Block Community Portals Networking rural communities in the North East National Informatics Centre DIT, MC&IT, GOI

National Informatics Centre Background eNRICH  a community software solution framework (CSSF)  Joint effort of NIC & UNESCO, New Delhi.  Installed in ictPR project sites of UNESCO (4 in India and 3, one each in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) 

National Informatics Centre Background The CSSF enhanced to facilitate  Inter-community interaction  Multiple & Multi-level Management The enhanced CSSF used to dynamically generate the block community portals of the N-E states of India.

National Informatics Centre Community Information Centre Project in NE states (8) Sponsored by DIT, MC&IT, GOI Implemented by NIC 1 server, 5 clients, 1 VSAT Two CIC operators manage the centre Services include Information dissemination, e- learning, telemedicine, training etc. Block community portals required to enable  rural communities access information/ services,  networking among communities thereby strengthening & empowering them

National Informatics Centre Block Community Portals for NE states under CIC Project Block community portals for 487 blocks of N-E states of India The portals enable sharing of content and promote inter- & intra- block interaction Multiple managers help in managing the content & communication facilities of the portal

National Informatics Centre Community Manager District Government Subject/Domain Expert State Government Our Block Community Portal Your Block Community Portal Information/messages Messages Information/messages Local Knowledge Global Knowledge Messages

National Informatics Centre Guiding Theme for Community Portals Focus on localPeople Practices Values Information & Communication needs

National Informatics Centre Guiding Theme for Community Portals Provide a window to Global Information & knowledge Market Avenues Communication & Interaction with peer communities Learning Scope

National Informatics Centre Guiding Theme for Community Portals With Information Assurance For public use For private use Under moderation Through mediation

National Informatics Centre Local Need Assessment How it was carried out?  Analysis of existing ICT systems (community related and e-governance )across the South-Asian region  A SWOT Analysis of the region Output  Generic Information Categorization Plan  A bank of authentic URLs relevant to each category/sub-category of the categorization plan

National Informatics Centre Snapshot of Categorization Plan

National Informatics Centre Local Need Assessment Carry out need assessment in the beginning with the categorization plan as a starting point Specialize categorization as per local specificities Carry out need assessment on a continuous basis

National Informatics Centre Local Need Assessment Explicit Request  Community members can send requests to managers on the information they need Implied Need  Analysis of user navigation pattern Polling  Poll people ’ s opinion about the need for particular information/service

National Informatics Centre Government Services Provision State Manager  Is a representative of the state government  Posts state government related information, messages, links, tender notices etc.  Posts once & received by all blocks of the state

National Informatics Centre Government Services Provision District Manager  Is a representative of the district administration  Posts district administration related information, messages, links, tender notices etc.  Posts once & received by all blocks of the district

National Informatics Centre Government Services Provision Block Community Manager (CICO)  Interacts with the BDO  Posts block government related information, messages, links, tender notices etc.  Displayed only in that block portal

National Informatics Centre Local Democratic Participation Communicating with the government A community member can send/receive messages to/from Block manager  Who interacts with the BDO District Manager  Who is a representative of the District administration State Manager  Who is a representative of the state government

National Informatics Centre Local Democratic Participation Through Opinion Polls State Poll  Relates to issues of the entire state  Posted by State Manager  Appears in all block portals of the state  Presents a consolidated opinion of all blocks of the state

National Informatics Centre Local Democratic Participation Through Opinion Polls District Poll  Relates to issues of the entire district  Posted by District Manager  Appears in all block portals of the district  Presents a consolidated opinion of all blocks of the district

National Informatics Centre Local Democratic Participation Through Opinion Polls Block Poll  Relates to issues of the block  Posted by Block Manager  Appears in all block portals of the district  Presents a consolidated opinion of the members of the block

National Informatics Centre Making ICTs relevant for local communities Single, one-stop, simple & consistent user interface for the community ’ s all information & communication needs Supports local language Supports multiple-media (text, audio) etc. Can work with or without Internet connectivity Links to local/internet files/urls Works on desktop as well as server-based environment Requires no technical expertise to manage the portal

National Informatics Centre Nurturing Local Content Local knowledge that has originated locally (indigenous) and influenced by local culture, need & environment Global knowledge that needs to be adapted to local needs, capabilities & environment

National Informatics Centre Nurturing Local Content Local KnowledgeLocal Database  People can upload content on such information as local medicine, medicinal herbs etc. (as text, audio or video files)  Moderation by domain specialists

National Informatics Centre Nurturing Local Content Global Knowledge Information Resources  Domain Managers/ specialists can provide content based on perceived/ implied/ explicitly-stated needs of the community  Domain managers for the Entire state Entire District Block

National Informatics Centre Promoting Intra-community Interaction Exchanging messages thru Bulletin Board Directly sending messages to other user(s) of the block

National Informatics Centre Networking Rural Communities (Inter-Community Interaction) Exchanging Messages thru Bulletin Board Sharing Content thru Local Database Directly sending messages to user(s) of different blocks of the same state

National Informatics Centre Two Facets of Block Community Portals Consists of two main components:  Community Portal – the interface that will be used by the community members  Desk Manager – a site administration and analysis tool for Managers and researchers

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The Desk Manager The portal management site used by  CICOs,  District Managers,  State Managers &  Domain Managers to collaboratively manage the information content in & communication through the portals.

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Thank You National Informatics Centre Department of Information Technology Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Government of India National Informatics Centre Department of Information Technology Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Government of India