[UgaBYTES] Management Dialog

[Peter Burgess]

Dear Colleagues

Shaddy used the following phrase: "The sustainability of telecentres
largely depends upon their relevance to the local populace"

I could not agree more.

And for an old accountant relevance for the client is all about value,
price and affordability. Is it worth the money, and can I pay for it?

One of the critical problems that really has to be a central focus is
that for sustainability the price has got to be bigger than cost ...
and the telecentre operations in Africa tend to be ... I think this is
factually correct ... high cost and trying to operate sustainably in
areas where sustainable prices are not affordable.

What strategy is available to help get costs down to more affordable levels?

Peter Burgess

On 10/23/07, B. Shadrach <bshadrach at telecentre.org> wrote:
>
> I think Kiringai has got it right.  The sustainability of telecentres
> largely depends upon their relevance to the local populace, mainly as a tool
> that connects the demand with the source.  One of the critical issues in
> this is the ability to coordinate with knowledge sources within, around and
> outside the community in order to fulfil the needs of the community, be it
> in agri-business, health service or livelihoods.  In Mission 2007, among the
> five Cs promoted, knowledge 'C'oordination forms an integral part.  Most of
> the telecentres that have succeeded in demonstrating their value have done
> this bit well enough - mainly by coordinating with local actors as
> effectively as possible.
>
> Kirigai's point about the big picture is something we need to have at the
> back of our minds. Else, telecentres will be operating in isolation, exactly
> as Kiringain mentions as the technology outfit for learning some office
> applications among the youth and the children within the community.
>
> Cheers
> Shaddy

____________
Peter Burgess
The Transparency and Accountability Network: Tr-Ac-Net in New York
www.tr-ac-net.org
IMMC - The Integrated Malaria Management Consortium Inc.
www.IMMConsortium.org
917 432 1191 or 212 772 6918  peterbnyc at gmail.com