Telecentre Org Business Plan Final Public Version

Business Plan
Period: 2006 – 2009

May 3, 2006
Final Version

telecentre.org
a collaborative social investment program supported by:

Contact:

Mark Surman,
Managing Director - telecentre.org
International Development Research Centre
250 Albert Street, Ottawa, Canada K1G 3H9
(613) 236-6163 ext. 2061
telecentres@idrc.ca
www.telecentre.org

Final Version – May 3 telecentre.org business plan Page 2

Telecentre (noun): A public place where people can access computers, the
Internet and other technologies, and that help people to gather information and
communicate with others at the same time as they develop digital skills. While each
telecentre is different, the common focus is on the use of technologies to support
community and social development – reducing isolation, bridging the digital divide,
promoting health issues, creating economic opportunities, reaching out to youths.
Telecentres exist in almost every country on the planet, although they sometimes go
by different names (e.g. village knowledge centres, infocentres, community
technology centres, community multimedia centres or school based telecentres).

Wikipedia definition of “telecentre”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecentre
October 31, 2005, 8:17 pm GMT

A collaborative initiative of
IDRC, Microsoft and SDC


telecentre.org is a $CAD21 million collaborative social investment
program that aims to improve the capacity and sustainability of
telecentres around the world. The program invests in services and
learning opportunities that benefit people working on the ground in
local telecentres. Founding social investors include IDRC ($CAD5
million), Microsoft ($CAD11 million) and SDC ($CAD5 million). The
partnership will expand over time.

IDRC is a Canadian crown corporation that collaborates closely with
researchers from the developing world as they build more healthy,
equitable, and prosperous societies.

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader committed to
innovation and broadening digital inclusion through its Unlimited
Potential program.

SDC is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency responsible for
overall coordination of development activities and cooperation, as well
as humanitarian aid.

Building on a long history supporting telecentres, all three
organizations share a commitment to investing in networks, services
and learning opportunities that make telecentres stronger. We invite
others who share the commitment to join us in this partnership.



Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 5

1 VISION: A KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY, FROM THE GROUND UP............................... 7

2 NEEDS: WHAT TELECENTRES ARE LOOKING FOR............................................ 10

3 MISSION: STRENGTHENING THE TELECENTRE ECOSYSTEM............................ 14

4 INVESTMENT LINE #1: BUILDING NETWORKS ............................................... 17

5 INVESTMENT LINE #2: CREATING CONTENT AND SERVICES.......................... 20

6 INVESTMENT LINE #3: SHARING KNOWLEDGE .............................................. 23

7 INVESTMENT LINE #4: CONNECTING PEOPLE ................................................ 26

8 PARTNERSHIPS: GETTING THINGS DONE COLLABORATIVELY........................ 28

9 MARKETING: PROMOTING THE TELECENTRE ECOSYSTEM .............................. 32

10 OPERATIONS: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT .......................... 36

APPENDIX A – MONITORING AND EVALUATION STRATEGY ................................. 39

APPENDIX B – PROGRAM OVERVIEW TABLES ...................................................... 42

APPENDIX C – PROJECTS FUNDED TO DATE ......................................................... 46

APPENDIX D – RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT INPUTS ......................................... 49



Executive Summary
We don't need more pilot projects. We need a movement.
Dr. Ashok Jhunjunwala
Co-founder, n-Logue

Telecentres are helping people around the world join the knowledge society, on their own
terms. They provide a laboratory for communities to experiment with technology and
determine how it best meets their needs. Connecting telecentres to a network of useful
relationships, learning, innovation, products and services ultimately makes them more
sustainable and increases their community impact. Being part of a larger ecosystem also
improves the services they offer to their local communities. The telecentre.org program
invests in efforts that strengthen the entire telecentre ecosystem.

The opportunity: a stronger telecentre ecosystem

Building on three years of research, telecentre.org is responding to a pressing need – and
opportunity – to strengthen the overall telecentre ecosystem. Past telecentre investments
have focused on local infrastructure: computers; Internet access; software; electricity.
While these are critical, too few resources have gone into building the skills of telecentre
managers, creating high-value content and services to offer through telecentres, or
networking telecentre people so they can learn and collaborate with each other. The result
is lop-sided and unsustainable, with large numbers of local telecentres but little in the way
of backstopping services to build capacity and help centres succeed.

The telecentre.org strategy is to make investments that benefit the whole telecentre
ecosystem: local centres; networks that provide support; social enterprises that develop
services; social investors who fund telecentres. This broad-based approach leverages the
value of previous telecentre investments while encouraging continued growth of a
sustainable telecentre movement. It is now the right time to seize this opportunity.

The program: investing in networks and services

Housed at IDRC in Ottawa and Delhi, the telecentre.org program invests in four main areas.
Each investment line is intended to improve telecentre capacity and sustainability locally
while at the same time strengthening the telecentre ecosystem around the world:

1. Building networks: creating or strengthening networks that provide training, technical
assistance and other services to improve telecentre sustainability.

2. Creating content and services: investing in services and content that can be easily
offered at the local level, helping telecentres attract users, generate revenue and increase
community impact.

3. Sharing knowledge: facilitating materials-sharing to help people working in telecentres
learn new skills, adopt innovative social enterprise models and deliver better services.

4. Connecting people: convening workshops where telecentre leaders establish new
relationships, share innovative new ideas and build practical partnerships.

All program investments fall into one or more of these areas. They are provided to
telecentre networks or social enterprises offering useful services to telecentres.



The approach: partnership and collaboration

telecentre.org achieves these objectives through partnership, with partners working
individually and together to deliver concrete services to telecentres. The program works
with four types of partners: networks; service providers; telecentre champions; and other
social investors. Partnerships include direct, one-on-one investment relationships as well as
loose functional alliances, or 'constellations' (see section 8). Direct partnerships typically
involve cash or services grants to produce specific, high value outcomes: an event; a
network; a service. Constellations target bigger, harder to define tasks that require
collaboration amongst many organizations, like building a social supply chain. Constellations
have the potential to produce new ideas and partnerships unimaginable today.

Partnership is also central to telecentre.org's marketing strategy, which focuses on both the
social investment program and the telecentre ecosystem. The program will market the value
of the telecentre concept, developing materials about the telecentre movement and sharing
the telecentre.org logo with organizations committed to strengthening the telecentre
ecosystem. Similar to the Star Alliance or the organic foods logos, people will eventually
view organizations displaying the telecentre.org logo as being both a trustworthy brand in
their own right and a part of larger global community of excellence.

Early achievements, and next steps

The telecentre.org program was officially launched in November 2005 at the World Summit
on the Information Society in Tunis. A great deal had already been accomplished prior to
the official launch. telecentre.org and its partners had: convened 12 workshops attended by
over 700 grassroots telecentre leaders; developed a business planning and social enterprise
support program for networks; and released a beta online community for telecentres. At the
Tunis summit, telecentre.org convened the first global Telecentre Leaders’ Forum (TLF) and
announced a $CAD1.2 million commitment to support networks in 7 countries. The
telecentre.org program is now fully rolling out all four investment lines. Next steps include:

• Helping telecentre networks grow into strong social enterprises, providing
sustainable peer learning opportunities, support services and a social supply chains
to local telecentres. Network support will expand to other countries.

• Creating an R&D investment fund supporting high value services offered by
telecentres, and involving both social enterprises and corporate emerging markets
groups. Also, encouraging local communities to create social content.

• Supporting the creation of world class learning and knowledge sharing
systems, including comprehensive training and certification programs for telecentre
staff and efficient online+offline channels for distributing content to telecentres.

• Establishing a regular program of high profile Telecentre Leaders’ Forum
events, with global and regional events happening during alternate years.

Additionally, efforts to grow awareness and support for telecentre.org are ongoing, including
active partner involvement in supported activities and formal program affiliation. IDRC,
Microsoft and SDC are seeking a select group of additional social investors to join and guide
the telecentre.org consortium.



1 Vision: a knowledge society, from the ground up
telecentre.org invests in networks, services and workshops that
improve the capacity and sustainability of telecentres around the world.

Imagine a world where people in villages, towns and cities everywhere have joined the
knowledge society – on their own terms.

In this world, telecentres are part of a global movement for the community use of
technology that removes barriers of geographic isolation and poverty. They offer learning
programs, help people find jobs or start businesses and provide an access point for e-health
and e-government. They exist as a common space where people work with technology as a
community: teaching each other how to create media or program computers, inventing new
business ideas and organizing community development campaigns. Most importantly, they
give people a voice in their own futures, adapting the tools of the knowledge society to suit
their real needs. In this world, telecentres are vibrant local hubs where the social economy
of a community revolves, and people gather to learn, experiment and create using
technology.

While we don't live in this world yet, most of the necessary building blocks already exist.
telecentre.org – a collaborative IDRC / Microsoft / SDC social investment program
– wants to help put these building blocks together.

1.1 Why telecentres matter …

People have been building telecentres for over 20 years. Originally focused on access to
computers and other basic technologies, they have evolved to include a wide variety of
communications, content and community development services …

The common thread is a focus on the use of technology to strengthen
communities. Telecentres offer young people a first place to learn about computers,
provide villages access to government services, allow isolated communities to bridge the
education and health gap and open up economic opportunity for small entrepreneurs. No
matter what they call themselves – telecentres, telecottages, village knowledge centres,
CTCs or community multimedia centres – the focus on the social use of technology is what
unites the telecentre movement. This is why telecentres matter.

The question is: how can telecentres matter more? The answer: invest not just in
telecentres, but in the whole telecentre ecosystem.



1.2 The telecentre ecosystem

The telecentre movement is a business ecosystem, albeit with a social market in mind. Like
any such ecosystem, it consists of complex webs of interdependent innovators, suppliers,
brands, delivery channels and financing mechanisms.

One problem: many key pieces of the telecentre ecosystem are missing or weak. There are
few organizations focused on back end business or technical support. There is no efficient
social supply chain to provide telecentres with the hardware, software and other products
needed to operate successfully. There are even fewer dedicated to developing high value
services and content that telecentres can offer to people in the communities they serve.

Housed at Canada's IDRC, the telecentre.org program makes social investments
aimed at filling these gaps. Its objective: developing a richer ecosystem where a
diversity of interconnected players help each other to succeed …

As this diagram illustrates, strategic and catalytic investments the telecentre.org investment
program makes in telecentre networks and backend service providers can significantly
improve a telecentre’s ability to meet community needs.

1.3 telecentre.org: driven by values

IDRC, Microsoft and SDC partnered to create telecentre.org as its initial social investors. All
three organizations have a long history investing in individual telecentres and telecentre
programs at the grassroots level. Based on research and input from partners, they saw a
complimentary need for targeted investment in people, organizations, products and services
that will help local telecentres and telecentre networks succeed, telecentre.org provides a



platform to make this investment in a way that benefits the overall telecentre ecosystem

In developing a plan for the telecentre.org program, the founding social investors agreed
that a core set of social values should guide all investments. These values reflect the spirit
of the telecentre movement and include:

1. Social impact: Remain committed to the idea that telecentres serve a social
purpose, helping communities join the knowledge society on their own terms.

2. Entrepreneurship: Focus on people first and organizations second. Identify people
actively engaged in social, business and technical innovation.

3. Knowledge sharing: Use leaders' forums, online communities and other social
processes to share knowledge and document new ideas.

4. Collaboration: Promote collaboration amongst partners as a way to strengthen the
ecosystem. Listen constantly to partners, and adapt.

5. Transparency: Clearly explain the program and tell its story, in real time.
Encourage partners to do the same.

6. Appropriate technology: Stay platform neutral, always. Constantly monitor,
document and promote the use of new and appropriate technologies.

These values are the foundations upon which the program is built. Along with the broad
vision of a people-centric, from-the-ground-up knowledge society, these values are the
touchstones that guide the telecentre.org program team on a daily basis.

The remainder of this business plan describes how the telecentre.org social
investment program works, the partnerships it builds, and the ways it contributes to the
broader telecentre ecosystem. It also serves as an open invitation to potential partners in
every sector, especially those who have previously invested in telecentres locally, to share
in this vision of creating a stronger more sustainable telecentre movement and to join us in
this work.



2 Needs: what telecentres are looking for
There is a vast number of community, government, school and entrepreneur-run telecentres
globally committed to the use of computers and the development of digital skills. Major
telecentre investments by countries like India as well as the introduction of complex
applications that run on mobile 'village phones' means that the universe of shared public
access to technology will grow dramatically in the coming years.

Despite this huge potential, telecentres face significant challenges. These challenges start
with generating community interest: most local people don't appreciate the full potential of
a telecentre when it arrives in their village. Once the telecentre takes off, financial
sustainability, access to skilled staff, development of new services and upgrades to
technology often become an issue. There is demand, but it's difficult to maintain. These
problems are exacerbated by the lack of back end support in most telecentres: There is no
one to call when something is broken, no one to provide strategic and management advice,
and no one developing new services to offer on how to upgrade technology economically.
Back end systems have simply never been a priority for most major programs investing in
telecentres, and few telecentres can either afford or imagine them on their own.

The goal of telecentre.org is to ensure that telecentres have the necessary skills,
support and services to grow in their communities, reach out to new users and
find realistic paths to sustainability. Based on three years of research and one year
working collaboratively with telecentre people around the world, the telecentre.org team
has developed a strategic plan to address these needs based on the information collected
and presented below.

2.1 Telecentre movement: size and growth

It is almost impossible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of telecentres
globally. Telecentres are too dispersed, diverse and disconnected for this data to be
gathered reliably. It is often not available even within individual countries. Even where it is
known, the rapid growth of telecentres means that numbers are quickly out of date.

However, the limited data that is available suggests that at least 60,000 government,
community and entrepreneur run telecentres globally. Sample data pointing to this estimate
includes:

• A soon-to-be published report by CEPAL suggests that at least 35,000 telecentres
exist in 13 countries with Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Mission 2007 claims that at least 15,000 knowledge centres and kiosks exist in India.
• In Spain, more than 2,000 telecentres are operated by government programs.
• In Eastern Europe, the European Union of Telecottage Associations represents more
than 1,000 telecentres.
• There are at least 3,000 US telecentres including 1,300 CTCNet members.
• In Canada, there are more than 4,000 Community Access Program sites.

These numbers do not include school computer labs, libraries or cybercafés which may offer
telecentre-like public access and learning services. Many activities the telecentre.org
program supports will also benefit this broader audience.

In addition to these already existing telecentres, there is clearly a trend towards continued
growth that will enlarge the number of telecentres in coming years:



• In India, Mission 2007 has set a target of one knowledge centre for every one of
India's 600,000 villages. Various government and private sector players have already
committed to covering 350,000 villages.
• In Colombia, COMPARTEL is planning for 1,400 new telecentres in 2006/07.
• E-Mexico is targeting 7,200 Centros Comunitarios Digitales by end of 2006.
• The Nepalese government has committed in its five-year plan the establishment of
1,500 telecentres in each village development council.

Over time, the telecentre.org program will make it possible to gather more accurate
telecentre metrics. Networks supported through telecentre.org will gather basic information
about telecentres that use their services and carry out regular surveys. In the meantime,
it’s apparent the telecentre movement is 'large and growing fast'.

2.2 Understanding telecentre needs

Understanding the needs of 60,000+ telecentres globally requires research, community
engagement and continuous dialogue. These are the principles upon which telecentre.org is
built. Consultations and research have been underway for over three years and clearly point
to a need for a program like telecentre.org. In 2002, IDRC, UNESCO and IICD organized a
meeting of telecentre leaders to discuss future strategies. The meeting’s outcome was a call
for networks that supported the work of telecentres on the ground and grew the movement:

This meeting was followed by a regional network workshop for Africa and a number of
meetings related to Microsoft's explorations into the creation of a telecentre support
network. In 2004, Microsoft and IDRC agreed to create the telecentre.org program. A
further series of community engagement and network planning sessions were undertaken,
totaling 12 national, regional or global workshops with over 700 participants. All of these
events have contributed to this business plan’s development.

These consultations have been complimented by extensive research into both telecentre
needs and the state of the telecentre movement. During 2003, the New Sector Alliance and
World Links undertook a global survey of the telecentre movement for Microsoft. The survey
looked at telecentre models, numbers and capacity. Alongside extensive research from
IDRC's southern partners, this material guided the development of the initial telecentre.org
concept. In 2005 and 2006, IDRC conducted an extensive online survey of telecentre



information needs as well as evaluation of the telecentre.org 'start up year'. This research
was used to test the investment priorities and approaches outlined in this business plan.

Engagement and research is how telecentre.org does business as well as being the
foundation of this business plan, face-to-face learning events and online communities
supported by telecentre.org offer regular opportunities to tap the pulse of the telecentre
movement. Monitoring and evaluation processes provide a chance to collect local stories.
telecentre.org is committed to using these processes as part of a continuing learning loop,
ensuring that the program team and partners are always in a position to respond to the
evolving needs of telecentres.

See Appendix C for an overview of research and community engagement inputs that fed
into the development of this business plan.

2.3 Stakeholder needs

It was clear early in the research and consultation process that the telecentre ecosystem is
made up of a diversity of actors. In addition to people who own, manage, maintain,
volunteer and work in telecentres, there are people who provide support, training, services,
financing and content to telecentres locally. All these actors bring tremendous assets to the
table: local knowledge, social capital, technical skill and a passion for the life of their
community. They also face challenges and have specific work-related needs. This business
plan is built on an understanding of these people and the needs they have expressed.

To provide a clear picture of need, the relevant actors have been divided into four main
groups or market segments: telecentre champions; networks; service providers and social
investors. The following overview of needs expressed by these groups has been a central
input in the design of the social investment program:

Who … … needs what?
• Ability to attract more local clients + visitors
• Services that can be delivered locally to
Telecentre champions generate revenue and community impact
• Just-in-time help with tech + business issues
Includes: telecentre managers; • Financing for new telecentres and services
trainers; community developers;
volunteers; social
• Skilled managers, trainers and other staff
entrepreneurs. • Ability to facilitate community voice in decision-
making at local, regional and national levels
• Low cost, durable hardware, software and
Internet access
• Start up investment (for new networks)
Telecentre networks
• Business models that fit with network mission
Includes: network leaders; tech • Easy tools for network setup and operation
support provider; trainers; • Products and services to offer to telecentres
policy advocates; organizations • Easy-to-adapt electronic content and
setting up large numbers of
centres.
curriculum
• Access to other networks wanting to
collaborate



Who … … needs what?
• Opportunity to test services in REAL rural
Service providers
contexts
Includes: content providers;
• Ways to reach MANY telecentres at once
rural technology social • Trusted partners to support services on ground
enterprises; e-government • Networks willing to partner + learn together
agencies; corporate emerging • Radar that provides information about
markets groups.
telecentre trends on the ground
• Backstopping and network services for
Social investors telecentres they have invested in
• Access to advice and information on telecentre
Includes: development
agencies; governments; best practices
organizations housing large • Channels to reach out to large numbers of
numbers of telecentres; telecentres at once
corporate emerging market
• Other social investors to collaborate with on
groups.
key ecosystem issues

The program will not invest directly in individual telecentres or telecentre delivery programs.
While the need for such investment exists, the program does not feel it can make the most
impact through such investments. telecentre.org also will not directly address broader policy
issues such like telecom regulations, especially as these issues the being worked on by
groups like CATIA and the GTA. While these issues are important, they are beyond the
scope of the telecentre.org program.



3 Mission: strengthening the telecentre ecosystem
telecentre.org has a clear and simple mission: invest in networks, services and
workshops that improve the capacity and sustainability of telecentres around the
world. telecentre.org investments are provided primarily to telecentre networks and back
end service providers leading to the creation of content, services and networks that help
local telecentres to succeed. Ultimately, they also result in more and better services
available to the communities that telecentres serve.

3.1 Program objectives

The program fulfills this mission by pursuing four broad objectives. Each objective is focused
on improving the situation for all players within the telecentre ecosystem.

1. Building networks: increase the ability of networks to provide high quality
training, technical assistance and other services that improve telecentre
sustainability by making investments in network capacity and planning.

Program outcomes expected related to this objective include:

• Networks are operating as sustainable social enterprises, offering enduring support
and service to local telecentres.

• Telecentres consistently turn to networks for support and services as a way to solve
problems, generate new services and make operations more efficient.

• Development funders and organizations turn to networks to support the creation of
new telecentres and the delivery of community ICT programming.

• Governments work with networks to efficiently deliver e-government services, social
content and opinion-gathering via local telecentres.

2. Creating content and services: improve the ability of telecentres to attract
users, deliver valuable information and generate revenue by investing in services
and content that can be easily offered at the local level.


• Large numbers of telecentres have adopted new service offerings that help them
increase community impact and generate revenue.

• Governments, companies and social enterprises regularly use national networks to
distribute content and services to networks.

• Social entrepreneurs are actively developing, distributing, scaling and profiting from
their telecentre product and service ideas.

• New sources of financing are available to support the development and scaling of
telecentres, networks and services.



3. Sharing knowledge: help telecentres learn new skills, adopt innovative
social enterprise models and deliver better community training services by
facilitating knowledge and materials-sharing across the telecentre movement.


• Telecentre program operators provide entrepreneurs, staff, volunteers and
community workers with formal training, drawing on courses from networks.

• Networks and their members regularly update, improve and share curriculum and
content that could benefit the telecentre movement.

• Telecentres, networks and service providers actively participate in online activities to
maintain collaboration and peer-to-peer support.

• Grassroots innovators and young researchers actively engage in action research as a
way to document and share practical telecentre experiences.

4. Connecting people: build social capital, facilitate partnerships and sow the
seeds of new networks by regularly convening telecentre leaders and champions.


• Telecentre staff, volunteers and service providers in countries where telecentre.org is
working have formed or joined a network.

• People working in telecentres regularly turn to their network of peers for
management, business and technical support.

• Telecentres and the networks they belong to regularly enter into partnerships to
cooperate on projects and share knowledge.

• Telecentre networks are using participatory workshops and training methods to
create strong peer-to-peer relationships and social capital.

These four objectives represent the program and activity structure of
telecentre.org and inform the way we invest. All telecentre.org investments and
activities fall under one or more of these objectives. These core investment lines for the
telecentre.org program are referred to throughout this business plan. Sections 5 – 8 outline
priorities and activities for each program objective and investment line.

Note: Appendices A and B describe the monitoring and evaluation strategy that will be used
to track progress against the program objectives and associated outcomes.



3.2 A virtuous circle: interconnected goals

The program objectives above do not exist in isolation. They are consciously designed to
work together to catalytically strengthen the telecentre ecosystem. Each goal is part of a
larger virtuous circle that supports the other elements:

For example, a network of telecentres has value in its own right (as a place to connect with
peers or work together on projects), but it also offers a channel to distribute content,
deliver services and share knowledge. This reinforcing cycle is almost as important as the
goals themselves, and plays a significant role in guiding how social investment decisions are
made.

3.3 Program overview: from objectives to action

The telecentre.org social investment program is the vehicle through which IDRC, Microsoft
and SDC have committed to translate these objectives to action. telecentre.org is a
collaborative initiative housed at IDRC in Ottawa and Delhi. The program will:

• Act as a convener; providing people within the telecentre movement with places to
build relationships, learn from each other and build new ideas

• Make financial investments in networks and service providers who can help
telecentres improve sustainability, service offerings and community impact

• Facilitate partnership and networking within the telecentre community, helping to
create constellations of organizations working on common goals

• Actively encourage knowledge sharing within the telecentre movement, and monitor
business, social and technical trends emerging from this process

• Promote the values of the telecentre movement, helping business, government and
NGOs to understand the social role telecentres can play

An overview of how the telecentre.org program invests is provided in the next four sections.
Section 10 provides a description of program staffing and operations supporting these
investments.



4 Investment line #1: building networks
telecentre.org's 'building networks' investment line provides funding and services to
networks that offer direct support to people working in telecentres.

Networks are at the core of telecentre.org's attempt to strengthen the overall ecosystem.
Well-organized and operated networks offer:

• Concrete opportunities for peer learning and support amongst people working in
telecentres, using collective wisdom to solve common challenges;

• Practical services such as management training, technical support and product
discounts that directly benefit people working in telecentres;

• A social supply chain that provides telecentres with access; and sharing of content,
products and services they can offer locally … and provides governments, businesses
and NGOs a communications channel to telecentres.

telecentre.org provides support for networks in places where there is a high level of activity
in the telecentre movement and where there are strong social entrepreneurs who can drive
the success of the network. The program is supporting or actively considering support for
networks in the following areas:

These networks typically operate at a national level, although support may be offered to
regional networks where they are providing concrete services to telecentres.

4.1 Example: UgaBYTES telecentre support network

UgaBYTES is a small NGO providing technical support and computer maintenance services
to telecentres in Uganda. With support from telecentre.org, UgaBYTES will expand these
offerings to include an on-demand technical and business help desk service, management
training courses and product and service discounts. These services will be available across



East Africa, where both IDRC and the SDC-backed UNESCO CMC program have been very
active in telecentre work. UgaBYTES will work with telecentre.org and the Non-Profit
Enterprise Sustainability Team (NESsT) to develop a complete business plan. UgaBYTES
may potentially grow from a small NGO into a thriving social enterprise, offering needed
services to telecentres regionally.

4.2 Timeline

The telecentre.org 'building networks' investment line focuses on fostering a number of
networks early in the program, and learning from these experiences. Nine networks were
supported immediately after the program launch at WSIS. Additional networks will be
approached for potential collaboration in 2006 and beyond:

The program focused its early efforts on developing services that help networks to operate
efficiently and successfully – business planning, web services and product discounts. These
services will be offered throughout the program’s five-year cycle.

4.3 Achievements so far …

The year preceding the launch of telecentre.org was spent holding meetings in collaboration
with national telecentre networks (or groups about to form networks). This resulted in the
following:

• Committed over $CAD1.2 million in financial support for networks in Chile, India,
Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda and the Americas.

• These networks will offer telecentres technical support, training courses, online
resources, e-government services and exchange programs.

• Established initial agreements with organizations offering networks business planning
consulting service (NESsT) and web services (TakingITGlobal).

All of these network projects are start-ups, with investments from the telecentre.org
program made in late 2005 or early 2006. Concrete services including helpdesks, training
sessions and web sites won't begin to appear until mid- to late-2006.



Strengthening and expanding the number of networks supporting telecentres is a major
telecentre.org investment priority over the coming years.

4.4 Next steps

During 2006 and 2007, 'network' activities will focus on consolidating investments made
during the start up period, cautious expansion into new regions and the solidifying of
services to networks. Priorities include:

• Expanded network reach, including active collaboration with and investment in
networks in the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and
West Africa. These investments will focus on helping networks to offer concrete
services to telecentres.

• Business planning support, emphasizing assisting networks to become self-
sustaining social enterprises. This program is delivered by the Non-profit Enterprise
and Sustainability Team (NESsT), based in Chile and Hungary.

• Just-in-time reference desk platform helping networks build out support services
for the telecentres they serve. Networks receive a start up package including a
website for delivering support, reference desk management training, and access to
the global telecentre.org reference desk community. It may also include start up
funding.

• A goods and services warehouse that networks can use to offer discounted
products and services to telecentres. Examples include: low-cost hardware, and
software; refurbished computers; services that can be offered through telecentres.
Networks will be provided with a start up package that includes basic software
platform, product line, training and support.

• Web services that networks can plug into their web sites. These plug-ins provide
networks the opportunity to offer blogs, an online library, a reference desk and other
tools using their own branding. They also offer a channel for curriculum delivery,
research and other materials useful to telecentres.

This package of services is available to any telecentre network that wants them, even if
telecentre.org is not making a financial investment in that network. Networks can access
these services at any time by contacting the telecentre.org program or the service delivery
partner responsible for each of the items listed above.

For more information on upcoming activities, see the 'building networks' table in Appendix
B.



5 Investment line #2: creating content and services
telecentre.org's 'content and services' investment line will support the creation, packaging
and sharing of content and services designed to meet the needs of local people
who use telecentres.

Ultimately, it is the content and services provided by local telecentres that offer value for
people at the community level. Most telecentres have created useful services and content
on their own – training programs, multimedia services, local media content. However, there
is increasing recognition that community impact and telecentre sustainability can be
improved if we also invest in organizations specializing in service development or content
delivery:

service provider

rural
e-government healthcare local content

feedback

support

training

packaging

packaged
development services for
telecentre telecentres
network
community
impact

local telecentres

As this diagram illustrates, significant effort goes into creating content and services that can
be replicated and distributed at the local level: development; packaging; training; support
services. The effort allows packaged content and services to be distributed to large numbers
of telecentres. The result is increased telecentre use of the material and value for the local
community. Increased revenue and financial sustainability of the local telecentre and other
players in the telecentre ecosystem also become possible. The telecentre.org program
invests in, and partners with, a variety of players committed to developing and sharing
content and services providing value to local telecentres.

5.1 Example: kiosk services working group

Over the past year, telecentre.org has been talking to Drishtee, n-Logue and TaraHaat in
India about service 'unbundling'. Each organization offers high-value packaged services that
drive both community impact and revenue for their own local kiosks: rural e-health; literacy
and language training; e-governance; village e-commerce. Other telecentres across India
could also be offering (and benefiting from) these services. telecentre.org plans to work



with all three organizations to help unbundle and repackage services for broader distribution
to increase the flow of services available to the overall rural computing ecosystem in India
This effort has involved tight collaboration between IDRC and Microsoft staff in Delhi,
drawing on their extensive experience and connections in the Indian rural computing space.

5.2 Timeline

The timeline for content and for services is slightly different. With content, there are already
a number of established players working in the telecentre space, notably OKN.
telecentre.org began informal activities in the content space right from the start, and will
expand its work in this areas throughout the life of the program.

The services area is relatively new. telecentre.org must enter this arena cautiously, with
pilot investments in 2006 and a full-scale services R+D fund starting in 2007. Cooperation
with other social investors, social entrepreneurs and corporate emerging market groups will
also be a priority from 2006 onwards.


Initial efforts in the content and services area have been small-scale, informal and
exploratory. Achievements during the 2005 start up year included:

• Established early collaboration with the Open Knowledge Network, ensuring that the
Mozambique network has the resources it needs to support both capacity building
and content sharing at the local telecentre level. Also, OKN Asia has asked
telecentre.org to join their southern governance consortium and support them in
their transition.

• Committed to investment in e-governance services project with the ATACH network
in Chile. ATACH will work with local governments and others to develop citizen
services that drive telecentre use, increase access to government services and
promote enhanced local democracy.

• Explored potential for services 'unbundling' with leading kiosk service organizations
in India (see above). Also, began work with Microsoft India on small grants fund to
support rural technology services R+D.



telecentre.org also participated in a number of research activities analyzing service needs
and the process of investing in services. This included a meeting of leading thinkers and
practitioners working on financing and replication of technology and social enterprises. This
meeting was convened by telecentre.org, NESsT, TechSoup and Internaut Consulting in San
Francisco.

5.4 Next steps

Over the next year, telecentre.org will move beyond initial exploration of content and
services issues and slowly into direct investments. Three major priorities include:

• Pilot investments in telecentre services. During 2006 and early 2007, the
telecentre.org program will make a number of pilot investments in telecentre
services. These investments will focus on the development, packaging and delivery
of services with a high potential to produce community impact and generate revenue
for local telecentres. The learning from these investments will be channeled into the
design of the services R+D fund. Drishtee, TaraHaat, n-Logue and other investments
will be included in this round.

• Telecentre services R+D fund. Building on learning from pilot services
investments, telecentre.org will establish a competitive telecentre services R+D fund
by 2007. It will make modest grants to support the development or packaging of
services telecentres can offer to communities. It may offer access to product
donations and volunteer time to help proposed services evolve more quickly. An
online panel of telecentre leaders and social investors will review proposals. Primary
selection criteria will center on the service’s ability to generate community impact
and revenue for many telecentres.

• Content sharing networks. Building on existing efforts in Asia and Africa, the
telecentre.org program will work with groups such as the Open Knowledge Network
(OKN) to encourage content development and sharing amongst community ICT
access centres. Focusing first on Asia, the program will work with the most
successful of the OKN partner organizations to further their work in getting content
into the hands of rural and poor communities. The program will also help these
organizations extend their efforts to include content on appropriate technologies,
community learning and informal curriculum. Translation of these materials may be
possible through partnerships with UNESCO, iTRAIN Online and BCO partners. The
program will also help community organizations and community access networks
develop partnerships with WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNAIDS, national NGOs and
professional organizations who have an interest in getting their materials distributed
at the grassroots level. Local content and building up a community voice will also be
a focus.

The telecentre.org program has an interest in engaging corporate emerging markets groups
and social investors in the content and services space. There is a desire to investigate the
potential of creative financing mechanisms such as patient loan pools and low return social
venture funds to scale products, services and franchising.

For more information on upcoming activities, see the 'content and services' table in
Appendix B.



6 Investment line #3: sharing knowledge
telecentre.org's 'sharing knowledge' investment line provides financial and in-kind support
for activities that share knowledge and promote learning about the practice of
running telecentres.

Constant knowledge sharing is core to the telecentre.org program – both as a goal and
business practice. Workshops. Networks. Support services. All provide a forum for
discussing big ideas and the nitty gritty details of telecentre work. This knowledge needs to
be captured and shared widely within the telecentre movement …

telecentre.org supports a variety of documentation and knowledge sharing practices.
Sometimes this takes the form of stand-alone funded projects (telecentre manager training
programs) and other times it just means encouraging good knowledge sharing practice
(embedding bloggers in face-to-face events or requiring telecentre.org to blog all of their
trips). The common factor is that explicit knowledge sharing is included in everything that
telecentre.org supports or is involved in.



6.1 Example: 'always on tap' knowledge sharing

In late 2005, telecentre.org began work with TakingITGlobal to create an 'always on tap'
knowledge sharing infrastructure: a series of web sites that give people in the telecentre
movement tools they need to capture and share knowledge. This includes everything from
individual blogs (to tell a story) to project wikis (to collaboratively organize a project) to full
web sites (to provide an online network home). This infrastructure is only in its infancy, but
has already been picked by many. The Pacific Telecentre Online Community has created its
own web site. A collection of projects involving groups from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
Uganda has created a shared project workspace. The telecentre.org team is using blogs to
transparently record their interactions with telecentre organizations around the world. By
mid-2006, anyone in the telecentre movement will easily be able to create such spaces.

6.2 Timeline

The knowledge sharing investment line began by establishing and testing online knowledge
sharing infrastructure. Interventions in the training field were also begun. Both of these
activities occurred before the telecentre.org launch in November 2005:

Future activities will focus on evolving online knowledge sharing and training programs, and
moving actively into offline knowledge sharing. The online approach has already begun to
evolve based on feedback from the PacTOC web site roll-out and start up year evaluation.
Knowledge sharing and training activities will operate throughout the current five-year cycle
of the telecentre.org program.


In July 2005, the telecentre.org program team began work on a full-scale knowledge
sharing strategy. Early achievements based on that strategy included:

• Identified TakingITGlobal as a partner providing 'on tap' knowledge sharing
infrastructure and web sites offered to telecentre networks globally.

• Developed vision and gathered consortium of Indian organizations to create a
training commons, an initiative that will create a common telecentre
manager curriculum and online curriculum marketplace.

• Launched prototype telecentre.org web site and knowledge sharing tools at
WSIS, offering training to networks from around the world.



• Set up first 'network web site' for the Pacific Telecentre Online Consortium, a
network of telecentres from Polynesia and Micronesia.

telecentre.org began a small research support program in 2005, supporting a young scholar
interested in gender and telecentres. The program will expand in future.

6.4 Next steps

Over the next two years, the program will work with partners to expand knowledge sharing
and training efforts begun in year one. Major priorities include:

• Leadership and management training programs. A need for modular, flexible
telecentre management training and certification has been identified. In 2006,
telecentre.org will work with Mission 2007 to develop baseline telecentre manager
training curriculum, establish an online presence and explore options for certification.
It will invest in a social entrepreneurship-mentoring program in South Africa and
explore the potential for a leadership development program in Latin America. All
material will be open content and adaptable to improvements made by networks.

• Improved access to 'on tap' knowledge sharing tools. TakingITGlobal will
spend much of 2006 focused on the creation of a more advanced and robust set of
knowledge sharing tools. This will include the creation of a reference desk platform, a
curriculum sharing library and a 'project site' facility to support collaborative work
amongst telecentre groups.

• telecentre.org web site in three languages. TakingITGlobal will expand the core
telecentre.org web site to operate in English, French and Spanish. The site will host
knowledge sharing tools and will function as a central source of news about how the
telecentre ecosystem is growing and evolving.

• Offline content for telecentres. A yearly CD series will be created based on the
most popular resources from the telecentre.org online library. It will include
curriculum from Microsoft's Unlimited Potential (UP) and UNESCO's Multimedia
Training Kit lines.

• Research awards program. telecentre.org will extend its small research awards
program, offering one sabbatical position and two professional development awards
per year, both through IDRC's existing research awards system. The program will
provide small-scale support to young researchers interested in practical telecentre
research.

In addition to these partner-driven activities, the telecentre.org program team will facilitate
a number of knowledge sharing activities. A moderated online 'telecentre radar' will track
interesting new ideas and technologies. Continuous blogging and storytelling will highlight
the work of our partners on the ground.

For more information on upcoming activities, see the 'knowledge sharing' table in Appendix
B.



7 Investment line #4: connecting people
telecentre.org's 'connecting people' investment line provides financial and facilitation
support for workshops that bring telecentre people together.

Convening workshops provides the essential 'glue' that catalyzes and connects activities
from all three of the other investment lines. Participatory telecentre events provide the
social raw material that feeds into networks, knowledge sharing and collaborative
innovation:

Activities supported through telecentre.org's 'connecting people' investment line will include
global Telecentre Leaders’ Forums (organized by the telecentre.org program), region-wide
Telecentre Leaders’ Forums (organized by networks and telecentre.org) and national peer
learning and TLF events (organized by national networks).

7.1 Example: Sri Lanka Telecentre Leaders' Forum

In September 2005, telecentre.org worked with Sarvodaya and ICTA in Sri Lanka to gather
120 village level telecentre managers from at least three different telecentre programs.
Many had never met another telecentre manager, let alone 120 others. All attendees left
with something valuable: a new marketing idea; a copy of someone else's training
curriculum; mobile numbers of new friends who'd offered support when things get tricky; a
sense that they were a part of a movement. Sarvodaya and ICTA also left with a clear
mandate for the creation of a Sri Lankan telecentre network initiative. Essential advice and
support for the meeting were provided by IDRC regional staff and the Microsoft Community
Affairs lead in Colombo, building on past telecentre work both organizations had done with
Sarvodaya.

7.2 Timeline

Support for events that connect people within the telecentre movement will occur
throughout the current five year cycle of the telecentre.org program …

Early activities focused on grassroots workshops feeding input into telecentre.org program
design and initial investments in national networks. Over the longer term, support will focus



on a regular cycle of global and regional events as well as national and thematic events that
emerge from networks working on the ground.


During its start up year, telecentre.org has supported an extensive series of workshops and
peer learning events. Highlights include:

• Supported 15 national or regional workshops, connecting with well over 500
participants coming from 28 countries. These events served as inputs to the design
of telecentre.org, and as peer learning opportunities.

• Established concrete investment relationships with national networks as a direct
result of these events. These networks are located in: Chile, India, Mozambique,
South Africa, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

• First Telecentre Leaders’ Forum held at WSIS in Tunis during November 2005. This
event led to a number of concrete cross-regional partnerships amongst the networks
telecentre.org is working with. It also helped to identify network leaders in regions
where the program is not yet working.

In addition to these concrete outcomes, telecentre.org supported workshops which also
helped to reduce skepticism about community involvement in program design and establish
a positive tone moving forward. As one participant in the start up year evaluation process
noted: "telecentre.org has its ears wide open."

7.4 Next steps

Convening will continue as an important area of investment, with a particular focus on
events in new regions and regional and global events that gather committed telecentre
leaders. Specific priorities include:

• Global and regional Telecentre Leaders’ Forums. Building on the success of the
first global Telecentre Leaders’ Forum in Tunisia, the telecentre.org program will run
regional and global events on an alternating basis, with a regional event planned for
Africa in 2006 and a global event slated to take place alongside GKIII in Delhi in late
2007. Telecentre Leaders’ Forums will be organized jointly with the Global Knowledge
Partnership wherever possible.

• Funding and support for national level forums. National (or sub-regional)
Telecentre Leaders’ Forums provide an opportunity for training and network
planning. The telecentre.org program will fund 3-5 similar events every year.
Facilitation support and easy-to-set-up event web sites will be provided. Priorities for
2006 include workshops in the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East and
North Africa and South East Asia.

In addition, telecentre.org will invest in facilitation training and other capacity building
efforts that help networks run more effective networking events.

For more information on upcoming activities, see the 'connecting people' table in Appendix
B.



8 Partnerships: getting things done collaboratively
One word is front and centre in the telecentre.org strategy: partnership. Partnership
is the glue that binds telecentre.org investments together. It is the method by which
concrete services are delivered to, by and between players in the telecentre ecosystem and
the way things get done.

The telecentre.org program makes social investments in networks, services providers and
others who help telecentres become more successful. The program also encourages these
organizations to work together on service delivery. Partnerships built around the unique
roles of each organization become a key to delivering valuable services …

TakingITGlobal TechSoup

service
delivery grant
free
(contract) discount relationships +
web site
ecommerce platform
platform
(contract)
(contract)

telecentre.org regional
web site
program hardware
and software
discounts

Ugabytes membership
telecentre
start up network reference
grant desk
(contract)

telecentre
manager
computer training
maintenance program

telecentres in
Mission east africa
2007
training
(india)
curriculum
(creative commons /
no formal partnership)

These partnerships are referred to as 'constellations': clusters of organizations with
specialized roles joining into a 'functional alliance' to share ideas, deliver services and run
projects. Some constellations involve telecentre.org directly, and many do not. They are
governed by agreements between the organizations involved.

The following is a profile of the main organization types telecentre.org invests in
and partners with. telecentre.org social investments interconnect and reinforce
each other primarily through the constellations formed by these organizations.



8.1 Telecentre leaders and champions

Telecentres depend on their people. Without entrepreneurial leadership and community
champions, telecentres cannot survive – no matter how much support they have from
governments or outside sources. Telecentre leaders fit into the telecentre.org vision and the
overall ecosystem in the following ways:

• Roles: leading one or more local telecentre projects; championing and sharing
innovative services at the local level; sharing ideas and stories with peers via
networks; using and improving content provided by others.

• Partnerships: getting involved in or starting networks; offering services to other
telecentres or networks; training people in other telecentre programs.

• telecentre.org invests directly by: supporting participation in Telecentre Leaders’
Forums; exchange programs; grassroots sabbaticals and research awards.

• telecentre.org supports indirectly through: support for telecentre networks;
investment in content and services to be offered through networks; creation of
online communities and offline knowledge sharing for telecentre people.

This group is one of the most important beneficiaries of telecentre.org investments. The
services and networks created with telecentre.org investments must provide a direct benefit
to telecentre leaders on the ground (and the centres they run).

8.2 Telecentre networks

Networks play a central role in strengthening and supporting the day-to-day work of
grassroots telecentres. Connecting and organizing telecentres within a particular country or
region, these networks facilitate learning, offer support and provide services to improve
telecentre sustainability. Networks fit into the telecentre.org vision and the overall
ecosystem in the following ways:

• Roles: national peer learning events and training; technical and business reference
desk services for telecentres; discounted products and services for telecentres; back
end or link to revenue generating services offered by local telecentres; resource for
emerging new networks.

• Partnerships: direct relationship with individual local telecentres; contracts with
service providers with something to offer to member telecentres; relationships with
governments and NGOs who have content to share with telecentres; collaboration
and projects with other telecentre networks.

• telecentre.org invests directly by: funding and facilitation support for
participatory events; network start up grants; network capacity grants; investment
for the development of training and support programs.

• telecentre.org supports indirectly through: investing in services assisting
networks, or that networks offer to telecentres; investment in business planning
services for networks; support for content sharing networks; sharing open
curriculum and content created by other networks; networking opportunities through
regional and global Telecentre Leaders’ Forums.



All of the networks that telecentre.org works with are self-governing, and work with local
telecentres on their own terms. Some networks have formal membership structures (e.g.
CTCNet) while others use a more fluid, network-model (e.g. Mission 2007). Many are
embedded in an existing non-profit or social enterprise with a mandate transcending
telecentres. The telecentre.org program works with all types of networks, as long as they
are inclusive and provide concrete grassroots value.

8.3 Service providers

The telecentre ecosystem includes organizations offering concrete services to help
telecentres and networks become more effective, efficient and sustainable. These services
providers may be NGOs offering support to community technology projects, social
enterprises with a product or service that telecentres offer to their communities; or
companies working in emerging markets or rural computing. They fit into the telecentre.org
vision and the overall ecosystem in the following ways:

• Roles: help networks start up and operate effectively through business planning
support, technology platforms and training materials; help telecentres reach
sustainability by developing content, products and services that can be easily offered
at the local level.

• Partnerships: typically, working with national and regional telecentre networks that
use these services directly or deliver them to telecentres. May also partner with
other content and services providers.

• telecentre.org invests directly by: small investments for initial product or service
R+D, or packaging product or service for delivery across networks; support for
networks that collect and share content for use in local telecentres.

• telecentre.org supports indirectly through: investing in networks that use
service provider offerings or who partner to distribute services to telecentres;
opportunities to meet with networks and telecentres at leaders’ forum events.

Service providers play a key role as their offerings help networks provide support more
efficiently (e.g. a reference desk in a box) and help telecentres drive use and sustainability
(e.g. a packaged rural healthcare service). Service providers offer services directly to and
through networks. telecentre.org makes the introductions.

8.4 Social investors

Social investors play a role not just as financiers but also as catalysts and advocates for a
stronger telecentre ecosystem. This includes government ICT funding programs,
development donors, foundations, social venture funds and corporate CSR and emerging
markets groups. Social investors fit into the telecentre.org vision and the overall ecosystem
in the following ways:

• Roles: grow the telecentre ecosystem by investing in telecentres, networks and
service providers; act as conveners and connector points where appropriate; raise
awareness of governments and other social investors.



• Partnerships: work in supportive and catalytic way with partners including
networks, service providers, telecentres and other social investors. Where not
required, there is no direct involvement in constellations or partnerships.

• telecentre.org invests directly by: providing staffing and infrastructure for social
investors wanting to pool resources in the telecentre support space; offering parallel
investments, especially in network and service projects.

• telecentre.org supports indirectly through: investing in networks that provide
social investors with a channel to reach out and interact with grassroots telecentres;
inviting social investors to Telecentre Leaders’ Forum events.

IDRC, Microsoft and SDC support the telecentre.org platform because they believe in the
value of coordinated investment in capacity support for telecentres and invite others to join
in that support. More collaborative investment is required, as are other forms of social
investment that go beyond traditional granting programs. This includes social venture funds,
patient loan programs and other non-traditional financing mechanisms aimed at scaling-up
the telecentre ecosystem.

8.5 Emerging constellation examples

The telecentre.org program encourages collaboration with organizations it partners with and
invests in them through constellations. A sampling of emerging constellations includes:

• Mission 2007 (India) and other Indian groups partnered to create a training
commons: a place to create and test shared telecentre manager training curriculum.
This individuals working on this project represent a loose constellation, and they will
likely disband when the project is complete.

• D.Net (Bangladesh), Sarvodaya (Sri Lanka) and UgaBYTES (Uganda) are
collaborating to create theTelecentre Times, a print newsletter from the grassroots.
This is a very loose and informal constellation, but may formalize if the first issues
are successful.

• UgaBYTES (Uganda) in Uganda will work in partnership with TakingITGlobal
(Canada) and TechSoup (USA) to build out a rich set of offerings for the telecentres
it serves. This is a formal constellation that will stay together for many years,
governed through contractual relationships.

Constellations take many forms and may be informal and formal, temporary or lasting.
What connects them is a commitment to practical shared labour delivering value to
telecentres.



9 Marketing: promoting the telecentre ecosystem
To reach its objectives, telecentre.org needs to do more than just market the social
investment program at IDRC. It needs to market the entire telecentre ecosystem.

From a marketing perspective, what's required is a widely-held feeling that the telecentre
ecosystem is a vibrant – and identifiable – place. This is essential to motivate people and
organizations to get more engaged with telecentres; putting their time, services and money
into the ecosystem. People only get involved when they see that something interesting is
happening, and that there is a clear way to join in and benefit. Creating this feeling will
require a diverse and distributed marketing strategy, involving the telecentre.org program
and its partners across the ecosystem. Key components of this strategy include:

The book From the ground up: The evolution of the telecentre movement demonstrates this
cooperative, distributed marketing strategy. Created jointly by telecentre.org and the
Education Development Center, the book profiles twelve telecentre organizations globally
describing a vibrant and growing movement. The result: a marketing vehicle that enriches
and promotes not just the organizations directly involved but also everyone working in the
telecentre field.

9.1 Staged engagement: connecting all stakeholders

A marketing strategy promoting a more vibrant ecosystem requires a unique approach to
each of the actors identified in this plan: networks; service providers; telecentre champions;
and social investors. Each group needs to be transitioned from initial awareness of the
telecentre.org program and movement to a level of deeper engagement. The following table
describes the stages of this engagement process:



Group Aware Involved Engaged
Indicator: see Indicator: spends Indicator: known
themselves within the time participating in leader and contributor
movement and are network activities and amongst peers.
aware of sharing content. Outreach: invite to
Telecentre
telecentre.org. Outreach: invite to lead online and face-
champions
Outreach: send network and to-face learning
online newsletters, telecentre.org events, events, celebrate in
reach via networks encourage to network and
and telecentre.org participate and post telecentre.org
sites. online. newsletters.
Indicator: knowing Indicator: working Indicator: organizing
that there are other with other networks, events amongst
networks and actively offering and networks and
telecentre.org using telecentre.org engaging with
Telecentre interested in services, affiliated telecentre.org
networks collaborating. with telecentre.org globally.
Outreach: send Outreach: invite to Outreach: include in
online newsletters, telecentre.org events, TLF planning,
promote get introductions via encourage leading
telecentre.org and social investors. collaborative projects
IDRC site. with networks.
Indicator: aware of Indicator: developing Indicator: telecentre
telecentres as a products and services champion working
market and for telecentres, with telecentre.org
telecentre.org + participating in globally.
networks as way to ecosystem Outreach: invite to
Service
reach this market Outreach: promote lead workshops at
providers Outreach: targeted services R+D fund, telecentre.org online
e-mail marketing to invite to and offline events,
service providers, and telecentre.org global regular one-on-one
presence at events events meetings with
telecentre.org
Indicator: knows Indicator: parallel Indicator:
about telecentre.org funding going to contributes to main
program and projects of common telecentre.org funding
ecosystem approach interest with pool, or targeted pool
Social
Outreach: targeted telecentre.org like services R+D fund
investors e-mail marketing, Outreach: one-on- Outreach: individual
focused on storytelling one meetings, regular meetings, joins
and lessons learned e-mail updates on telecentre.org Senior
emerging projects Working Group

This table provides examples of ways to reach the target groups at each stage of the
engagement process. All marketing strategies need to be designed around this cycle,
building not only on awareness of different audiences but also on an understanding of how
engaged they are (and how engaged we hope they will become).

9.2 Shared brand: marketing the telecentre ecosystem

Presently, the telecentre.org brand is associated only with the social investment program at
IDRC. In the longer term, telecentre.org can potentially stand for much more – as a symbol
of quality and common vision shared by those who see the promise of community-based



technology. Similar to the Star Alliance or the organic foods logo, people would view
organizations displaying the telecentre.org logo as being both a trustworthy brand in its own
right and a part of larger global community of excellence. Getting organizations to affiliate
themselves with telecentre.org also shows a commitment to move towards a higher level of
engagement.

The telecentre.org program is committed to sharing its brand. This will occur in phases,
testing the waters each step of the way. The phases planned include:

• Step one – funded partners: encourage all partners directly involved in
telecentre.org-funded projects to display the logo and declare an affiliation with
telecentre.org. All partners showing the logo will also be listed on the
www.telecentre.org partner page. Timing: immediate.

• Step two – networks, service providers: invite any network, service provider or
social investor directly working with telecentres to affiliate with the telecentre.org
brand, based on approval of the communications manager. Offer these affiliates a
partner listing and access to the same services available to funded networks. Timing:
2006.

• Step three – individual telecentres: invite individual telecentres to affiliate
themselves with the telecentre.org brand, ideally through a network that is already
part of the telecentre.org family. Offer certificates and promotional materials that
can be displayed in the telecentre. Timing: 2007.

The real test of this strategy is whether the telecentre.org brand is actually providing
benefits to partners. Partners will be surveyed in 2008 to assess whether the shared brand
strategy is working. Survey results will be used to refine the strategy.

9.3 Partner driven marketing strategies

Assuming a shared brand and sense of common cause exist as a foundation, telecentre.org
will focus most of its marketing efforts on helping partners to market themselves more
effectively. Key tactics in this area will include:

• Raw materials for marketing and engagement. Provide network partners with
articles, telecentre support resources and a reference desk platform they can offer
to members. Provide partners marketing material templates. These materials allow
networks to attract and engage telecentres, growing overall awareness about the
telecentre movement.

• Collaborative, movement-wide marketing. Support partners who want to work
together on joint marketing and awareness raising activities. An example is the
Telecentre Times, a print newspaper about telecentres championed by Ugandan,
Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi networks.

• Shared online community. Create a shared online community independent of
the telecentre.org social investment program. This online community is already up
and running under the leadership of TakingITGlobal. Over time, many partners will
use the platform for their own marketing, storytelling and collaboration purposes.

• Putting partners on stage. Highlight leaders from across the telecentre
movement. This includes inviting partners to play a starring role in online learning



events, and including partners as core organizers and speakers at telecentre.org
global and regional events.

Partner-driven marketing efforts will be organized primarily through networks, building on
already established relationships. Partners using this content for their marketing campaigns
will be required to use the telecentre.org logo. They will also be invited to display the logos
of the core telecentre.org social investors.

9.4 Program based marketing strategies

There are a number of areas where marketing needs to be based directly within the
telecentre.org social investment program. These include:

• E-mail storytelling. Write a series of regular e-newsletters, focusing on grassroots
stories from across the telecentre movement. Deliver in English, French and Spanish,
and offer different versions for different audiences.

• Movement marketing. Develop materials that highlight the telecentre movement,
based on the From the ground up model. They will target policy-makers, social
investors and others with limited awareness of telecentres.

• High profile events. Organize high-profile events to promote the telecentre
movement, including annual Telecentre Leaders’ Forums (regional: one year / global:
the opposite year). Use these events to market the telecentre movement,
telecentre.org partner organizations and the program.

• Partnership and one-on-one relationships. Invest individual time in developing
key partner relationships. Use process to bring policy-makers and social investors
through the engagement cycle.

Program based materials will provide a high-profile channel for promoting not only the
program and the movement, but also involvement by IDRC, Microsoft, SDC and future social
investors. These social investors will receive front and centre branding in program-based
marketing materials and at telecentre.org events.



10 Operations: program management and oversight
The operational philosophy behind the telecentre.org team is simple: stay small, nimble,
lightweight and responsive. Housed at IDRC in Ottawa and Delhi, the telecentre.org
program team consists of only eight staff. However, this core team is backed by an
extensive network of partners and advisors from across the telecentre ecosystem …

This distributed approach mirrors the telecentre.org program's commitment to growing
overall ecosystem capacity. Local work such as running networks, managing technology and
developing services is left to partners supported through telecentre.org investments. These
are the people who will grow the ecosystem and make it thrive in the end. The small
program team will handle only tasks that are necessarily linked to the operation of the
social investment program: convening, partnership development, investment portfolio
management and project monitoring.

10.1 Core program team

Encompassing both a regional and global dimension, the core telecentre.org program team
is focused on making social investments and developing partnerships that make the
telecentre ecosystem stronger. Positions within the team include:

• Managing director: Overall management of the telecentre.org program, including
strategic planning, team leadership and development of new social investment
partnerships. (1 position - Ottawa)



• Program officers: Development and management of project level partnerships.
Three program officers lead regional program development for Africa, Asia and the
Americas while one is focused on global projects and knowledge management across
the program. (4 positions – Ottawa + Delhi)

• Communications officer: Development of communications about the social
investment program and coordination of communication amongst telecentre.org
partners. (1 position - Delhi)

• Research officer: Gathering monitoring and evaluation data, and managing social
investment pipeline. (1 position – Ottawa)

• Project administrator: Program planning, logistics and coordination with other
teams with IDRC. (1 position – Ottawa)

The people in these positions have extensive experience with telecentres, social enterprise,
knowledge sharing and the creation of global networks amongst social purpose
organizations. telecentre.org managing director Mark Surman (Canadian) has spent 17
years leading cutting edge community media and social enterprise initiatives in Canada and
around the world. Senior program staff include: Basheerhamad Shadrach (Indian), Florencio
Ceballos (Chilean), Meddie Mayanja (Ugandan) and Frank Tulus (Canadian), all of whom
have extensive experience with either telecentre or knowledge sharing projects.

10.2 Extended team

In addition to the core team, the telecentre.org program also draws heavily on the skills and
networks of partner organizations. Key extended team roles include:

• IDRC programs and regional offices: telecentre.org works in close consultation
and collaboration with IDRC regional ICT4D programs – ICT4D Americas, PAN Asia
and Acacia. The program also works closely with IDRC's grant administration division
and with regional office teams in Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Montevideo
and Singapore. This existing infrastructure and expertise represents a tremendous
asset for telecentre.org.

• Microsoft and SDC program staff: Microsoft and SDC offer access to extensive
networks of grassroots telecentre projects, through the Unlimited Potential and
UNESCO CMC programs. Program staff are involved in support, networking and
information sharing roles at regional telecentre.org events.

• TakingITGlobal and other implementing partners: These partners engage in
activities that benefit the telecentre.org program and all of its partner organizations.
TakingITGlobal, the Toronto based organization responsible for telecentre.org
community web sites and knowledge sharing tools offered to partner networks. Other
examples include NESsT (business planning for networks) and the Global Knowledge
Partnership (convening events). A TIG representative attends all telecentre.org team
meetings.

• Researchers and interns: A number of researchers and interns are funded
annually for targeted research on telecentre issues. These people are housed at
IDRC and act as part of the telecentre.org team on a temporary basis.



The extended team also consists of the many partners that telecentre.org works with across
the telecentre ecosystem. These organizations operate independently of telecentre.org and
have their own priorities. However they are the most important players in our efforts to
achieve the objectives of the telecentre.org program.

10.3 Program oversight

Regular program investment oversight is provided by the telecentre.org Senior Working
Group. This committee is made up of all social investors who have contributed resources to
the telecentre funding pool. The Working Group meets on a quarterly basis to review
progress of the program and provide input on investment plans. They also approve the
telecentre.org annual budget and business plan.

As telecentre.org operates as a program within IDRC's ICT4D division, overall governance is
provided by the Centre's international Board of Governors. Programmatic and fiscal
accountability are handled through IDRC's standard grant administration, management and
evaluation systems. These systems are widely respected in the development sector for their
balance of flexibility and rigor.

10.4 Advisory circles

Constant input and engagement with telecentre practitioners from around the world
provides telecentre.org with an ongoing source of program guidance. Additional program
guidance is provided by two advisory circles: one drawn from the telecentre community and
another drawn from the senior ranks of business, government and the non-profit sector.
Unlike traditional committees, these advisory circles work on a flexible, as-needed basis.
Members relate to the telecentre.org managing director primarily through one on one
conversations about a particular issue related to the advisors expertise. Advisors are invited
to attend at least one telecentre.org support event per year. There are no formal committee
meetings for the advisory circles. The first slate of advisors will be announced by August
2006. Additional advisors will be added during the course of the program.



Appendix A – Monitoring and evaluation strategy

Working within the context of IDRC's overall evaluation system, the telecentre.org program
is committed to evaluation as a way to promote continuous learning and ensure program
accountability. With these goals in mind, the program will implement a simple monitoring
and evaluation strategy based around four tools:

Drawing on elements of IDRC's Outcome Mapping methodology, the first two elements –
storytelling and evaluation studies – are focused exclusively on the goal of continuous
learning. Learning from these evaluation tools will be applied to investment decisions and
yearly program workplan development. Responsibility for these evaluation activities will be
taken on by the telecentre.org Knowledge Management Program Officer and the Research
Officer. Evaluation studies will be undertaken by contract researchers.

The third element – program review – will look at the programs’ overall accountability
record. A standard part of the IDRC evaluation system, the review is conducted by outside
evaluators under the supervision of the IDRC's Evaluation Unit.

IDRC approach to evaluation

IDRC’s approach to evaluation mirrors the Centre’s approach to development research
programming. IDRC-supported project evaluations consist of:

• Rigor and validity in our approach to evaluation;
• Adopting an action-oriented approach to contribute to evidence-based decision
making;
• Ownership of and participation in evaluation by constituencies;
• Capacity building in evaluation as a way to build a more effective development
research community.

IDRC sees evaluation as a central contribution of people effectively participating in learning
and knowledge processes. Its evaluation system takes a decentralized approach to meeting
both learning and accountability needs. It is based on multiple layers of monitoring and
evaluation at the project, program, and corporate levels (overview chart available as
attachment). Rather than through the use of indicator-based logframes, formal
accountability for the results achieved using public resources comes through the rolling
project completion reports (rPCRs), reporting by the Director of Program Area (DPA) and an
external review conducted once at the end of each program’s cycle. As a corporate project
of IDRC, telecentre.org is a part of this system.


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