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IDD/TP-09-04 (Version 1.0)

ESCAP Technical Paper

Competency-based Training Guidelines

for ICT Initiatives at the Community Level

IDD/TP-09-01 (Version 1)

ESCAP Technical PAPER

Competency-based Training Guidelines

for ICT Initiatives at the Community Level

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IDD/TP-09-04 (Version 1.0)

ESCAP Technical Paper Information and Communications Technology and

Disaster Risk Reduction Division

Competency-based Training Guidelines for ICT Initiatives at the Community Level

Authorized for distribution by Xuan Zengpei

October 2009

This document was compiled by Mr J. Tim Denny*, a consultant recruited for the project “Empowering Rural Areas through Community e-Centre (CeC)” under the South Asia Subregional Economic Community (SASEC), funded by the Asian Development Bank and Ms Atsuko Okuda** in the form of training guidelines for the purpose of raising awareness on the importance of competency based approaches in capacity building.

Abstract

ICT capacity building among government officials as well as organizations implementing ICT initiatives in under-serviced areas continues to be a major challenge, despite firm commitments demonstrated in the outcome document of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). With this context, this training guideline aims to supplement the work of governments and other agencies planning and implementing ICT initiatives in remote, rural and un-connected areas of developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. In particular, the need to strengthen individual and institutional capacity of entities in implementation of ICT initiatives in challenging areas has repeatedly been addressed over the past years, especially in the context of developing Community e-Centres (CeC). This guideline aims to introduce a competency-based training approach to enhance institutional and individual capacity building in implementing ICT initiatives in remote and rural areas.

___________________ * Mr J. Tim Denny, former consultant, e-mail address : [email protected]. ** Ms Atsuko Okuda, IT Officer, ICT and Development Section, Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division, ESCAP, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand, e-mail address: [email protected].

Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this paper do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of a commercial company or product in this publication does not imply endorsement by ESCAP. The content in this document is the opinions and view points of the author's and not that of ESCAP or IDD and this publication has been issued without formal editing.

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CONTENTS

A. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1

1. Purpose of these competency guidelines...................................................................................3 2. What is a competency? ..............................................................................................................5 3. Why use competency requirements? .........................................................................................5 4. Who uses competency standards? ............................................................................................6 5. Limitations of the standards........................................................................................................6 6. How and Why These Standards Were Selected........................................................................7

B. Guiding thoughts on standards utilization.......................................................................................7

C. Competency standards for operators ..............................................................................................8

D. Competency standards for service providers .............................................................................. 12

E. Competency standards for users.................................................................................................. 16

F. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 19

List of Tables

Table 1A. Research and engagement ...........................................................................................9 Table 1B. Teaching others .............................................................................................................9 Table 1C. Monitoring and evaluation........................................................................................... 10 Table 1D. Understanding your community .................................................................................. 10 Table 1E. Working with others .................................................................................................... 10 Table 1F. Planning ...................................................................................................................... 11 Table 1G. Technical..................................................................................................................... 11 Table 2A. Content provision ........................................................................................................ 12 Table 2B. Understanding community needs ............................................................................... 13 Table 2C. Partnering ................................................................................................................... 13 Table 2D. Teaching ..................................................................................................................... 14 Table 2E. Delivery mechanisms.................................................................................................. 14 Table 2F. Marketing .................................................................................................................... 14 Table 2G. Research..................................................................................................................... 15 Table 3A. Using the Internet........................................................................................................ 16 Table 3B. Researching................................................................................................................ 17 Table 3C. Understanding hardware ............................................................................................ 17 Table 3D. Outreach ..................................................................................................................... 17 Table 3E. Safety.......................................................................................................................... 18 Table 3F. Language and communication.................................................................................... 18 Table 3G. Software...................................................................................................................... 19

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List of Figures

Figure 1. APCICT website.............................................................................................................2 Figure 2. Vicious circle of unsustainable community-based ICT initiatives ..................................4 Figure 3. Virtuous circle of ICT initiatives......................................................................................5 Figure 4. Competency standards..................................................................................................8 Figure 5. Competency standards for service providers ............................................................. 12 Figure 6. Competency standards for users................................................................................ 16

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A. Introduction

Asia and the Pacific has demonstrated impressive increases in the number of mobile phone and broadband Internet subscribers in recent years. According to the latest statistics,1 the ESCAP region has recorded a mobile penetration of over 50 subscribers per 100 population on average, which means on paper that one out of two persons has a mobile phone. This actually qualifies the ESCAP region to have reached one of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) goals of at least 50 per cent of the people having ICT access within their reach.

However, a closer examination reveals that most of the mobile subscribers reside in industrialized countries which have exceeded 100 per cent mobile penetration and most of the developing countries still struggle with providing access to fixed telephone lines, mobile phones, the Internet and broadband networks.

Expanding ICT access in remote and rural areas has been one of the top development priorities of ESCAP member countries as well as ICT for development community. In fact, the issue was brought up by ESCAP member countries during the First Session of the Committee on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) held in November 2008 in Bangkok.

ICT capacity building among the government officials as well as organizations implementing ICT initiatives in the under-serviced areas continues to be a major challenge, despite the firm commitments demonstrated in the outcome document of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

ESCAP responses

As to the ICT capacity building for ICT policy and decision makers and government officials, the United Nations Economic

ICT capacity building mentioned in the WSIS Geneva Declaration of Principles (B4):

29. Each person should have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to understand, participate actively in, and benefit fully from, the Information Society and the knowledge economy. Literacy and universal primary education are key factors for building a fully inclusive information society, paying particular attention to the special needs of girls and women. Given the wide range of ICT and information specialists required at all levels, building institutional capacity deserves special attention.

30. The use of ICTs in all stages of education, training and human resource development should be promoted, taking into account the special needs of persons with disabilities and disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

31. Continuous and adult education, re-training, life-long learning, distance-learning and other special services, such as telemedicine, can make an essential contribution to employability and help people benefit from the new opportunities offered by ICTs for traditional jobs, self-employment and new professions. Awareness and literacy in ICTs are an essential foundation in this regard.

32. Content creators, publishers, and producers, as well as teachers, trainers, archivists, librarians and learners, should play an active role in promoting the Information Society, particularly in the Least Developed Countries.

33. To achieve a sustainable development of the Information Society, national capability in ICT research and development should be enhanced. Furthermore, partnerships, in particular between and among developed and developing countries, including countries with economies in transition, in research and development, technology transfer, manufacturing and utilization of ICT products and services are crucial for promoting capacity building and global participation in the Information Society. The manufacture of ICTs presents a significant opportunity for creation of wealth.

34. The attainment of our shared aspirations, in particular for

1 Calculation done based on the ITU 2008 figures, for the compilation of the ESCAP Statistical Yearbook 2009.

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and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has established a dedicated training centre in the Republic of Korea.

developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to become fully-fledged members of the Information Society, and their positive integration into the knowledge economy, depends largely on increased capacity building in the areas of education, technology know-how and access to information, which are major factors in determining development and competitiveness.

WSIS Geneva Declaration of Principles

Figure 1: APCICT website

Since its inception in 2006, the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT) 2 has launched a series of programmes, services and products to strengthen the efforts of the member countries of ESCAP to use ICT in their socio-economic development through human and institutional capacity building. The flagship programme, APCICT Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders3, includes a comprehensive eight-module ICT training curriculum and over a dozen partners that are working with APCICT to roll out the Academy at the national level.

The Academy is further supported by the online distance learning platform of the APCICT Virtual Academy (AVA)4 which is part of the APCICT strategy in diversifying its delivery channels to maximize access to the course materials of the Academy and encourage continuous learning.

2 http://www.unapcict.org 3 http://www.unapcict.org/academy 4 http://www.unapcict.org/ava

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APCICT also launched the e-Collaborative Hub5, or e-Co Hub, which is a single entry online gateway for policy makers, trainers and practitioners to easily access and search for relevant knowledge resources on different aspects of ICT for development (ICT4D). There is also a collaborative workspace to discuss views, share ideas and cooperate on projects related to ICT4D.

Furthermore, ESCAP Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division (IDD), through the work of the ICT and Development Section, has been mandated by ESCAP member States to address a wider range of ICT4D issues, as below, through the Committee on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), the highest inter-governmental body at the regional level to address ICT for Development issues.

• integration of ICT-related issues in development policies, plans and programmes,

• transfer and application of ICT at the regional and subregional levels,

• development of human and institutional capacity in the use of ICT and

• ICT applications for disaster risk reduction.

In response to the recommendations of the ESCAP Committee on Information and Communication Technologies (CICT) as well as needs to implement WSIS outcomes in the region, IDD has compiled various publications6 in addition to implementing projects and activities.7 Some of the division’s work highlights emerging ICT trends in the region, such as the widening digital divide among countries, ICT and the current economic crisis and “green” ICT.

One of the activities IDD has been implementing is the project “Empowering Rural Areas through Community e-Centre” (CeC) under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program, funded by the Asian Development Bank. The project holds capacity building as one of the major components or steps to building a sustainable network of CeCs. Thus, in the process of designing a well thought out capacity building program it has been necessary to come up with an agreed way to assess key stakeholder groups ability to perform and participate, while at the same time setting the stage for a method to measure performance improvement.

Although the materials used in this guideline were developed for CeC operators, it is believed that the concept would be applicable to a wider range of ICT capacity building initiatives in similar contexts.

1. Purpose of this training guideline

In the above context, this training guideline aims to supplement the work of APCICT, governments and other agencies planning and implementing ICT initiatives in remote, rural and un-connected areas of developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. In particular, the

5 http://www.unapcict.org/ecohub 6 http://www.unescap.org/publications/titlebydivision.asp?div=6 7 http://www.unescap.org/idd/ids.asp

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need to strengthen individual and institutional capacity of entities in implementation of ICT initiatives in these challenging areas has repeatedly been addressed over the past years, especially in the context of developing community e-centres (CeC).

One of the major challenges CeCs have been facing across the region is technological, financial and social sustainability. Understandably, many CeCs have been established where commercial viability is little to non-existent. Without long term financial resources and good sustainability scheme in place, however, such operations are constantly at threat of failure.

Figure 2: Vicious circle of unsustainable community-based ICT initiatives

Instead, ICT initiatives should aim at a virtuous circle as illustrated below. In order to break the vicious circle and narrow down on an intervention point for greater sustainability, it may be important to focus on the problem of “Facilities not maintained” in the above diagram. If the facilities are not well functioning, community participation would not be possible, which then would lead to financial problems.

In addition to the technical capabilities of the operators, the challenges of maintaining the facilities would include how to retain competent staff while maintaining their skills needed for operations. In this regard, individual and institutional capacity on the part of implementing agencies and organizations has been identified as one of the weaknesses across various ICT initiatives implemented in rural and remote areas. In particular, over-reliance on volunteers to work for such initiatives has undermined continuity and sustainability of operations, as the volunteers may leave for a paid job at any moment, and a CeC or project has to continuously find replacements and train them to an acceptable level. Instead of constantly being put in a position of reacting to staff changes and the need to recruit capable personnel, such ICT projects should have a strategic and proactive process which will be prepared ahead of time to deliver prescriptive training that addresses competency requirements thereby enabling sustainable and long-term operations.

Facilities not maintained

Community not using facilities

Unstable revenue

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Figure 3: Virtuous circle of ICT initiatives

2. What is a competency?

Competencies are referred to as a collection of skills, knowledge and attitudes required to perform a task to a minimum standard. They are thus composed as statements that specify at what level a person should perform a job/task to be confident in that role. This guideline refers to three key stakeholder groups including the CeC operators, service providers and the users who frequent the CeC (for any number of reasons). The definition of a competency requirement is therefore interpreted to refer to levels of competency at which the aforementioned groups can access services, deliver input or perform duties according to their roles in the CeC, or similar ICT initiatives.

3. Why use competency requirements?

There are some clear and basic reasons why a project/program/organization may seek to use well thought out competency requirements. The following list gives some of the reasons.

• As a reference on expectations regarding roles to be performed;

• To estimate how much autonomy stakeholders can or cannot be granted with CeC facilities or assistance granted to the CeC;

• To judge (self judgment or programmatic judgment) whether someone is competent at their job or capable to carry out tasks;

• To assess/test stakeholder skill level with regard to their roles at the CeC;

• To identify points of intervention – the intervention may come in the form of structured training, encouragement for a job is well done or personal attention where assistance is needed;

Financial Sustainability

Technological Sustainability

Community Participation

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• To estimate the level and frequency of training interventions needed to assist skills development.

4. Who uses competency standards?

Competency standards are commonly used in industry throughout the world, especially where crucial tasks must be performed and measured, while at the same time interventions can be applied appropriately. To ensure continuity across a profession, most professional skilled jobs require prescribed competency standards which are present in any number of forms.

In addition to the example of MINT framework, listed in the box, another example of commonly used competency standards is the European Computer Drivers License (ECDL)8 series of certificate tests delivered to over 33 million test takers so far. The ECDL Foundation, which implements the programme and serves as the certifying authority, covers a wide range of international computer certifications from introductory to advanced levels. Anyone who accomplishes a passing score on the ECDL exams is then automatically graded as competent with a world wide equivalency as the test given is the same anywhere around the world.

There are two common classifications of types of competency standards across the board in an industry or limited to a particular entity.

• Industry standards – are standards that are developed by and recognized across an industry; they can be nationally, regionally or internationally accepted

• In-house standards – are purpose built standards for a specific function

This guideline focuses on the latter standards, as there are no universally accepted standards to address the specific ICT for development initiatives tailored in remote and rural areas of developing countries. Some of these standards would be developed into competency requirements in implementing such ICT for development initiatives.

5. Limitations of the standards

The standards developed for such projects follow the second type of standards in that they are mainly in-house. This approach would also enable the implementing organizations to tailor the standards into appropriate competency requirements to suit local conditions and relevance to their initiatives.

Thus, there are certain limitations that must be understood in order for them to be applied correctly. Some of those limitations may include the following: 8 http://www.ecdl.com/publisher/index.jsp

Chartered Accountant competencies assessed through their MINT framework

MINT1 can help you understand what is important for your job satisfaction and explore career paths open to you. Launched in 2005 by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountant, the programme allows one to compare current competencies with those required to reach the top of chosen career.1

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• Designed for a small CeC, or ICT initiative, with limited staffing.

• Based on the assumption that the project site is located in a rural or semi-rural location with limited resources.

• No competency standards are completely objective.

• Those utilizing these standards must clearly understand how to apply the standards (generalization, oversimplification).

6. How and why these standards were selected?

The standards come from extensive examination of existing training programs (which help to indicate what type of modules are most sought after), review of in-country reports (baseline studies, needs assessment reports and other country documents on related issues); in addition a selection of community e-centre experts, users and service providers where queried for feedback.

The following list gives a breakdown on background work that was done to propose the standards.

• Thorough examination of competency standards from a variety of sectors which covered the main categories (hardware, software, safety, etc.) with special emphasis paid to the education sector where standards for students are becoming more common

• Through country feedback in terms of needs assessment workshops, baseline studies, site visits

• Prediction derived from training needs (gaps) based on examination of training materials delivered at programs in other countries (over 20 related training programs were examined)

• Over time the standards will be validated as they are integrated in capacity building and monitoring and evaluation activities

• It is highly expected that the seven standards selected below will be appropriate for community e-centre members and similar ICT initiatives in rural and semi-rural areas.

B. Guiding thoughts on standards utilization

These are some guiding thoughts in selecting and proposing competency standards.

• The standards are generalities, not perfect indicators.

• It is not necessary for an individual to gain advanced standing in each competency area.

• Proficiency in the competencies can be spread across a team/staff at the same project or centre – whereby staff can compliment each others abilities.

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• Sufficient accomplishment is gauged through gaining in a range of improvement across a selection of competency areas.

• The most important measurement of advancement is self assessment in competency progress.

• Some standards may seem similar to the other – all competency standards systems have overlap.

In the below chapters, three sets of competency standards are described in detail and used as general examples which can be applied across other similar situations. (provided are competency standards for CeC operators, service providers and users.)

C. The competency standards for operators

In this set, seven competency standards are proposed as illustrated in Figure 4. The standards are labeled with letters as numbers may be misinterpreted as a sequence or order. Each standard is uniquely important, therefore there is no hierarchy intended. The standards are then broken down into individual levels; whereby three levels were selected; basic, proficient and advanced. The levels are correlated with the six levels of Blooms taxonomy of cognitive development.9 Both levels and indicators of obtainment at that level are given in table format.

Figure 4: Seven competencies for operators

9 http://classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/bloomstax.htm

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These are subjective level placements to help self-assess development; they should be recognized as representative statements not as steadfast and static. Level selection is then based on (subjective and objective) assessment to place individual capabilities in the standard and level assessed. Training interventions are designed to develop skill sets to move the individual to a higher level within the competency.

The seven competency standards are defined as follows. Each level (basic, proficient and advanced) is explained with indicators.

Table 1A: Research and engagement – the ability to identify gaps, seek solutions and make connections to solve issues

Level Indicators

Basic • Understand the purpose of research (solving problems) and its importance

to sustainability. • Explore ways to engage the CeC community in solving issues

Proficient • Use ICT to enhance data gathering methods while appropriately

communicating problems and possible solutions • Able to inform and include Others in the process

Advanced • Able to apply new research methods and instruct others while developing materials and models.

Table 1B: Teaching others – an ability to properly facilitate, organize and ultimately enhance others abilities

Level Indicators

Basic • Understand the importance of how people learn • Able to recognize appropriate learning materials • Understand the elements of effective communication

Proficient

• Facilitate students' use of technology that addresses their social needs and cultural identity

• Select, use and develop appropriate instructional materials using various online and off line sources

Advanced

• Model and continuously learn to use and adapt ICT to enhance e-applications

• Able to accurately and efficiently locate materials, adopt and deliver appropriate training to diverse groups

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Table 1C: Monitoring and evaluation – an ability to develop methods that supervise, assess and report developments

Level Indicators

Basic • Understand the basic purposes of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) • Able to explain how M&E assists in the development of the CeC

Proficient

• Through monitoring develop an ability to assess potential project weaknesses, problems and shortcomings

• Able to present project evaluations and disseminate information to stakeholders

Advanced

• Efficient M&E enable an opportunity to make timely adjustments and corrective actions to improve the program design, work plan and implementation strategies

• Ability to design new indictors when needed

Table 1D: Understanding your community – ability to observe, negotiate and develop a clear appreciation of community needs

Level Indicators

Basic • Recognize differences in the community in terms of need, societal values and information goals

Proficient • Facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all

(special attention to culturally oppressed groups including women) • Plan, promote and model safe and healthy use of technology resources

Advanced • Understand and demonstrate the social, ethical, legal and human issues surrounding the use of the CeC.

Table 1E: Working with others – development of the skills necessary to delegate and involve others in meaningful ways, form partnerships and

nurture communities of practice

Level Indicators

Basic

• Understanding of the importance of building strong support networks both in the community and beyond

• Understand the complex nature of matrix leadership and how it impacts CeC sustainability

Proficient

• Make use of networks, collaborate, create and manage complex information exchanges

• Ability to lead and influence others when asked to, be a productive team member when called for

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Advanced • Build upon professional knowledge communities • Successfully develop a complex program, curriculum or plan through

utilizing local, national or international communities

Table 1F: Planning – the ability to foresee strategic concerns and create methods to address those concerns

Level Indicators

Basic • Able to recognize the need for effective teamwork and communication

Proficient • Aid in the preparation of proposals, concept papers and feasibility studies • Understand the principles of SWOT

Advanced • Plan and implement procedures for day-to- day operations • Implement a sound business plan and have clear strategy for resource

mobilization

Table 1G: Technical – a sufficient understanding of the technology in place and ability to troubleshoot, fix and maintain systems

Level Indicators

Basic • Have basic knowledge of hardware and software, web browsers, and other

multimedia devices • Perform PC maintenance and troubleshooting tasks

Proficient • Understand latest ICT trends and technologies • Able to handle most technical repairs

Advanced

• Able to plan, install, and maintain the hardware and software associated the CeC

• Able to identify OT deficiencies, identify appropriate hardware and software resource and minimize unnecessary costs are identified

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D. Competency standards for service providers

These competency standards are further broken down into a subset of more specific competency standards for service providers and users in the below chapters. The set of competency standards were proposed based on the CeC model, but it would be applicable to other similar ICT initiatives.

In this document, a CeC service provider is defined as any authorized individual or entity entrusted with the supply of information and material resources to the CeC. The term is used to imply all of those who may be involved and engaged in information source/content delivery for the CeC community (designers, producers, managers, aggregators, etc.). Figure 5 illustrates the seven competency standards proposed for service providers.

Figure 5: Seven competency standards for service providers

Table 2A: Content provision – thorough understanding of rural/remote community information needs and constraints in delivery modalities

Level Bloom’s Taxonomy Indicators

Basic Knowledge & comprehension

• Knowledge of content sources and understanding of how to reach the content providers

• Understanding of content types and ability to identify media formats with the correct format application

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Proficient Application & analysis

• Ability to work with groups to source new and innovative content which is linked to community needs

• Able to select appropriate content matched to the competency of the individual

Advanced Synthesis & evaluation

• A deep understanding of how appropriate content assist the community in meeting development objectives

• Ability to monitor and evaluate the success of content provided to users whether it be an individual object or a body of objects

Table 2B: Understanding community needs – ability to observe, negotiate and develop a clear appreciation of community needs



Recognize differences in the community in terms of need, societal values and information goals


• Able to address specific community information needs (special attention to culturally oppressed groups including women)

• Able to develop community appraisal methods to garner direct input on specific needs in community development


• Through monitoring & evaluation techniques able to determine long term information gaps and link the gaps to national/regional/local development goals covering a variety of e-application sectors

Table 2C: Partnering – development of the skills necessary to delegate and involve others in meaningful ways, form partnerships and nurture communities of practice



• Understanding of the importance of building strong support networks both in the community and beyond

• Understand the complex nature of matrix leadership and how it impacts CeC sustainability





• Build upon professional knowledge communities • Successfully develop a complex program, curriculum

or plan through utilizing local, national or international communities

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Table 2D: Teaching – an ability to properly facilitate, organize and ultimately enhance others abilities



• Understand the importance of how people learn • Able to recognize appropriate learning materials • Understand the elements of effective communication


• Facilitate students' use of technology that addresses their social needs and cultural identity

• Select, use and develop appropriate instructional materials using various online and off line sources


• Model and continuously learn to use and adapt ICT to enhance e-applications

• Able to accurately and efficiently locate materials, adopt and deliver appropriate training to diverse groups

Table 2E: Delivery mechanisms – a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of available technologies for information delivery

in rural/remote settings



• Have basic knowledge of hardware and software, web browsers, and other multimedia devices

• Understanding of how data gets from one point to the next, including file formats, and hardware storage methods


• Understand latest ICT trends and technologies in data storage and retrieval; including overview of networking

• Able to apply best techniques for data delivery using web-based technologies


• Able to work with technicians to direct data repository and transmission projects

• Able to identify deficiencies, identify appropriate hardware and software resource and minimize unnecessary costs in repository setup and delivery

Table 2F: Marketing – ability to promote information products, organize proper visibility, categorize and present the information products for the greatest benefit for all



• Builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationships with a network of national key opinion leaders.

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• Engages internal stakeholders in bringing key problems and opportunities to the forefront.


• Influences stakeholders by communicating the recommended solutions or opportunities with rationale in a manner relevant to each audience.

Table 2G: Research – ability to solve issues and problems with regard to information gaps in a professional, accurate and timely manner using

standard journalistic practices (citations, copyright alignment, notification, etc.)

Level Area Indicators


• Understand the purpose of research (solving problems) and its importance to sustainability.

• Explore ways to engage the media community to provide more and better content

• Clear overview of data aggregation methods and resources


• Use ICT to enhance data gathering methods while appropriately communicating research agendas

• Able to inform and include others in the process


• Able to apply new research methods and instruct others while developing materials and models.

• Able to use best practices in intellectual property protection through proper journalistic procedures

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E. Competency standards for users

Supplementing the competency standards for service providers, the set of competency standards for users is illustrated and listed below in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Competency standards for users

Table 3A: Using the Internet – ability to understand the concept of the Internet, the difference between the Internet and other networks

and how it can help in a variety of contexts

Level Indicators

Basic • Understand the basic purpose, strengths and weaknesses of the Internet. • Understand the differences between basic Internet programs including

browsers, chat clients and the such

Proficient • Identify different types of information on the Internet • Able to use web browsers to search the Internet for information

Advanced • Able to upload/download files, access web forums, and send/receive e-mail. • Able to contribute to open websites via any of the web 2.0 methods (wikis,

blogs, forums, etc.)

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Table 3B: Researching – an awareness for the role of ICT in accessing/ retrieving and utilizing quality information (e-applications) to solve problems

Level Indicators

Basic • An awareness of available resources for finding information on

issues/problems • Find and use resources based on an issue or problem (agriculture)

Proficient • Understand the difference between subjective and objective information • Able to apply a variety of information sources and seek solutions to problems

Advanced • Carry out specified research functions as an assistant to an investigator or as

requested to assist others • Able to present research findings in an organized fashion

Table 3C: Understanding Hardware – ability to develop collaborative skills and utilize centre equipment for community development

Level Indicators

Basic • Ability to identify and describe functions of the available hardware in the centre (computer, fax, and other equipment)

Proficient • Able to teach others how to use available hardware, identify functions, hardware specifications and capabilities

Advanced • A deep enough understanding of the available hardware to identify and troubleshoot issues, failures and find solutions for maintenance

Table 3D: Outreach – ability to develop collaborative skills and utilize centre equipment for community development

Level Indicators

Basic • Understand the importance of working collaboratively • Able to identify situations where the CeC can serve to better your community

Proficient • Able to build a support network in the community uses CeC facilities • Identify community development goals and think of ways in which the CeC

can support such goals

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Advanced



Table 3E: Safety – development of the skills necessary to use computers and the Internet safely, responsibly and legally

Level Indicators

Basic • Identify the risks of using computer hardware and software • Understand security and safety issues with regard to ICT use in the

community

Proficient • Understand basics of computer viruses, malware, spyware and adware • Ability to deal with e-mail attachments, identification of spam e-mail and

other malicious attempts to break personal security

Advanced

• Understand and demonstrate the social, ethical, legal and human issues surrounding the use of the CeC

• Able to teach others on crucial issues regarding safety, security and social appropriate usages of the CeC

Table 3F: Language and communication – ability to express ideas, type in own language and share self generated information sources

Level Indicators

Basic • Able to type in your own language • Able to communicate clearly to express ideas

Proficient

• Understanding of crucial issues regarding document storage/transmission in your native language

• Understanding of common communication tools and their application for community development

Advanced • Able to teach others how to type in your language • Understanding of fonts, transmission issues with regard to international

typescripts and ability to solve issues.

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Table 3G: Software – able to start and stop applications, save files, edit/format documents and create basic graphical objects

Level Indicators

Basic

• Understand the concept of software and able to identify machines in the CeC that use software

• Understand that hardware and software have a connection and be able to explain that connection

Proficient • Able to identify different types of software, software categories, and the types of tasks each software is most suited

Advanced • Able to install/uninstall, and maintain software upgrades • Identify what an operating system is, able to solve common problems with the

operating system

F. Conclusion

This training guideline highlighted a need for competency standards and requirements in implementing community-based ICT initiatives, such as community e-centres (CeCs), in remote and rural areas in Asia and the Pacific. Such competency standards could be developed into competency requirements depending on conditions and relevance to the nature of the initiative. The method of clearly defining competency areas/standards and developing prescriptive intervention based on the capacity development needs of selected groups has proven to be more effective as compared to training that lacks such a strategic framework.

Competency standards have been long used in a variety of fields, yet their application in rural development remains immature. This document helps to serve as a starting point in an ongoing dialogue to improve the quality and efficiency of training interventions delivered.

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