The Rural ICT Comprehensive Evaluation Framework: Implementing the First Domain, the Baseline Study Process

ICTs are continuously emerging as key tools to support development activities. However, with the growing implementation of such technology requires the need to account for such implementations and assess the need, process, outcome and impact of ICT projects in developing countries. Most evaluations in ICT4D tend to focus on impact assessment, yet assessing the impact of a project relies on interdependent assessments that should be conducted throughout the life of a project; especially to gauge the actual contribution of an ICT project to specified impact in a rural community. This paper presents a Rural ICT Comprehensive Evaluation Framework (RICT‐CEF), which encompasses the key domains of evaluation that should be applied throughout the progression of an ICT for development project. The scope of this paper, specifically elaborates on the first two stages of the framework: 1) The Overall Evaluation Plan, and 2) The Baseline Study. These stages are explored in the Siyakhula Living Lab, an ICT4D project in South Africa, to reveal the shortcomings and suitability of the framework through lessons learned, and contribute to the continuous revision of the RICT‐CEF