This presentation talk Trust in e-governance projects. The examples are India based.

1. HUL 291: Electronic Governance
P. Vigneswara Ilavarasan
MS 624 | vignesh@hss.iitd.ac.in
Vignesh 1

2. Framework
• Context
• Importance of trust between citizens and
intermediaries
• Case – Akshaya @ Kerala
• Discussion – Trust & Services
• Implications
Vignesh 2

3. Context
• Rise of non state actors in governance
• New public management
– Hollow state, ICTs
– Importance of integration
• Egovernance
– Biz, NGOs, Citizens, provisions of entitlement &
services & information
• Rise of telecenters
Vignesh 3

4. Intermediaries
• Projected dis‐intermediation & realities
• ICT intermediaries
• Need of human intermediaries to bridge the
information gap in using ICTs
– Ex: Soochak in Gyandoot
– Need to be local, ICT skills & trusted
• Why community has to trust the
intermediaries?
• Whether replaces the earlier mechanisms?
Vignesh 4

5. Trust
• Discussion limiting to intermediaries
• Types of trust
– Thick, Thin, characteristics‐based, process‐based,
institution‐based.
• Giddens
– ‘Trust’ in ‘dis‐embedding’ ‘Abstract systems’ as part
of modernity
– Access points of abstract systems are meeting
ground of facework and faceless commitments
– Telecenter operator ~ facework
• Trust, doctors & telecenters
Vignesh 5

6. Case
• Akshaya
– Adequate user skill level, easy physical access, local
content
– Mallapuram Dist.
• e‐literacy, e‐pay,
• 249 interviews – all stakeholders (FRIENDS,
KISSAN)
• Presently – statewide implementation &
additional services.
Vignesh 6

7. Trust & service
• Thro e‐literacy program – operator is known
to most of the families
• Trust in govt as institution and govt. driven
project
• Egov service delivery
– Making payment (active | e‐pay)
– Getting entitlements (NA – backend not ready, but
operators undertook, govt. printed increased
trust, print from telecenter skeptical)
– Information (lack of trust on agri, health)
Vignesh 7

8. Trust Cont…
• Additional observations
• FRIENDS –
– E‐pay
– Preferred over conventional centers
– Trust high due to trust in institution ‐ govt
operated
– Despite lack of awareness how money paid is
transferred via computers
Vignesh 8

9. Trust Cont..2
• KISSAN
– Web, TV, data center, kiosks, Agricultural officers
(AO)
– AOs used extensively – translator of expert
knowledge to local understanding
– Mediation of information flow between experts
and farmers – yellowing of coconut leaves
– Similar trust is not there on the telecenter
intermediary for agri related info.
• Health mapping in Akshaya
– Request for a medical person
– Simple medical tests (BP, sugar) – not preferred
Vignesh 9

10. Implications
• Level of participation ~ trust in abstract
systems & their access points (doctors & AOs)
• Importance of institutional membership of
intermediary to be effective
• Just ‘local’ intermediary inadequate
• Multipurpose telecenters – problematic
• Egov as extension of established institutions
Vignesh 10

11. References
• Rajalekshmi, K. G. 2007. E‐governance services
through telecenters: The role of human
intermediary and issues of trust, ITID, 4(1), 19‐
35.
• http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/view/242
Vignesh 11

12. • Thank you!
Clarifications
Questions
Comments
Vignesh 12

13. Akshaya..
Vignesh 13

14. FRIENDS..
Vignesh 14

15. Kissan…
Vignesh 15