Effectiveness of rural ICT centers: A perspective from west of Iran

AbstractRural Information and Communication Technology Centers (ICT Centers) play an important role in rural development through improving e-governance in rural areas. The main purpose of this survey research was to investigate the effectiveness of rural ICT Centers for developing e-governance in the rural communities of the Kermanshah Township, located in the west of Iran. The data were collected in two phases. The first stage utilized a Delphi technique, carried out by the participation of ICT experts to determine the effectiveness indicators. The second phase employed a structured interview using a questionnaire. The majority of people did not use internet services despite its availability in the ICT Centers. The ICT Centers also had low effectiveness in improving rural households’ income, employment rate, diffusion of agricultural information among farmers, and e-commerce. They are to some extent effective in decreasing the migration of rural people to urban areas, their daily trips to near cities, and postal requirements as well as improving e-governance in rural areas