The Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies was a five-year project (2007-2012) to generate evidence about the scale, character, and impacts of public access to information and communication technologies. Looking at libraries, telecenters, and cybercafes, the study investigated impact in a number of areas, including communication and leisure, culture and language, education, employment and income, governance, and health.
Implemented by the University of Washington’s Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA), the Global Impact Study was part of Investigating the Social & Economic Impact of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies — a broader CAD$7.9 million research project supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and a grant to IDRC from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Managed by IDRC, this project includes the Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies (this project) and The Amy Mahan Research Fellowship Program, led by Universitat Pompeu Fabra, which aimed to deepen the capacity of emerging scholars with the goal of increasing the quality and quantity of research on public access to ICT produced in developing countries.
Tapping research networks
Project researchers came from existing and new research networks, as well as from teams convened at both the global and regional/country level where field research was carried out. Part of the mandate of this project was to connect people and build a community of researchers working around these issues.
Improved capacity, better research methods, and a common framework
Throughout the study’s five-year span, we built research capacity in developing and emerging economies. We also sought to advance methodological approaches for investigating the impact of ICT.
Better programs & policies
The Global Impact Study is important because it generated evidence to support policy and investment decisions and provide insights into how to develop better initiatives.
