SCOPING REPORT: ICT for RURAL LIVELIHOODS Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Scoping Research Questions What specific agricultural livelihood outcomes can be directly linked with ICT interventions? Under what conditions are these interventions likely to produce these livelihood outcomes? How does gender and social dimensions factor into these interventions and outcomes? Are these interventions and outcomes replicable in other grassroots communities? Are these interventions and outcomes scalable in other grassroots and communities?

State of Play Reviewed ICT4RL environment in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand and VietNam Found that existing infrastructure and policy environments reflect a conscious effort of most governments to support ICT4RL Reviewed frameworks relevant to ICT4RL DFID’s Sustainable Livelihoods Framework 7 basic principles of SL; 8 basic principles of ICT4L MDG Framework

Specific Livelihood Outcomes Increased access to ICTs Increased capacities of groups to offer marketable skills Increased awareness and availing of basic services by communities as well as linkages with government service providers in the agriculture, health, education, micro-finance and others Increased incomes among families. Higher sales volume in users’ primary livelihoods (e.g. small retail stores, local eateries, local transport provision) Development and evolution of support mechanisms and locally driven enterprises such as technical supply chains, marketing solutions, and other ICT-related services Increased social capital generated through information sharing and networking

Conditions ICT4L projects are more likely to succeed as secondary livelihoods, that is, if associated with already pre-existing primary livelihoods. if women groups run these. if these are linked to basic services providers such as government agencies involve in agriculture, health and education sectors. with the use of intermediaries and personalized user-friendly technologies such as mobile phones ICT4L projects are more likely to be sustainable if these have capacity building components with public-private sector partnerships and cost sharing ICT4L projects are more likely to have better outcomes if they are not technology-driven or donor-driven.

Social Dimension, Replicability, Scalability Social Dimensions Gender Social Capital Networking Conscientization Participation Replicable if ICT4RL interventions go beyond sharing and reuse of information to community action and mobilization Scalable if interventions reach critical numbers of participant-users/ communities

Proposed Frameworks Action Pilot Studies Ex Post Evaluation Studies Strategic Framework Indicative Logframe Matrix Template M&E Framework Action Pilot Studies Research Framework

Research Agenda: Proposed Action Pilot Studies Broad-based Networking through ICT for the Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Livelihoods in the Pacific Islands Social Capital Formation and Livelihood Outcomes Among Women Users in Lao Telecenters Factors Correlated to the Use of Mobile Phones as a Web 2.0 Platform for Philippine Rural Online Communities

Research Agenda: Proposed Ex-Post Evaluation Studies Indonesia: Poor Farmers’ Income Improvement Project Through Innovation China: Central Agricultural Broadcasting and TV School Thailand: Agricultural Information Network Philippines: Village Phone Direct South Pacific: Development of Sustainable Agriculture ion the Pacific Islands

ICT4RL Research Network Entities Involved in ICT4RL Research in Southeast Asia Existing Research Networks AGRIS APAARI-APARIS ASEAN SEAMEO Proposed Research Network Subregional approach