Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D)

Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) aims to integrate ICTs in development strategies, planning, implementation, and evaluation to close the digital divide, build ICT capacity for development, and empower individuals to reach their potentials with the help of enabling technologies. The central ideas of ICT4D have been integrated into the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. However, they have been negatively affected by inadequate socio-political complexity and a top-down approach to development. Generally, ICT4D research and practice have been criticised for its uncritical treatment of development discourse, eurocentrism, and failure to engage the local societies in planning, implementing, and evaluating ICT4D projects and policies. New approaches in the field of ICT4D aim to overcome such theoretical, implementational, and policy shortcomings by focusing more on critical technology studies, participatory methods, and people-centric perspectives in development.