Using a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Assessing the Impact of ICTs in Development

Abstract

This paper describes the sustainable livelihoods framework as a useful tool in assessing the contribution of ICTs to development projects. Assessing the role of ICTs in development can be difficult because they are so multifaceted, and because the effect of ICT use is often indirect. This paper argues that applying the sustainable livelihood frameworks in assessment can help to broaden their scope in a manageable way and prove more analytically rigorous than other available methods. The example of an impact assessment of a Colombian telecentre is used to demonstrate how such an approach can be applied.