Patanjali Yoga Sutra’s Yama-Niyama framework for evaluating ethical aspects of ICT4D projects

Evaluation of ICT4D projects is a very challenging activity. Furthermore, these evaluations are often carried out using Western frameworks. Such an approach reduces the trust in the evaluation results, as the indigenous people have difficulty relating to the Western evaluation concepts. Realizing this issue, recent studies have called for using indigenous theories to evaluate ICT4D projects. This conceptual study uses an evaluation framework based on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. From the Yoga Sutra, I identify two concepts of Yama and Niyama that can be useful for evaluating the ethical aspects of ICT4D projects in India. I then apply these concepts to evaluate an ICT4D case study in India. The study results indicate that applying the local evaluation frameworks yields a more positive view of the local culture.