Information Technology Critical
as Rural and Remote Areas
Transition to the New Economy

by Cornelia Butler Flora

The New Economy is fueled by information technology. Rural and remote areas often face challenges that slow their transition to the New Economy; business and government may be slow to make appropriate investments in technology and innovation, and the importance of community culture on the development of education and skills may be poorly understood. The ADEC AISEP research project addresses how infrastructure can be developed, deployed and used to increase the pace of transition to the New Economy for these areas.

The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development is cooperating with the American Distance Education Consortium to conduct research at sites participating in the Advanced
Internet Satellite Extension Project. The AISEP is a $4 million research and development project funded by the National Science Foundation and administered by ADEC. From 2001 to 2005, it brought high-speed Internet access and support free of charge to approximately 60 public learning centers across the country associated with Cooperative Extension.

The purpose of the research is to study the effects of bringing high-speed Internet access to geographically disadvantaged communities in remote and rural areas, and socioeconomically excluded communities with poor or ethnic minority populations. The NCRCRD focused on the institutional factors that aided the transition. We identified persistent challenges to and enablers of organizational effectiveness—including team dynamics, organizational structures, organizational cultures, cross-functional coordination, and organizational governance. We also identified factors that enable or impede innovation creation and diffusion, organizational learning and improvement, and knowledge transfer within and among organizations critical to the new economy. These include research and education, both formal and informal.

We found that neither Internet access nor good content alone were enough for project success, measured as technology satisfaction, inclusive impacts, and sustainability in terms of mobilizing local funds to keep the project going. In particular, community context and relation to the lead institution (almost always a university) were critical.

Lessons on Community Context

• Know and Respect Key Aspects of Community Values—Facilitators at the learning centers were not always aware of the norms and customs of culturally diverse Hispanic, Native American or African American communities. We found that it was the responsibility of the land-grant partners and the technical partners to increase their knowledge of community values and question their own assumptions. Program success also depended on respecting local people’s time and their ways of knowing and participating.
• Involve Youth as Actors—Widespread local involvement included youth in the planning and implementation aspects of the project, not just its use.

Lessons on Institutional Relations

• Technology and Content Are Not Enough—There is a need to build organizational capacity as well. At some sites, the hardware and software were greeted with joy as it was faster than dial up for e-mail. But people did not change what they did; they only did it with less inconvenience. Building organizational capacity ensured that staff was equipped to use the technology and that the content could be effectively delivered.
• Clearly Identify How this Supports the Mission—We found that when the partners clearly identified how the project supported the mission and would help participants do their job better, there was greater sustainability.
• Provide Additional Support to Excluded Communities—Exclusion is generally a result of historic disinvestment. Thus more support is needed to get the basic structures up and running. The increased investment showed high payoff.
• Increase Local Capacity in Excluded Communities—There is a shortage of trained technicians in many rural areas. By using the technology to do the training, and by providing the kind of support that helps local people fix the problem and explain why that fix works, local expertise can be improved.
• Show Respect for Front Line Workers and Learners—There is a tendency for technical and service providers to view themselves as the experts and others as those who need to change. By respecting local abilities, it was easier to get a higher level of local participation.
• Follow Through on Content and Support—When Internet access was not available on the designated date or did not function as anticipated, the most excluded sites were the most devastated, angry and disempowered. Rebuilding trust in the face of many opportunities for problems was difficult for land-grant universities.

Conclusions

As rural and remote areas strive to transition to the New Economy, it is important to note that they often face unique challenges to the development, deployment and use of information technology. Our research shows that neither technology nor content alone are enough for project success. Community context, organizational capacity and the relationship with the lead institution are critical. Additional information on this study is available at http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/projects/adec/index.htm.

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North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Iowa State University
107 Curtiss Hall
Ames, IA 50011-1050
(515) 294-8321, (515) 294-3180 fax

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Last updated May 12, 2006 .