Rethinking Sustainability in ICT4D Initiatives through Implementation Outcomes

Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) community initiatives tend to “fizzle” out after a few years. This study, therefore, investigated alternative ways in which these initiatives can be sustained for longer. The study drew on the Implementation Outcomes framework from the public health sector which holistically assesses the ability of public health initiatives to survive beyond their inception. With the objective to identify how improvements can be made on ICT4D initiatives so they are sustainable the study employed the qualitative-interpretive case study paradigm using three well-known South African ICT4D initiatives, namely, the Siyabuswa Educational Improvement and Development Trust (SEIDET), the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Cyber Security Awareness Project. Findings reveals how individuals and the community for whom these initiatives are intended, sooner or later relocate or move on, as does ICT . Additionally, findings highlights the importance of ensuring a dynamic skills transfer from the founders of the initiative to later champions. The study makes a theoretical and practical contribution to Information Systems (IS) and ICT4D research by using a framework from the public health sector for IS and ICT4D initiatives. It conceptualises a framework to guide the implementation of more sustainable ICT4D.