A framework for developing citizen-centric e-government applications in developing countries: The design-reality gap in Uganda

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDE-government should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the life of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalised, is to be improved. Often in developing contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of such interventions, in a top-down approach from central governments, resulting in the non-use of such interventions. A situation of non-use of e-services results in wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem is the “Design-Reality Gap.

Towards design of citizen centric e-government projects in developing country context: the design-reality gap in Uganda

E-government projects should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the lives of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalized, are to be improved. However, quite often in developing country contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of technology projects through a top-down approach from central governments. Such a paradigm of implementation usually results in the non-use of the deployed technologies and their associated e-services. A consequence of non-use of e-services results in a wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem which has been highlighted is called the “Design-Reality gap”. This paper investigates the nature of the gap. It presents findings from policy analysis and in-depth face-to-face interviews with e-government policy makers and implementers. In addition, it reports on findings from focus group discussions with potential e-government users in a health sector setting. The results which are based on a participatory action research methodology reveal that there exists a glaring design-reality gap between egovernment policy planners and citizens’ aspirations. We argue that co-creation could be a feasible approach for the design of e-government application services towards efforts to bridge the design-reality gap

Carbon Trade Financing Strategies and Opportunities for Competitiveness of Private Sector SMEs in Uganda

This study assessed corporate carbon financing strategies and competitiveness of small and Medium Enterprises with different management practices in Uganda. Published Online November 2012.Availability of strategies and opportunities can drive SMEs competitive investment potential. In Uganda, several SMEs are emerging and their activities are having huge environmental impact hence contributing to global warming in form of carbon-dioxide release. There has been less effort to create awareness among public and private enterprises with an aim of reducing these negative effects. For example, water risks are rampant today, given population and climate change trends (www.ceres.org/), the demand for primary energy is projected to increase globally by a factor of 1.6 to 3.5 by the year 2050. Among developing countries, these factors are increasing from 2.3 to 5.2 (World Bank 2007). This study assessed corporate carbon financing strategies and competitiveness of small and Medium Enterprises with different management practices in Uganda. We used correlation analysis to find out whether there is significant relationship be- tween company factors and competitiveness. The findings indicated Pearson correlation r = 0.435. The result of 0.435** was found to be higher than the Pearson product –moment correlation coefficient critical values of 0.361. This revealed that there was a positive and statistically significant relationship between Company factors and competitiveness of SMEs

Towards design of citizen centric e-government projects in developing country context: The design-reality gap in Uganda

E-government projects should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the lives of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalized, are to be improved. However, quite often in developing country contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of technology projects through a top-down approach from central governments. Such a paradigm of implementation usually results in the non-use of the deployed technologies and their associated e-services. A consequence of non-use of e-services results in a wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem which has been highlighted is called the “Design-Reality gap”. This paper investigates the nature of the gap. It presents findings from policy analysis and in-depth face-to-face interviews with e-government policy makers and implementers. In addition, it reports on findings from focus group discussions with potential e-government users in a health sector setting. The results which are based on a participatory action research methodology reveal that there exists a glaring design-reality gap between egovernment policy planners and citizens’ aspirations. We argue that co-creation could be a feasible approach for the design of e-government application services towards efforts to bridge the design-reality gap

Understanding ICT adoption amongst SMEs in Uganda: Towards a participatory design model to enhance technology diffusion

Policy statements by the United Nations, the African Union and most African countries boldly pronounce on the anticipated benefits of the internetworked world and associated ICT to society in general and to the world of business specifically. In terms of the latter, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are recognized as being critical to the growth of developing economies. There is consensus that this sector has considerable potential for improved business outcomes through the harnessing of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). However, a problem of low adoption of ICT in this sector still prevails in Africa and there is a gap in our understanding of the reasons for this. In light of this problem, this paper reports on a survey of Ugandan SME owners in which their ICT pre-usage beliefs and attitudes are explored. The study identified four pre-use factors that are correlated with ICT use. The pre-usage beliefs which significantly influence decisions to adopt and use ICT include Benefit expectation, ICT learnability, User-confidence, and User-friendliness. These are found to be key determinants of ICT adoption. ICT support and ease-of-use on the other hand were factors that did not correlate with decisions to use ICT. However, it is found that there is a low predictive capability (17.7%) of pre-usage beliefs and attitudes in respect of prior use or non-use of ICT among SMEs. As such, this study found that other contextual factors constitute a greater (82.3%) predictive percentage. In light of this, the paper concludes by recommending an ICT participatory design process to mitigate ICT pre-use scepticism among SMEs owners.National Research Foundation of South Afric

Understanding ICT adoption amongst SMEs in Uganda: Towards a participatory design model to enhance technology diffusion

Policy statements by the United Nations, the African Union and most African countries boldly pronounce on the anticipated benefits of the internetworked world and associated ICT to society in general and to the world of business specifically. In terms of the latter, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are recognized as being critical to the growth of developing economies. There is consensus that this sector has considerable potential for improved business outcomes through the harnessing of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). However, a problem of low adoption of ICT in this sector still prevails in Africa and there is a gap in our understanding of the reasons for this. In light of this problem, this paper reports on a survey of Ugandan SME owners in which their ICT pre-usage beliefs and attitudes are explored. The study identified four pre-use factors that are correlated with ICT use. The pre-usage beliefs which significantly influence decisions to adopt and use ICT include Benefit expectation, ICT learnability, User-confidence, and User-friendliness. These are found to be key determinants of ICT adoption. ICT support and ease-of-use on the other hand were factors that did not correlate with decisions to use ICT. However, it is found that there is a low predictive capability (17.7%) of pre-usage beliefs and attitudes in respect of prior use or non-use of ICT among SMEs. As such, this study found that other contextual factors constitute a greater (82.3%) predictive percentage. In light of this, the paper concludes by recommending an ICT participatory design process to mitigate ICT pre-use scepticism among SMEs owners

The management practices of ICT integration in the curriculum of the primary schools in Uganda

The study investigates how ICT integration in the primary school curriculum is managed in UgandaThe study investigates how ICT integration in the primary school curriculum is managed in Uganda. School management practices were conceptualized as planning, organization and coordination. The dependent variable is ICT integration. The study is a cross sectional survey using mainly quantitative data. The population comprised teachers and school head teachers in Mukono District in Uganda. Data was collected using self administered questionnaires using a likert scale. The response rate of 94.2% was sufficient to rely on the results of this study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis (Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient) and multiple regression analysis to establish the causal influence of management practices on ICT integration. The major finding of this study was that planning, coordination and organization significantly impacts ICT integration. A multiple regression analysis revealed that all the management practices had a casual effect on ICT integration. Recommendations are made that the state should formulate and implement policies to schools to regulate ICT implementation and prescribe strategies to influence teachers’ attitude to ICT integration, and offer support to school management to enhance their management practices in order to manage the ICT integration process into the curriculum. In addition, based on the research, we propose that more software and hardware should be made available to schools. Further research may measure the management styles and change management strategies that may be adopted in order to successfully integrate ICT into the primary school curriculum. Such a study may be triangulated with the qualitative views from the respondents

Information Communication Technology (ICT) Utilization in Private Universities in Uganda: Exploring Strategies to Improve. A Case of Uganda Christian University.

The article was an extension of a similar study by [1] conducted among local government staff in Uganda and was ex-tended among staff at Uganda Christian University.The study was an extension of a similar study by [1] conducted among local government staff in Uganda and was ex-tended among staff at Uganda Christian University. A total of 108 respondents out of the accessible 130 representing 83.0% response rate was realized after administering the study instruments over a period of two (2) weeks. Of the 108 respondents, 70.4% constituted staff in administration, 8.0% heads of sections and 21.6% academic staff. Data was analyzed using different statistical techniques which included descriptive statistics, mainly mean and standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to establish the relationships between variables and multiple regres-sion analysis to establish causal influence of factors on ICT utilization. At bivariate level, organizational support sys-tems, ICT infrastructure and users’ perceptions had a strong relationship on ICT utilization. Multiple regression analysis revealed that only user perceptions (perceived ease of use) and user knowledge and skills had a significant causal influ-ence on ICT utilization. The researcher Recommended that UCU strategic management cater for personnel ICT capac-ity building to improve their skills and therefore enhance ICT usability. Further research may consider segmenting staff by faculties and study how utilization levels differ using ANOVA. A comparative study can also be undertaken to as-sess UCU and any other private university

Information Communication Technology (ICT) utilization in Uganda local governments; why low uptake?

Paper part of proceedings of 18th International Business Research Conference 2012.The study was conducted in Local Governments’ in Uganda where a total of 65 respondents out of a total of 69 representing 94.2% response rate was realised after administering the study instruments over a period of six (6) months. Those Local Governments that had benefited greatly from the Uganda Governments’ ICT Infrastructure Development Project were purposively selected. Data was analysed using different statistical techniques which included descriptive statistics mainly mean and standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to establish the relationships between variables and Multiple Regression analysis to establish the effect of factors on ICT utilization. At bivariate level, organizational support systems, ICT infrastructure and users’ perceptions had a strong relationship with ICT utilization. Multiple regression analysis revealed that only user perceptions and organisational support had a significant positive effect on ICT utilization. Recommendations are that the Government should formulate and disseminate policies to Local Governments to regulate ICT digital divides, address strategies to change users’ negative perception towards ICT utilization and offer support to Local Government administrators to enhance ICT utilization. Further research may consider areas such as taking a comparative study to assess views from at least one or two Local Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa preferably in the East African region

Employee factors, rather not customer factors drive corporate strategies for agribusiness investment in Uganda

This paper presents evidence that corporate strategies provide the basis for agribusiness development and managing risk and uncertainty. These strategies are driven by, among others, employee factors, which are, however, usually given less attention. Conference Paper presented at ANAFE Symposium 2014, Agribusiness Development and Managing Risk and Uncertainty in African Agriculture: The role of Tertiary Agricultural Education, At Yaoundé, August, 2014.This paper presents evidence that corporate strategies provide the basis for agribusiness development and managing risk and uncertainty. These strategies are driven by, among others, employee factors, which are, however, usually given less attention. This study assessed corporate carbon financing strategies and competitiveness of small and medium enterprises with different management practices in Uganda. We used multiple regression analysis to assess the number one predicator for corporate carbon financing strategies. The study indicated Pearson correlation (r = 0.602**) significance at p<0.001, the result of r=0.602** were found higher than person-product correlation coefficient critical values of 0.36. This implies that as employee factors are improved there is a likelihood that corporate strategies become more innovative and they will target more opportunities and they were found to be the number one predictor of competiveness (p < 0.05)