In the Case Studies section:
Success/Failure Case Study No.19
eShringhla: An Information Kiosk Scheme in South India
Case Study Authors
Ajay Kumar (kumarajay1111@yahoo.com)
Application
The application involved setting up a one-stop, Web-enabled portal for information and services relating to the government-citizen interface. The application involved hosting the portal on a Web server with good connectivity and providing a set of information kiosks to access this information and services all over the state of Kerala in South India, thus creating an "e-shringhla" ("electronic chain") of information and e-governance. The project was undertaken by Keltron, the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.; a public sector hardware manufacturer and provider of e-governance and other ICT solutions.
Application Description
eShringhla involved collecting information from various government departments regarding the schemes and programmes being implemented by them relating to common citizens and hosting the details on the Web portal. Forms commonly used to apply for government services or assistance were made available for download. Further, the server was connected to back-office applications in the concerned departments, thus permitting online application in some cases, especially processes not requiring original or identification documents. The portal also enabled low-level e-commerce activity for products from rural areas, and specific interaction activities, e.g. counselling on agricultural practices or health practices, creation of rural discussion fora, etc.
Application Purpose
eShringhla was created to bridge the proverbial digital divide and use ICT to make government and government processes/services more accessible and transparent. Apart from the digital divide, the project was also intended to bridge social divides like gender divide, caste and community divide, economic divide etc. in dispensation of government services to its citizens in a social milieu of inequality such as that found in India.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders included State Government departments and their employees; senior officials in the bureaucracy and politics; the common citizen who was intended to be the ultimate beneficiary; the technical support personnel who developed the ICT solution; plus a variety of other local community bodies such as NGOs and small enterprises.
Impact: Costs and Benefits
There were costs involved in setting up the server and connectivity and some kiosks. Additional costs were involved in developing the portal and collection of data from various departments relating to details to be put on the portal. The total costs of these items for the pilot project are estimated to be around around US$100,000. The benefits of the project have been growing awareness of using ICT for providing services in many government departments. While the initial service was started with just one or two government departments, more departments are now coming forward to join the initiative. Village-level local bodies have come forward to invest in the kiosks for their villages. As yet, most information on the portal is in English, but work is progressing on loading material in Malayalam, the main local language.
Evaluation: Failure or Success?
Evaluation has shown that acceptance of the kiosk will be greater if more services are added, and that a direct relationship exists between kiosk acceptance and the value that the portal can add. The kiosks have not been able to attract private investment as originally envisaged. Although the pilot kiosks are sustainable, the private investors who would run them are not satisfied with the level of returns. Efforts have therefore been doubled to add more services to the system. Given this, it is probably too early to evaluate the full success or failure of the project.
Enablers/Critical Success Factors
- Community demand . Given Kerala's large non-resident population (particularly based in the Middle East) combined with low prices for Internet telephony, there has been a natural attraction of citizens in rural areas to the kiosks.
Constraints/Challenges
- Departmental fiefdoms . Departments are reluctant to share information with an external agency. Even for introducing these services, they would prefer their own kiosks.
- Local language fonts . Malayalam has a non-standard font and this has resulted in an inability to develop the portal in the local language. Work in this direction is now in progress .
Recommendations
- Get high-level political will . Government departments act as if they were water-tight compartments and there is a need for high-level political will to overcome the resistance to data-sharing and joined-up government that such attitudes foment.
- Recognise 'success' and 'failure' as point-in-time evaluations . Adding value to content in G2C e-government projects is an ongoing process and therefore success and failure are categorisations that can only be relevant at a particular point in time. As the value of content changes, apparently unsuccessful projects can become successful, or vice versa.
Further Information
Case Details
Author Data Sources/Role : Project Management Role.
Outcome : Too Early To Evaluate. Reform : eServices (Improving Public Services). Sector : General Services (IT Department/Agency).
Region : South Asia. Start Date : 2001. Submission Date : August 2002