The value of information - Assessing ICT requirements in local government

Abstract

Municipalities are the extension of national government, responsible for the implementation of policy and delivering services to local communities. South African legislation requires citizen engagement, however, the country often experiences poor delivery and “participation” takes the form of protests. Over the last decade, ICTs have been used to address inequalities in service delivery by promoting citizen engagement and enhancing accountability and transparency of local government. The potential of ICTs in this environment has often been met with eagerness, but many unsuccessful projects, with unintended consequences, are examples that the methods of assessing the appropriateness of the technologies need to be revisited. Are we forcing interventions and applications on sectors that are already stretched and under-resourced without questioning the risk? By adopting the Information Value Chain (IVC) approach, this study presents a method to the way we analyse the information needs of municipalities and communities and challenge our own perception of the appropriateness of ICTs as a tool for governance.