[Telecentres] Telecenter Statistics

[Barbara Fillip]

Hello everyone,

I am not opposed to the idea of collecting information about
telecenters worldwide to get an idea of how many there are, but I would
recommend having a clearly articulated rationale for doing so as well as
a clear idea of the costs involved in trying to keep track of that
number over time. 

Why do we need to know the number of telecenters?  What is the
information that we really need most?  The total number, the number and
location in each country?   As with any data collection effort, it can
become quite overwhelming, so I would strongly recommend a strategy that
focuses on real needs.  How is that data going to be useful?

Do telecenters need to know where other telecenters are so that they
can more easily work together?  That assumes that they are not
competing. 

Would some of this data be useful to help donors identify geographic
areas that are not covered by telecenters or similar public access
points and where they could develop a coordinated strategy?  Am I just
dreaming of donor coordination based on good global data about
telecenters or is it realistic?

Just questions!


Barbara Fillip, Ph.D.
Information and Dissemination Coordinator
DOT-COM Alliance
http://www.dot-com-alliance.org
(202) 884-8003