parliaments.

Part 2 (Chapters 4 and 5) mainly stresses the importance of taking into account value differences between different societies and institutions, interventions’ value objectives, and the values reflected in or supported by the system during the transfer and implementation of aid-assisted ICT interventions. As indicated in the third case illustration, values tensions arise during aid-assisted PS ICT interventions due to the differences in values between the host country, the donor country, the values objectives of the intervention, the values embedded in or supported by the system, and the values held in public sector institutions. For the purposes of this dissertation, a preferable way of seeing a value is what persons either singularly or collectively consider important to their lives (Cummings, 2006). Many researchers have stressed that technology and society are interrelated (Barley, 1986; Fountain, 2001; Friedman, Kahn & Borning, 2002; Gil-García & Pardo, 2005; Jeroen van den Hoven, 2008a; Langdon Winner, 1986b). Technology is not value-neutral (Lowrance, 2010; Zerzan, 2008). Some have suggested that values are embedded in

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technical systems (Flangan, Belman, Nissenbaum & Diamond, 2007; Flangan, Howe & Nissenbaum, 2008), whether designers intend it or not. Values in design (Nissenbaum, 2011), value-sensitive design (Friedman & Kahn, 2003; Friedman, Kahn, et al., 2002; Friedman, Kahn & Borning, 2008; Friedman, Lin & Miller, 2005), value at play (Flangan, et al., 2007; Flangan, et al., 2008), value-conscious design (Manders-Huits, 2010) and disclosive ethics (Brey, 2000) are some of the initiatives that focus on values and design in information and communication technologies and systems. Many propositions and recommendations of value-sensitive design (VSD) have been used in this dissertation. VSD is a theoretically grounded approach to the design of technology that accounts for human values in a principled and comprehensive manner throughout the design process (Friedman, Kahn, et al., 2002).

If we agree that certain values are more readily supported by technical systems and that society influences the shaping of technology, we must also agree that technical systems are influenced by and support the values of the societies in which they are built. Second, aid-assisted PS ICT interventions have some values objectives to be achieved, which might be in conflict with the local host’s values. Systems transferred via aid-assisted ICT interventions12_{often run counter to local} values and norms, and the international implementers are not aware of the host’s values. Systems are implemented but later on face sustainability issues and often fail, just like other aid-assisted projects13_.

Values tensions might arise as there are values differences between countries (Hofstede, 1991; Inglehart, 2008; World Values Survey, n.d.), the intervention’s values objectives, the values supported by the systems and the values of local stakeholders. Therefore, it is proposed that understanding values differences and resolving the values tensions by donor and host entities can increase the chances of successfully transferring and implementing ICT systems via aid-assisted PS ICT interventions and ensuring their sustainability14_{. This perspective is called the} value-sensitive transfer perspective.

12_{As systems more readily support certain values or are implemented to achieve some values goals.} 13_{The second case illustration also shows the sustainability problems of the systems.}

14_{Transferring a system does not mean taking all the hardware and software blueprints from one}

context and transferring them to another context. By transferring a system, I mean taking the ideas and abstract of the system, and transferring it to and implementing it in another context without taking contextual differences and values tensions into account.

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Part 3 (Chapters 6 and 7) presents and uses the information technology alteration framework (ITAF), which is developed in this thesis. The ITAF amalgamates the information capabilities and the value-sensitive transfer (VST) perspective.

The fact that many aid-assisted ICT interventions do not benefit citizens raises the issue of who is responsible for the interventions’ sustainability issues and failures. The responsibility issue was too broad to be fully covered in the research agenda. Part 4 (Chapter 8) deals with the responsibility of short-term IT consultants who are involved in aid-assisted PS ICT interventions. The relevance also appears by the fact that short-term consultants play an important role in various phases of aid-assisted ICT interventions.

The added value of thesis takes the form of the recommendations and propositions of the capability approach and the information capabilities perspective (Chapters 2 and 3), value-sensitive transfer (Chapters 4 and 5), the information technology alteration framework (Chapters 6 and 7) for the successful implementation of aid-assisted ICT interventions and the responsibility of freelance consultants (Chapter 8).

1.4. Context

During cross-country interventions, the associated procedures, processes, tools and systems are also transferred and sometimes transplanted in order to achieve the desired objectives (De Jong & Mamadouh, 2002a; De Jong, Mamadouh & Lalenis, 2002b). This is also true for cross-country PS ICT interventions. Information and communication technologies and systems are also becoming important for achieving the objectives of many other aid-assisted projects. ‘Values objectives’ refers to the objectives of the intervention incorporating some values. The values objectives of aid-assisted ICT interventions might be different, for example, opening up the closed institutions in the host country (Chapter 2), creating an environment for freedom of information by expanding the information capabilities of the citizens (Chapters 2, 6 and 7), or achieving democratic ideals, transparency, accountability, etc. (Chapters 2–7). For example, the values objectives of the aid-assisted project Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project, which is referred in the case studies in Chapters 5 and 7, was to open up the closed parliaments of Pakistan and make them more transparent, accountable and representative institutions. As mentioned, one of the

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end goals could be to create an environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions and citizens.

Public sector institution focus of the thesis

Cases, examples and discussions are made for parliaments and especially for the parliaments of Pakistan in Chapters 2, 3, 5 and 7. The case studies in Chapters 5 and 7 are from an aid-assisted project for Pakistani parliaments. The focus is on technology transfer via aid-assisted ICT interventions for capabilities expansion. A discussion of values differences and values tensions has been given preference. Those ICT interventions are selected that are aimed at improving the communication between public sector institutions and citizens. I show the importance of information in the lives of people for ‘doings’ and ‘beings’.

The decision to focus on the public sector institutions in Pakistan was based on the following reasons:

1. Pakistan provided a good platform for addressing the research objective. Many international development aid projects have been carried out in Pakistan. The international community has been assisting Pakistan in the form of bilateral and multilateral assistance in the area of public sector institutional strengthening through ICT interventions for the past 20 years. Therefore, there were several examples and cases available to be explored. 2. The author is a native of Pakistan and is familiar with the regional context.

Moreover, the author has working experience in the development sector in Pakistan and has field experience of working on ICT interventions for the parliaments of Pakistan during an aid-assisted parliamentary strengthening project.

3. Aid-assisted ICT interventions for the parliaments of Pakistan were selected because these parliaments are considered closed institutions. In the recent past, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) undertook several initiatives to open up the parliaments so that they will share information with citizens on a timely basis.

In Chapter 6, the higher education sector is touched upon in order to explore the applicability of concepts to other public sector institutions. The discussion in Chapters 1, 4 and 8 is from the general public sector institutions’ point of view.

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Technology focus of the thesis

The technology focus of the thesis is on web-based systems such as web portals, website development, web casting, and web 2.0 applications and systems for public sector institutions, especially parliaments. Systems such as telecasting systems, computer-mediated communication systems and other e-parliament systems are also covered. In Chapter 6, the context is web-based systems for public sector higher education institutions. This context is taken to show that the propositions of the ITAF are also suitable for educational public sector institutions. The case study presented in Chapter 8 is related to the responsibility of freelance consultants for web development during an aid-assisted ICT intervention in a public sector institution in Pakistan.

ICT transfer to and implementation in institutionally complex environments that have weak technological infrastructures (also see Parmar 2009b), such as parliaments in developing countries, requires an understanding of several fields. This thesis benefits from several studies in different fields, including ICT for development, information systems development, ethics & technology, the capability approach and cultural studies. Moreover, the thesis is based on the author's underlying assumption that no single field has the answers to the problems we face. There is a need to use the knowledge, theories and empirical evidences from different fields to find solutions to problems. Researchers with an interest in more than one field can complement each other’s efforts. The thesis attempts to integrate knowledge from different fields, including information systems development, ethics & technology, the capability approach, value-sensitive design and cultural studies.

1.5. Structure of the rest of the chapter

I present the problem statement and research objective in section 1.6. Figure 1.1 summarizes the crux of the research. Subsections 1.6.1, 1.6.2, 1.6.3 and 1.6.4 identify the four parts and the subsequent questions covered in the thesis. Section 1.7 presents the scientific and social relevance and contribution of the thesis. I indicate the boundaries and limitations of the research in subsection 1.7.3. Research methodology is elaborated in section 1.8. Section 1.9 covers the theories and works used in building the line of argumentation for the framework and theory of this research. I present ITAF in section 1.10. I present the outline of the thesis in the form of summaries of chapters in section 1.11.

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1.6. Research objective and research questions

Problem statement: The transfer and implementation of ICTs via cross-country

aid-assisted PS ICT interventions is often unsuccessful for various reasons15_{. The} present research focused on the following two reasons:

1. Stakeholders involved in the implementation process mainly focus on providing the technical resources – i.e. the hardware and software – to change a situation. The success of the intervention is often evaluated from a technical point of view. This view can be referred as a technical implementation view on aid-assisted PS ICT interventions.

This thesis proposes that the stakeholders in the implementation process should focus on expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions and citizens in developing countries16_.

2. Values differences and values tensions are often not taken into account.

The thesis demonstrates that it is important for the implementation and sustainability of aid-assisted PS ICT interventions to take values into account17_{. Values differences and values tensions have to be considered for} the transfer and implementation of aid-assisted PS ICTs. This is the second way in which the technical implementation view needs to be broadened.

Research objective: To propose a framework that stresses expanding the

information capabilities of institutions and citizens and that is sensitive to values differences and values tensions for aid-assisted public sector ICT interventions in developing countries.

15_{Some of the reasons are ill-conceived projects, corruption, political unwillingness, poor management,}

quick-fix approaches, human resource problems, unrealistic scope and limited financial resources especially during the sustainability phase.

16_{Information capabilities perspective.} 17_{Value-sensitive transfer perspective.}

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Often cross-cultural aid-assisted ICT systems’ transferring is not successful

Reason 1

Focus on resource provision (technical implementation view)

Reason 2

Value differences and tensions are not taken care of

Proposition 1 (Information capabilities perspective)

Resource provision for information capabilities expansion

Proposition 2 (Values sensitive transfer perspective) Taking care of values differences

and tensions

Information technology alteration framework Why Propositions Proposed solution P ro b le m P ro p o s e d s o lu tio n Reasons

Figure 1.1 Problem statement and proposed solution

Figure 1.1 shows the crux of the thesis. It shows two of the problems that are addressed and the solutions proposed for transferring and implementing cross-country aid-assisted PS ICT interventions. To achieve the research objective, the thesis is divided into the following four parts. Each part is guided by a research question.

1.6.1. Information capabilities perspective

Question 1: How can the information capabilities perspective assist in transferring and implementing public sector ICTs via cross-country aid-assisted PS ICT interventions?

Research in the social informatics field and in the values, design and technology fields shows that ICTs are one of the factors that influence institutions and human

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behaviour, and are therefore important change agents. The viewpoint that ICTs can be used to design an environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions, stakeholders and citizens is explored in the thesis especially in Chapters 2 and 3. This viewpoint is influenced by the capability approach (Nussbaum, 2000; Sen, 1999). The information capabilities perspective on aid-assisted ICT interventions offers an alternative view on ICT systems as opposed to the technical implementation view, which is based on the idea that ICT tools have intrinsic powers to solve problems. The alternative viewpoint is that ICTs can be used as a means to solve problems. For example, they can be used instrumentally to create an environment of information capabilities expansion, agency freedom and wellbeing for the citizens of poorer countries. Yet in order to effectively solve problems or bring about these positive outcomes, personal characteristics, social conditions and infrastructure conditions (which are also referred to as conversion factors) also need to be taken into account. Contrary to the technical implementation view, the information capabilities view acknowledges this. Moreover, the information capabilities perspective assists in choosing a technology from the available alternatives to create an environment that is conducive to expanding information capabilities.

In Chapter 2, I explore how different ICTs can be used to improve the representation function of parliaments by expanding the information capabilities of parliaments, MPs and citizens, in order to answer the first research question.

I show in Chapter 3 that the information capabilities perspective and the conversion factors view can help implementing stakeholders to choose the appropriate technology. Moreover, the information capabilities perspective and the capability approach are used to respond to the various arguments that are usually presented for not investing in parliamentary telecasting systems. These include the economic and financial feasibility argument, the ‘unpopular in developed societies’ argument, the low or no demand argument and the ‘unreadiness of parliaments in developing countries’ argument.

1.6.2. Value-sensitive transfer perspective

Question 2: How can the value-sensitive transfer perspective assist in transferring and implementing public sector ICTs via cross-country aid-assisted PS ICT interventions?

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In Part 2 (Chapters 4 and 5), I discuss that ICT systems in aid-assisted ICT interventions can be influenced by preconceived ideas and values at different levels. The first level is at the broader level of the interrelationship of technology and culture, while the second is at the specific level of the values objectives and aims of the policies to be transferred and implemented. Researchers have argued that at the more general level, ICTs more readily support certain values. These values may be influenced by the societies in which they are conceived, designed, developed and modified.

Moreover, ICTs that are to be implemented in aid-assisted PS ICT interventions are influenced by the preconceived ideas and values of the broader policy to be transferred to the institutions in the host country. The ideas and values are often new to the host institution and conflict with its existing values, norms and practices. ICT systems implementation is also influenced by the values of donor organizations, short-term consultants and international development organizations. When and where allowed, these ICTs may also be influenced by the values of local stakeholders.

Various researches and theories (Hall, 1976, 1984; Hofstede, 1991; Inglehart, 2008; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997) show that cultural diversity and cultural differences in values exist between countries and regions. Studies in the field of psychology show that one of the consequences of intercultural contact, particularly when it is negative or discriminatory, is to react against it and increase one’s identification with one’s own cultural community (Berry, 2008). The results of empirical studies and the idea of cultural pluralism (Ess, 2008) lead towards a proposition, namely that if cultural diversity exists between the donor country and the host country, implementing stakeholders have to take into account and to have planned for the differences in values when conceiving and implementing systems for the public sector institutions of a developing country. This discussion further develops into the value-sensitive transfer perspective in Chapter 5.

1.6.3. Information technology alteration framework

Question 3: How can the information technology alteration framework, which is based on the information capabilities perspective and the value-sensitive transfer perspective, assist in implementing public sector ICTs via cross-country aid-assisted ICT interventions?

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The information technology alteration framework is presented in Chapters 1, 6 and 7. The framework proposes that one of the factors in accounting and planning for the differences in values and values tensions is to customize, modify and, if needed, alter the information and communication technology or system. However, the system should not be altered to the extent that it reinforces existing institutional structures, because in this case the desired objectives would be difficult to achieve. Those values that are considered more legitimate18_{should not be altered in the} system, so that the desired objectives can still be achieved. Taking into account values differences should result in systems that are not abandoned after implementation. An insight into value-sensitive design from an intercultural perspective could guide one towards achieving the right balance for alteration (see Chapter 9). In Chapter 5, the theoretical base of VSD is extended to framing value-sensitive transfer, according to which the projects or interventions should have the scope to alter the system in order to find a balance between the desired values objectives and the host’s values. It would improve the chances of the acceptability, operability and sustainability of the system. It would assist in achieving the desired objectives, one of them being the creation of an environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of public sector institutions and citizens. This general line of argumentation in the dissertation is framed as the ITAF in section 1.10 and is further discussed in Chapter 619_.

Chapter 7 uses the ITAF – more specifically the information capabilities perspective – in proposing that parliamentary web systems can be used to facilitate democratic processes by expanding the information capabilities of parliaments, MPs and citizens. Based on the VST perspective, I reiterate that if values differences and tensions exist, implementing stakeholders should alter the design to accommodate the local values. Chapter 7 further discusses the operational challenges to parliamentary website development in developing countries, and proposes solutions.

1.6.4. Responsibility of short-term IT consultants in aid-assisted PS ICT interventions

The problem statement and the VST perspective intuitively makes us think about the entities that are responsible for failure. Although the question of responsibility is

18_{Here, legitimate means to be in accordance with some rules, principles or standards.} 19_{Case studies in Chapters 2 and 6 also contributed to proposing ITAF.}

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very broad, the responsibility issue is touched upon in Chapter 8. The sub-question is:

Question 4: Are short-term freelance IT consultants responsible for their actions and omissions in aid-assisted public sector ICT interventions?

The implementing stakeholders (i.e. the donors, designers, international development organizations and local project partners) should take responsibility for ensuring that the systems are suitable for the local context, are acceptable to host institutions and will be sustainable. I state that freelance IT consultants are responsible for their actions and omissions. Such responsibility is discussed in detail from the point of view of short-term consultants, or more specifically that of freelance web developers.

1.7. Relevance and contribution

1.7.1. Scientific relevance and contribution

This research uses the concepts of the capability approach and value-sensitive design in cross-country aid-assisted PS ICT interventions. The concepts of the capability approach (CA) are used to describe the concept of information capabilities (Chapters 2 and 3), to take an information capabilities perspective on aid-assisted PS ICT interventions (Chapters 2 and 3), and to use the conversion factors concept and information capabilities perspective to choose the appropriate system from the available options (see Chapter 3). The thesis contributes to the CA literature by providing an insight into aid-assisted PS ICT interventions to expand the information capabilities of the public sector institutions in order to create an environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of citizens. The focus of the CA is on the human capabilities of individuals. This thesis uses the CA to incorporate the concept of the information capabilities of public sector institutions to indirectly expand the information capabilities of citizens. The contributions of each chapter are discussed in their respective subsections at the end of Chapter 1.

This thesis contributes to the cross-country technology transfer literature by addressing the role of values at different points in time, and emphasizes taking into

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account values differences and values tensions for the successful transfer and sustainability of systems. The value-sensitive transfer perspective (Chapters 4 and 5) is developed using value-sensitive design and cross-cultural studies. This thesis contributes to the theory of value-sensitive design by considering the differences in values between different societies, the values objectives of cross-country aid-assisted projects, the values embedded or reflected in the abstract of the system to be implemented, and the values of the host institution. It frames value-sensitive transfer. The thesis amalgamates the concepts of various theories, especially of CA and VSD, into the information technology alteration framework (ITAF).

This thesis contributes to the ICT for development (ICT4D) literature, as Pakistan is not covered sufficiently in that literature. Furthermore, parliament and ICTs as a topic is not covered much in the ICT4D literature. The thesis also considers different ICTs – both new and traditional – while much of the ICT4D literature is now focused on the internet and mobile phones.

1.7.2. Social relevance and contribution

Billions of US dollars are spent on aid every year; however, the impact of development aid efforts is limited (Djankov et al., 2008; Moyo, 2009; Roodman, 2007). The propositions and suggestions presented in the various chapters of this thesis can contribute to the more successful implementation and sustaining of aid-assisted ICT interventions in developing countries, which in turn can contribute to creating an environment that is conducive to expanding the information capabilities of the public sector institutions and consequently of the citizens. The social contributions of the research are:

 Development industry professionals and governments in developing countries can apply the proposed ITAF to conceive and implement cross-cultural aid-assisted PS ICT interventions. The ITAF facilitates the implementing stakeholders to take the information capabilities and the value-sensitive transfer perspective.

 This thesis proposes the VST framework and the ITAF, which illustrate the importance and role of difference in values between different entities and values tensions during aid-assisted PS ICT interventions. The frameworks can be instrumental in taking into account values at different points in time for the successful transfer of systems.

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 This thesis offers an insight into institutionally acceptable ICT systems and solutions in the cross-country scenarios for policymakers.

 This thesis considers short-term consultants as agents of responsibility in cross-country aid-assisted PS ICT interventions. It emphasizes that, being agents of responsibility, the consultants should be held responsible for their actions and omissions.

1.7.3. Boundaries and limitations

Aid and aid-assisted projects are considered important for good governance, alleviating poverty, improving education and improving health systems in poorer countries. Some researchers (Cockburn, 2010; Moyo, 2009), however, attribute serious disadvantages to aid and aid-assisted projects, including dependency and corruption. In this dissertation, I do not get involved in the discussion whether foreign aid and aid-assisted interventions are good or bad. I tend to assume that the international community and the host country and its institutions have good intentions of assisting the poor via aid-assisted interventions and that there are no geopolitical interests involved in development assistance.

Second, many other factors – including political willingness, corruption, infrastructure availability and local capacities – play roles in the success or failure of cross-country aid-assisted projects. The success of any intervention also calls for an understanding of the informal environment into which the formal intervention is inserted (Madon, 2009). I acknowledge the importance of these factors in various places; however, I focus on discussing the role of values, differences in values and the taking into account of values tensions for the success or failure and sustainability of cross-country aid-assisted PS ICT interventions to expand the information capabilities of citizens. I do not claim originality in suggesting taking into account differences in values.

Third, a curious reader will find some gaps between the claims made and their defence. One reason for this is that some papers that were written during this research are not included in this thesis. The interested reader can refer to the list of papers written and presented during this research; for example, details of the values and intercultural variations in values concept can be found in Ahmed and Van den Hoven (2008).

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The research does not cover the area of making new technical systems and artefacts for developing countries. Instead, the focus is on transferring already developed systems and artefacts, based on the abstract representation of the system, by taking into account difference in values (see Chapter 5).

A few other remarks have to be made before introducing the main body of the dissertation. Firstly, I apologize for the repetition in the chapters. They were written as independent papers, of which two were published in journals, four were published as book chapters and one was included in the proceedings of an international conference. This translates into the unavoidably different terminologies. Certain paragraphs are repeated or presented a little differently in various chapters. For instance, the introduction to capability approach and the concept of information capabilities is repeated in Chapters 2 and 3, although different details are discussed. References to different researches are also made more than once. Second, different terminologies are used for similar concepts. For example, ICT interventions, PS ICT interventions, ICT initiatives, ICT projects and aid-assisted e-government projects refer to roughly the same thing. These discrepancies and differences in terminologies can be explained based on the different target audiences of the journals, books and conferences.

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1.8. Research methodology Table 1.1 Research methodology

Methodology Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Case study X X X Desk research X X X X X X X Case illustrations X X X Communication or informal interviews X X X X Online polls X Presentations/feedback20 _X _X _X _X _X _X _X

Table 1.1 summarizes the research methodology of this thesis. A case study approach was used to develop the theory. Concepts were taken from several disciplines. One of the reasons for the multidisciplinary approach was the complex nature of the research problem. Moreover, the research objective could not be fully explored based on a single field. Another reason is that the research was carried out in two departments, namely the Department of Values and Technology and the Department of Infrastructure Systems & Services, both of which are part of the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology. Case study development based on desk research, communication, papers, presentations and discussions at different platforms was used to develop and modify the theory. The work presented in the thesis mainly falls under the explanatory theory umbrella. The explanatory part of the ‘explanation and prediction theory’ covers the ‘what is’, ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘what will be’ (Gregor, 2006). Case studies and illustrations presented in various chapters and their analysis cover the explanation part. More explanatory research is needed to develop more insight, to develop different hypothesis, to explore which elements are important and to test those elements. In future, the proposed framework can be modified. The methodology is described in the following subsection.

20_{Earlier versions of the papers were presented and discussed at different platforms. Observations and}

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1.8.1. Case study development and evaluation

Due to the complex nature of cross-country aid-assisted ICT transfer and implementation, the scarcity of in-depth studies in the field, and the intention to develop a deep understanding of the nature of the transfer of systems between countries via aid-assisted PS ICT interventions, a qualitative approach based on a case study research was adopted, especially for Chapters 5, 7 and 821_{. Case study} research allows one to understand a phenomenon in depth (Yin, 1989). It is one of the most common qualitative methods used in information systems (Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991) and is also used in the study of ICT in the public sector (Denziger & Andersen, 2002). The criteria for selecting the cases were as follows:

 The ICT intervention had to be an aid-assisted PS ICT intervention involving aid donors, an implementing agency and a public sector institution in a developing country.

 The ICT intervention had to aim at strengthening the public sector institution so that it can communicate better with citizens.

 Secondary data on the ICT intervention had to be available in the form of reports and papers.

The case studies in Chapters 5 and 7 focus on the parliaments in Pakistan. One of the reasons to select aid-assisted parliamentary ICT interventions was the author’s field experience in 2006 as an IT advisor in an aid-assisted parliamentary strengthening project in Pakistan. Second, the author felt the need to develop the case studies for parliamentary ICT interventions in Pakistan, as although the international community has been providing support on and off to the Pakistani parliaments for the last 20 years, very little research has covered this area. Third, parliaments are considered the central institutions in democratic forms of government. To promote democracy in poorer countries, research is needed covering the democratic institutions including the parliaments, and efforts need to be made to establish how ICTs can be used to strengthen them.

Chapter 5 presents a case study on the transfer of telecasting systems to and their implementation in the parliaments of Pakistan. Chapter 7 presents a case study on developing/enhancing the websites of Pakistani parliaments. The focus is also on elaborating the lessons learnt from the case study. For Chapter 8, a case study was selected based on the field experience of freelance IT consultants in aid-assisted ICT

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interventions. For Chapters 5 and 7, I opted to investigate the cases in which parliamentary information and communication systems were transferred from the USA and implemented in Pakistan via a USAID funded project called the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project (PLSP). As a lot of public information was available, I could access various document sources and had the opportunity to contact project staff and parliamentary stakeholders. The PLSP was originally planned to take two years (2005–07); however, the project was not concluded until May 2010.

The following approach was taken for the overall research with the focus on case studies and illustrations:

 Desk research

 Data gathering/data sources

o Direct observation/field experience o Projects’ reports and websites o Communication with stakeholders

o External documents (newspaper articles, blogs, online contents and reports by external entities)

 Framework development Desk research

Desk research was given special emphasis both before and during the development of the case studies. A theoretical and practical understanding of the related subjects was developed based on desk research and literature review. Key concepts including, but not limited to, information capabilities, aid-assisted ICT interventions, values and technology, and cross-country differences in values were looked into closely. Various theories and works including, but not limited to, the capability approach, the technology enactment framework, value-sensitive design, soft technological determinism and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were reviewed. Books, reports, case studies, papers and literature on development-related ICT interventions in developing countries were studied. The emphasis was on the information capabilities and the value-sensitive transfer perspective on ICT interventions for parliaments.

A part of this study was focused on identifying the concepts of information capabilities for the successful implementation of aid-assisted PS ICT interventions in developing countries. Conceptual analysis consists primarily in breaking down or

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analysing concepts into their constituent parts in order to gain knowledge or a better understanding of a particular issue in which the concept is involved (Beaney, 2002). The concept of ‘information capabilities’ is identified and analysed in Chapters 2 and 3. In Chapter 8, conceptual investigations are made for considering freelance consultants as agents of responsibility.

Data gathering/data sources

The author’s previous field experience and the desk research served as the launch pad for this thesis. The author acted as an IT Advisor for the PLSP for eight months in 2006, before commencing this research. Before that, the author had worked for more than six years on development and public sector institutions related projects in Pakistan.22

For Chapters 5 and 7, the author spent a considerable amount of time reviewing background documentation and studying the PLSP project’s quarterly reports. Documents, reports and government publications were collected concerning the initiating, transfer, implementation and use of the PLSP systems. Data were gathered from the project’s quarterly reports, which are available on the USAID website. News, notices and documents from the parliamentary websites and the website of DAI were also reviewed. Five PLSP quarterly reports developed by DAI, two yearly PLSP work plans, two web news reports from DAI website, three news items from Pakistani newspaper websites, one report from the third party vendor, three news reports from Pakistani parliamentary websites, one news item from Capital Development Authority website and one news item from the US embassy in Pakistan were consulted. Many of the references of the above-mentioned reports and news items can be found in the reference section.

22_{This research was funded partly by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan and partly}

by TU Delft’s Department of Values and Technology. The author had to submit annual reports to HEC regarding the progress of research (e.g. number of papers produced, number of conferences attended); however, the content of the research was not an issue in these reports. Therefore, the author was able to conduct independent and critical research. Nevertheless, past professional experience might have led to a bias, as is also acknowledged in the conclusions (Chapter 9). It should also be mentioned that I was not working (as a consultant or otherwise) for any of the stakeholders mentioned in the thesis during the time of the research; however, as a courtesy to my former employer I answered some of the queries of PLSP director and assistant project director in March 2007 regarding parliamentary websites development and ICT equipment reports.

ICT for Development: Value Sensitive Design & Information Capabilities

ICT for Development;

Value Sensitive Design &

ICT for Development;

Value Sensitive Design

& Information Capabilities

Proefschrift

Contents

1 Introduction