Development of a policy framework to enable beneficial use of ICTs for national and community objectives

Abstract

This paper provides insight in how existing ICT for Development (ICT4D) paradigms are becoming less successful in meeting the ICT needs of disadvantaged communities. In addition it shows that the call for a new paradigm incorporating existing economic activities within these communities is surfacing. The main research question discusses what policy framework enables beneficial use of ICTs on both a national and communal level. The paper does so by researching recent literature to combine the advantages of both the national and communal approach and by using Egypt as a case study to derive components of a framework and to construct a new framework policy to improve Egypt's governance approach to social project development. It is concluded that such a combination is possible. Furthermore, a new framework is presented that incorporates a governance approach to social project development and that supports the aim of ICT4D to economically advantage the people it was originally designed for.