Research Partnerships to Support Rural Communities in Malaysia with Information and Communication Technologies

Abstract

Governments and aid agencies now recognize the potential for sustainable economic development from the deployment of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among marginalized and poor populations. Yet such populations have little or no access to such technologies. Deriving sustainable development from the provision of such access requires more than mere technology. The emerging discipline of Community Informatics addresses community-based approaches to development with ICTs. New knowledge is required to understand how development activities can be merged with Community Informatics in a way that is capable of providing sustainable benefits to communities in developing countries. This chapter describes a university-based research initiative that builds on community partnerships that have been fostered in an action research project aimed at deriving tangible benefits for a remote rural community from the use of ICTs.