Reaching the unreached: Community based village knowledge centres in India

Suchit Nanda and Subbiah Arunachalam from the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation have just released a book entitled Reaching the unreached: Community based village knowledge centres and village resource centres.

Since 1992, the Foundation has pioneered ICT-enabled development activities through Village Resource Centres (VRCs) and Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs). They use both traditional and modern technologies to provide necessary information/knowledge to the rural communities. The book tells the stories of the people who work with and eenfit from these centres. It also sets out steps needed to establish a successful rural telecenter of this type:

Step 0: Self-assessment
Step 1: Social Mobilization and Need / Demand Assessment
Step 2: Community Participation
Step 3: Connectivity
Step 4: Content
Step 5: Hub and Spokes Model
Step 6: Management, Monitoring and Evaluation
Step 7: Services
Step 8: Partnership
Step 9: Capacity Building
Step 10: Sustainability