Conceptualizing accountability in ICT4D: complementary perspectives

In this paper, we conceptualize the academic field of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) as constructed by the building blocks of information systems and development management. We submit that, given this double genesis of the field, the concept of accountability in ICT4D should embody the complementary notions of accountability in information systems, which is internal and upward-flowing within organizations, and accountability in development management, which is external and downward-flowing towards development beneficiaries. Our fieldwork in Kerala, on a telecentre project oriented to human development, is used to illustrate the functioning of both accountabilities in practice, and the mechanisms through which they mutually interact in a relationship of cause and effect. As such, we point out that accountability to beneficiaries may depend on internal cooperation and coherence of development organizations: therefore, ICT4D projects should be studied under both dimensions of accountability, which complement each other in designing effective interventions.