Sixteen rural ICT offices and one hundred sixty-five rural users were interviewed by the research team. From the ICT’s agents’ sample, majority of them are aged 31 to 40 years old and half of them have diploma degree. Meanwhile, from the rural users, most of them are aged 20 to 30 years old, and majority of them also have diploma degree.
The gathered data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling and showed that education, and policy and management requirements need to be prioritized to enhance the efficacy of rural ICT offices. On a side note, the study also highlights that providing in-service education for ICT experts, conducting regular training initiatives for ICT agents, and maximizing mass media in informing the villagers on aspects of ICTs can significantly improve the performance and output of these rural ICT offices.
Educational programs are also considered in boosting the performance of the rural ICT offices. Local media like radio, television, newspaper, and pamphlet can be utilized in promoting these programs to rural household. Furthermore, with the continuously increasing range of mobile phone applications, training and educational programs can be showed through various communication platforms. Having said this, managers and specialist can take advantage of this capacity to enhance their services.
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Reference: Rajabi, S., Lashgarara, F., Chowdhury, A., Rashvand, H., & Daghighi, H. S. (2021). Improving Effectiveness of Rural Information and Communication Technology Offices: The Case of Qazvin Province in Iran. Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, 31(1), 108–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/10185291211027455
Photo reference: Tigana Chileshe (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ict_in_rural_areas.jpg)
Article contributed by Vincent Allen Fernandez, ComDev Asia intern