Identifying potential barriers to community participation and use of telecentres: A Survey-based Study

Introduction: Telecentres have been set up in most developing countries to bring digital access to as many people as possible. The main issues associated with these telecentres' sustainability include cultural, technical, financial, social, political, and programmatic issues that directly affect these centres' sustainability. Therefore, the present study adopts a community-centred approach by discussing users' views and perceptions and non-users from the local community. Method: The study proceeded by conducting a qualitative exploratory semi-structured interview that was administered to 13 telecentre operators. Analysis: Thematic content analysis was used for analysing interview data and identify common themes, which were applied in an affinity diagram for confirmation and reveal of sub-issues within each central theme. Results: The significant findings of this study showed that there are several issues either encouraging or inhibiting individual use of a telecentre, which further affects the sustainability of telecentre projects. Individual community member demographics moderates all the issues experienced by telecentres. Conclusion: The study concluded that the issues affecting telecentres' sustainability include the physical characteristics of the centre, operational and management approach, service availability, the nature and impact of local competition, and participation of stakeholder and community groups.