Contract approaches for sustainable community-based access to e-service provision: a comparative study between Bangladesh and the Philippines

ABSTRACT Public–Private Partnerships are touted as a ‘silver bullet’ to address issues surrounding the sustainability of community-based ICT projects. This paper considers the PPP’s role in the provision of sustainable services at community access sites in Bangladesh and the Philippines. A comparative analysis of current community access operations in Bangladesh and the Philippines has been made in this study. The study investigates how the different adopted contract approaches (PPP vs. Public) have impacted the telecenter infrastructure attributes, and specifically, the impact on the types of services offered at telecenter sites. The data collection procedure utilized a mixed-methods approach, including user surveys, combined with telecenter operator interviews, and site observations. Simple descriptive statistics were used to compare the quantitative data collected regarding each of the telecenter infrastructures and telecenter services. This analysis contributes to the current understanding of telecenters concerning the adoption of PPPs toward the sustainability of public access initiatives.